Pilot spells out cheeky 2-word message in the air during flight over UK

A pilot used a routine test flight to spell out the words “I’m bored” in the sky after taking to the air over the UK. The message was spotted by flight tracking website Flightradar24 after the Ravenair aircraft took off from Liverpool at 11.30am on Saturday, before flying over the Wirral peninsula, Cheshire and north Wales.

Flight tracking data showed the Piper Tomahawk spending around 20 minutes carefully tracing the message before returning to Merseyside at around 1.30pm following a two-hour flight. Ravenair later confirmed the aircraft had been carrying out a routine test flight after one of its engine cylinders was replaced.

Operations manager Wayne Barrett told the BBC: “I think the pilot was literally a bit bored as it was just a test flight. Mind you it was pretty skillful flying.”

He explained the aircraft had been taken into the air to ensure it was safe to return to service after maintenance work.

Mr Barrett said: “I think the part was a cylinder that needed replacing.

“So when this happens we take the plane up for a test run to make sure everything is OK, which it was.”

Although the pilot joked he was bored, Barrett said creating the message would have required plenty of concentration.

“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 said.

He added the flying instructor, who is in his 20s, was “not in trouble” despite the playful stunt.

He said: “He’s not in trouble but we have had a lot of attention from it. The plane is now safely back in the hangar and the pilot is on his day off.”