Gareth CorfieldJuly 14, 2026 — 7:00pmA pilot traced the words “I’m bored” with his aeroplane during a two-hour test flight.The light aircraft left Liverpool Airport in the United Kingdom at 11.30am on Saturday local time for a two-hour flight to ensure the engine was working properly after maintenance.The flying instructor “aged in his 20s” had been assigned to take a Piper Tomahawk for a post-maintenance flight.Getty ImagesThe single-engined Piper Tomahawk, registered G-RVNA, was then seen on the popular flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 tracing out the words: “I’m bored.”Such test flights typically last two hours or more to check that the engine is running properly.Ravenair, the company operating the aircraft, said that a flying instructor “aged in his 20s” had been assigned to take the Tomahawk for a post-maintenance flight.Wayne Barrett, the operations manager, told the BBC: “I think the pilot was literally a bit bored as it was just a test flight. Mind you, it was pretty skilful flying.”He added: “I think the part was a cylinder that needed replacing. So when this happens, we take the plane up for a test run to make sure everything is OK, which it was.”Referring to the unnamed pilot, Barrett said: “He was a bit bored but he probably had to concentrate a lot in the end to spell out the words, so he was probably anything but.”Liverpool Airport-based Ravenair offers a range of services, from flying lessons to maintenance, as well as aerial surveys and aircraft chartering arrangements.Pilots writing memorable phrases or drawing funny shapes in the sky have become a regular feature of global aviation since the advent of flight-tracking websites.Earlier this year, a group of Finnish air force cadet pilots were reprimanded for drawing giant penis shapes in the sky.Finland’s Tikkakoski air force academy announced that “disciplinary” measures would follow.In October 2021, two RAF pilots also created a graphic image in the sky, drawing a 65-kilometre phallus between Lincolnshire and North Wales.The RAF claimed that the outline created by the two flight paths was entirely coincidental, and said at the time: “RAF pilots do not have time to waste when completing operational training missions.”Meanwhile, in 2020, another pilot wrote “stay home” in the sky at the height of the COVID pandemic.Before the rise of flight-tracking sites, the art of “skywriting” consisted of writing words in the sky using smoke emitted from aerobatic aircraft.The Telegraph, LondonThe Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.From our partners