Aviation fans shocked after finding out what pilot wrote in sky with flight path during 'test'
A pilot carrying out what should have been a routine test flight has left aviation fans stunned after turning the journey into a message visible on a tracking app.
The light aircraft departed Liverpool at 11.30am on Saturday and spent around two hours flying across the Wirral peninsula, Cheshire and North Wales before returning to Merseyside at 1.30pm.
According to Ravenair, the Piper Tomahawk had been taken up after a new part was fitted, with the pilot tasked with checking that everything was working as expected.
However, plane spotters following the aircraft on Flightradar24 soon realised its unusual loops and sharp turns were not simply part of the mechanical checks.
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Once the full route was viewed on the map, as pointed out by a user on X (formerly Twitter), the flight path appeared to spell out the words: "I'm bored."
The pilot, described as a flying instructor in his 20s, had apparently used the lengthy test run to create the message while still completing the required checks.
Reported by the BBC, Ravenair operations manager Wayne Barrett said: "I think the pilot was literally a bit bored as it was just a test flight. Mind you it was pretty skillful flying."
Barrett said the replaced component was believed to have been a cylinder and explained that a test flight was necessary to confirm the aircraft was operating properly.
He added: "So when this happens we take the plane up for a test run to make sure everything is OK, which it was.
"He was a bit bored but he probably had to concentrate a lot in the end to spell out the words so he was probably anything but.
"He's not in trouble but we have had a lot of attention from it.
"The plane is now safely back in the hanger and the pilot is on his day off."
That attention quickly spread online after an image of the route was shared on X/Twitter, where the post had attracted more than 305,000 views at the time it was captured.
The caption read: "Anyone get on the pilot this morning writing 'I'm bored' in the sky over west Kirby hahaha."
Social media users in the replies were quick to offer their own interpretations of the elaborate route.
One person joked: "Think he's just calling everyone in flint inbred."
Another admitted they had completely missed the spectacle, writing: "Funnily enough I missed that. Always a risk when you don’t spend your Sunday on flight radar uk."
A third UK-based commenter believed there may have been another shape hidden in the route, adding: "He’s definitely tried to draw a d**k here"
Despite the jokes, creating a readable message using an aircraft's path requires careful manoeuvring, particularly while keeping the plane within a safe operating area.
One might say it’s at least half as impressive as landing in the world’s most dangerous airport. Either way, the unique route, ultimately covering the wide stretch of north-west England and North Wales before the pilot returned safely to Liverpool, has definitely made the new part pass its test.
Ben Williams