Pilot creates world’s largest portrait of Queen on two-hour flight for charity

A pilot has created the world’s largest portrait of Queen Elizabeth II using an aircraft to raise money for charity.

Amal Larhlid flew a Piper PA-28 for two hours in the outline of a side profile of the late Queen wearing a crown, in a tribute to the monarch who died last month and to raise money for Hospice UK.

The flight, tracked on FlightRadar, took place on Thursday and covered 256 miles, creating a portrait that is 65 miles tall and 39 miles wide.

The profile of the Queen covers Oxford, while her crown stretches from Milton Keynes to Warwickshire, with a jewel in the centre directly over Northampton.

Ms Larhlid wrote on her JustGiving fundraising page: “She was an inspiration to many generations, devoting herself to service for 70 years.

“I do believe in the power of remembrance and appreciation in times like these, and I’ll be flying the portrait of Her Late Majesty to pay my respect.

“She will always be in our hearts, and so will our loved ones who left us too.”

Ms Larhlid planned her route by converting a portrait of the Queen into a format recognised by a flight planning programme called ForeFlight.

Screengrab from Flightradar24 (Flightradar24/PA)

She also had a manual back-up of the route made using landmarks, and flew multiple practice flights to get the feel 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.

Despite her planning, bad weather ruined Ms Larhlid’s first attempt on Tuesday and left her “gutted”.

The rescheduled flight went ahead on Thursday, despite 30-knot winds, and Ms Larhlid 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.

Having completed her flight, Ms Larhlid’s fundraising page has already received more than £1,000 towards her goal of £5,000.

To donate to Amal Larhlid’s fundraiser, visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Amal-Larhlid