tastyhwa.blogg.se

“It’s a fairly straightforward manoeuvre,” he modestly explained, “It just requires the right conditions”.

He spoke while standing beside his biplane, now sporting the striking blue branding of new sponsor Sabio, which doubles up as an airborne paintbrush. “I’m glad we managed to deliver something positive in quite a negative environment,” he said. Mr Goodwin’s airborne acrobatics have been sponsored by Bristol-based company Anana for the last five years, a customer service technology business which has recently acquired by global company Sabio. “I suggested the smiley face, and they jumped at it”. He explained: “Me and my sponsor got our heads together and thought how we could cheer people up. “It was exciting to know that so many people enjoyed them."Ĭurrently plying his trade as an aerobatic pilot, Mr Goodwin said the aim of the aerial artwork was to “deliver some smiles” to people who couldn’t leave their homes.ĭuring lockdown there were no air shows - the events which normally fill Mr Goodwin’s busy summer calendar.

“It really blew me away the reaction we had when we did the first smiley face”, the 59-year-old pilot said. A chance conversation with his son at Love Saves The Day Festival in Bristol ended up with us catching up with the pilot-come-artist at Gloucestershire Airport. Tracking down the elusive Mr Goodwin was a case of serendipity. The identity of the individual responsible was eventually revealed as ex-RAF pilot Rich Goodwin - but, as he admitted to when we met him and his aircraft this week, he isn’t one for personal publicity. READ MORE: When 'mini-heatwave' ends and proper autumn arrives

With several renditions of the smiley faces since, most recently in July of this year, this contrail artwork has become well-loved by those who can spot it in time. The pilot’s handiwork sparked an outpouring of enjoyment online in various counties. Smiley faces drawn by the smoke of a mysterious biplane first appeared in the skies in June of last year, becoming a beacon of post-lockdown positivity. Amidst the gloom of the pandemic-stricken summer of 2020, an as-of-then unidentified pilot brought some much-needed joy to Bristol and Gloucestershire.