Pilot Jake Naumann wishes everyone Merry Christmas from the sky
A Darling Downs pilot has taken the unconventional method of sending everyone a sky high Christmas card, and it’s taken off across the world.
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A Toowoomba pilot has made international aviation news after he creatively sent the world a Merry Christmas card in an unconventional fashion – with festive well-wishes written in the sky.
Wanting to combine his passion for the skies with a bit of holiday spirit, pilot Jake Naumann thought: “Why not use the skies as a canvas to create something memorable for everyone below?”
His Merry Christmas message appeared on Sunday, December 22 in the afternoon, and while it took Mr Naumann only two hours to write in the sky, the preparation was much more extensive.
“I spent more time mapping it out than I did flying it, considering airspace regulations, weather and ensuring the message would be clear and safe to execute,” he said.
It was also a logistic and co-ordination exercise, watching out for other planes that might come across his path, along with compensating for wind conditions to ensure the path remained on track to the ground, the 29-year-old pilot said.
The message, which can be viewed on the international flight tracking app, 24flightradar, includes the words “Merry Christmas” in cursive, with a star, and a Christmas tree bauble.
The 24Flightradar social media post has garnered more than 21,000 likes since it was posted on Christmas Eve.
Mr Nauman has been flying for almost 10 years now, and last year joined the ranks of creative pilots around the world with a Christmas tree, a trend that was gained popularity in December 2017, when the crew of a A380 Airbus completed their flight tests over Germany and Denmark by sketching out a Christmas tree.
Mr Naumann’s plane, a Pacific Aerospace CT-4B Airtrainer, is an ex-RAAF flight trainer and was used for military flight training most of its life.
He said he mostly flies for the “love of aviation, warbirds, aerobatics and formation flying”.
The sky artist said it was “heartwarming” to know it had brought smiles” to everyone who had seen his message.
“That’s exactly what I was hoping for,” he said.
“If this brings a smile to someone’s face, I encourage them to pay it forward with their own act of kindness this holiday season.”
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Originally published as Pilot Jake Naumann wishes everyone Merry Christmas from the sky
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