British schoolboy bids to become the youngest person to fly around the world solo

The parents of a British schoolboy bidding to become the youngest person to fly around the world solo have told of their pride.

Mack (CORR) Rutherford, 16, is due to set off on the daredevil mission from an air base in Sofia, Bulgaria on March 17.

If successful, he will clinch a Guinness World record currently held by fellow Brit Travis Ludlow, who was 18 when he completed the mission last year.

His sister Zara Rutherford, 19, became the youngest woman to fly around the world solo when she finished a similar mission last month and still holds the title.

She says the superb siblings are not motivated by one-upmanship but revealed she has plans to be an astronaut when she is older, while Mack is looking into joining the RAF.

His parents Sam Rutherford, 49, and Beatrice de Smet, 52, are both pilots.

Sam used to be a helicopter pilot in the army and still flies planes for a living while Beatrice quit her job as a lawyer to become an amateur pilot.

They said: "We are really excited and are both extremely proud of him.

"He is doing an amazing thing, showing young people they can make a difference and that, no matter how old you are, you can contribute to something.

"We are going to be in for an exciting roller coaster few months ahead.

"Zara has achieved a similar feat but there are still going to be lots of sleepless nights and stressful days.

"We were not expecting this to happen to be honest. We have been flying planes and have been involved with aviation for a large part of our lives, but he was the one with the idea.

"He has been flying for a long time and it has been part of his life forever.

"Since he has grown up around aeroplanes it seems normal that he has developed this passion, take control of an aeroplane as a child and get a licence when he was 15.

"Zara and Mack are not competing with each other. She has her record for the youngest woman to fly around the world and he wants to be the youngest man to do it.

"He thought 'if she can, I want to as well.' No parent could turn down that request. We are both very excited.

"We hope we will see him around the world. He goes around solo but, if the opportunity comes up to see him somewhere we would like to go, perhaps in one of the more exotic places, let's go, but it is not part of the plan.

"We will take it as it comes. We don't want to turn up halfway round and be a disruptive influence.

Beatrice said: "Of course I am a mum. Mums want to protect their chicks.

"When Mack first came to me and said he wanted to do this I said 'no, there is absolutely no way I will allow you to go.' It took him months to convince me.

"In the end I said okay, but we had many arguments about it.

"He has grown since he received the green light to go. We asked him to take everything he needed to on board and he has. He has showed us he can take on the challenge and do this. Every day he surprises me.

"Of course, as a teenager he could have gone off the idea of flying, just as some teenagers go off their childhood interests.

"However, he always, always said 'I want to fly, I want to fly' - even more than Zara did.

"He has big plans and has talked about being in the RAF.

"He still has his A-levels to do. That is one of the reasons he wanted to go now, he said 'mum, if I go now because I leave it until later my A Levels will be nearer.' That is one of the arguments we had."

Sam said: "I am not sure I would have done something like this when I was 16. He wants to meet other teenagers around the world and find out their stories.

"He can get out into the world and show that young people can make a difference."

Zara, who is on a gap year before beginning an engineering degree, said: "It is really cool that Mack wants to fly around the world. I am so grateful to everyone who has let us both fly around the world.

"It is going to be really cool to talk about our shared experiences.

"I try and tell people 'you can do crazy things if you give it 100 per cent.'

"I was so excited when I heard Mack wanted to do it as well. I told him 'let's make it work.'

"Mack is a great pilot, age does not equal experience. He is really careful when he goes out and flies.

"I am really excited about someone breaking the record.

"Our trips will have been different. Mack is doing this in the summer and I did it in winter. Crossing Siberia and Alaska will have been harder for me but crossing the Congo and Equator will be more challenging for him.

"I would like to thank my parents for everything they have enabled both of us to do. Without them and their support we would not be here.

"They have been so helpful and said 'believe in yourself, you can do it.' At the same time, they told us not to worry if we do not get home, and said if we do not feel safe or like we can finish they will still be very proud of us.

"Growing up in a family of aviators has been incredible.

"I want to become an engineer and even an astronaut one day. It would be great to see the world from much higher up.

"The whole experience can be scary at times. In Siberia, it was -35 degrees Celsius and there were no trees. It was like a desert of snow. Hills were completely covered, and it was very intimidating.

"On an eight-hour flight, once you make the decision to get to your destination you have to make sure you get there. If I had to take an emergency landing it could have been in the middle of the snow and I would have had to call for help from there.

"He has not been piggy-backing on me and my interest in flying. Maybe in some other areas of life he has done that but not with this.

"I have done an around-the-world trip and know how to do one. I can help my brother.

"He is very young, he is still at school. It will be challenging and tough at times for him but he can do it."