A Belgian-British teenager took to the skies Wednesday in her quest to become the youngest woman to fly around the world solo. /AP

With her parents looking on, 19-year-old Zara Rutherford took off from an airstrip in Kortrijk, western Belgium in gusty, overcast conditions. She is aiming to break the record set by American aviator Shaesta Waiz, who was 30 when she set the world benchmark in 2017. /AP

Rutherford aims to fly her fast and light Shark sport aircraft over five continents in an aerial trek that's likely to take 2-3 months. /AP

Rutherford hails from a family of pilots. She's been traveling in small planes since the age of 6, began jumping out of them – with a parachute – at 11 and then started flying herself at 14. She's logged about 130 hours of solo flights. /AP