Pilot Amal Larhild boarded her Piper PA-28 on Thursday to pay her respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II and raise money for Hospice UK featuring the world’s largest portrait of the Queen. The flight had lasted two hours and covered a distance of 413 kilometers – taking a portrait 105 km high and 63 km wide northwest of London.
The pilot says she converted a portrait of the Queen into a format recognized by ForeFlight flight planning software. While this made route planning easier, Amal still had to be aware of the limited airspace along the route. She also manually planned the route on maps as backup, using landmarks as a guide.
Wind made driving “sporty”
Several practice flights were also needed to get a feel for the desired flight path and the turns. The main factor was the weather, which ruined their first attempt on Tuesday. After all, the weather on Thursday was better than on the originally planned Tuesday. According to Amal, the 30-knot wind made the ride “sporty”. Nevertheless, the flight was “great fun”.
The wind made it difficult for her to fly the tight turns needed to complete parts of the flight – such as the crown. In addition to focusing on the route, Amal also had to make sure she stayed in touch with air traffic control as the flight path passed through restricted airspace areas.
“As an ambassador for Hospice UK, I wanted to raise money for an organization that does important work and pay tribute to a symbol of service and selflessness,” says Amal. The pilot has already achieved 20 percent of her £5,000 goal with her flight.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
