A Laser-sharp Focus

A pilot has flown more than 250 nautical miles to create an outline of the Queen's profile on a map. Amal Larhlid from London flew a Piper PA-28 for two hours in her tribute, to raise money for Hospice UK. The voyage, tracked on FlightRadar, formed a portrait 65 miles (105km) tall and 39 miles (63km) wide. The crown stretches from Newport Pagnell to Rugby, with a jewel in the centre directly over Northampton.

Ms Larhlid wrote on her fundraising page: "She was an inspiration to many generations, devoting herself to service for 70 years." She said that she believed "in the power of remembrance and appreciation in times like these" and wanted to make the flight to pay her respects to the late monarch: “She will always be in our hearts, and so will our loved ones who left us too," she added. 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 backup of the route made using landmarks and flew multiple practice flights to get the feel for the required track and turns. Parts of the flight path took her through restricted air space and she had to stay in touch with air traffic control throughout.

She 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.

(Source: BBC News | via Mike Edwards | FlightRadar 24)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-63176832