Highland pilot maps out massive Christmas tree in skies above Sutherland and Caithness after flying from Dornoch
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A PILOT has brought a wee bit of Christmas cheer to Highland skies after taking to the air and flying a route that perfectly mapped out the outline of a massive fir tree.
Onlookers watching the journey on the Flight Radar 24 flight tracker website were treated to the festive spectacle on Tuesday afternoon as the unknown pilot completed a 97 minute journey.
And the 'tree', complete with a decorative bauble at the top, was a truly gigantic creation.
For it extended all the way from the airstrip at Dornoch – where the plane took off at 12.11pm – to Strathy on the north coast.
During its circuitous route, the aircraft passed to the east of Loch Shin, flew above the waters of Loch Choire, and then directly over the hamlet of Syre, before looping around at Strathy. It then headed back south via the likes of Forsinard, Kinbrace and the east coast communities of Helmsdale and Portgower, before ultimately passing the entrance to Loch Fleet on its way back in to land at Dornoch shortly after 1.45pm.
Mystery surrounds the identity of the pilot who decided to bring some festive cheer, but their aircraft's call sign – N260AP – is linked to a Siai-Marchetti F-260D light aircraft. It is the same model type as the one shown in this photograph – although it is thought to have a very different paint job from that shown.
The single prop aircraft which carried out Tuesday's festive flight is understood to have a colourful yellow, blue, green and grey check-style paint job.
