Giant portrait of Queen created overhead by pilot

PARTS of Warwickshire featured in the world’s largest portrait of Queen Elizabeth II created using an aircraft.

Pilot Amal Larhlid flew a Piper PA-28 for two hours in the outline of a side profile of the late Queen wearing a crown, which was 65 metres tall and 39 miles wide.

The profile of the late Monarch covered Oxford, while her crown stretched from Milton Keynes to Warwickshire, with a jewel in the centre directly over Northampton.

The pilot completed the portrait as a tribute to the longest serving monarch in British history. It was also done to raise money for Hospice UK.

It was tracked on Flightradar and Ms Larhlid planned her route by converting a portrait of the Queen into a format recognised by a flight planning programme called Foreflight. She also had a manual back-up of the route made using landmarks, and carried out a number of practice flights to get the feel for the required track and turns.

Ms Larhlid wrote on her Justgiving fundraising page: “She was an inspiration to many generations, devoting herself to service for 70 years. I do believe in the power of remembrance and appreciation in times like these, and I’ll be flying the portrait of Her Late Majesty to pay my respect.

“She will always be in our hearts, and so will our loved ones who left us too.”

During the flight, she had to go through restricted air space and stay in touch with air traffic control throughout. She was due to carry out the special mission but bad weather ruined her first attempt leaving her “gutted”.

The rescheduled flight went ahead, despite 30-knot winds, and Ms Larhlid told Flightradar24 she had to stay “laser focused on the track” but the challenge was “great fun”. She added the hardest part of the flight had been creating the crown, due to the tight turns.

Her fundraising page has also received more than £1,000 towards her goal of £5,000.