Give us a smile! Pilot’s sky doodles raise spirits
AFORMER RAF pilot has taken to the skies to spread some cheer during lockdown by creating giant smiley faces with his plane.
Rich Goodwin, 59, is used to entertaining crowds at airshows across the country performing stunts in his Union flag-design biplane.
But with events cancelled because of the pandemic, he decided to brighten up people’s day with an aerobatic display of his own.
The retired RAF Tornado pilot flew across Gloucestershire and Worcestershire in his Pitts Special S2S using smoke to create the smiley faces across a clear blue sky.
Rich doodled the uplifting images, which also included a heart, using the aircraft at 18,000ft.
Married dad of five Mr Goodwin, of Malvern, Worcestershire, said: “I did it to cheer people up because we have been stuck inside for a quite a long time.
“It was a Bank Holiday Monday and we should have all been out barbecuing with our friends, and I suspect many people were on their own or with their families.
“I’ve had a lot of really nice feedback. I think it put a smile on people’s faces.
“Recreational flying is now allowed on your own or with a member of the same household. I’ve been flying on my own to maintain competency.
“You fly in big circles accurately and it is hard to see through the smoke until you are finished.
“Once you have drawn the big circles you change the radius of your turn and turn the smoke off and on again.
“You draw a smaller half circle for the mouth and lines for the eyes.
“It is hard to work out when you are up there and involves a bit of guesswork – practice makes perfect.
“Ideally you have bright blue skies and still conditions. Monday was quite turbulent but the smoke stayed up long enough for people to see.
“I drew a smile over Malvern, which is where I’m from, and one above Gloucester in support of Fly2Help, which is an aviation charity based there.
“The charity organises Air Smiles Days for young people who have had a bereavement or trouble in the past. They have a day out at an airfield and go up in the planes.
“Unfortunately due to lockdown the Air Smiles Day had to be cancelled because you can’t do them with social distancing.
“So I drew some smiles in the sky instead.”
Tarquin Shaw-Young, 49, captured video of a heart and a smiley face appearing in the sky from his back garden.
The dad of two, of Malvern, said: “It was very impressive.
“I was really impressed how he did it by painting blind but getting it that precise. It certainly did bring a smile to my face.”