For the past few months, Flightradar24 users have been able to follow Benjamin McDaniel and his Cessna Skylane RG for hours each week as he completes intricate paths in the sky. From The Lord of the Rings to the Mona Lisa, from a self-portrait to The Scream, McDaniel puts an incredible amount of effort into his sky art.
McDaniel, known on social media as “Pilot Picasso,” and his 1978 Cessna R182 Skylane RG registration N1810R have captivated Flightradar24 fans and others with an unusually varied collection of subjects. His flights have been followed more than a million times on Flightradar24 and his sky art efforts consistently rank highly on the most tracked flights list.
See all N1810R flights
The Scream
McDaniel’s latest effort, Munch’s masterpiece, is also his longest. The swirling flight path took nearly six hours to complete, with the aircraft in the air for a total of 6 hr 9 min.
The Heart Ribbon
Happy Halloween
For Halloween, McDaniel turned to the movies. His 6 October flight depicted two Ghostbusters wearing proton packs, with their streams framing a “Happy Halloween” message and a ghost (Slimer?) above. Completing the scene took about five hours—an unusually long production for a drawing, and a substantial exercise in concentration as McDaniel says he hand flies all of his sky art.
World map and unity
N1810R Self-portrait
After spending quite a bit of time on outside art, McDaniel turned his attention inward with a self-portrait of N1810R.
You are loved
Mona Lisa
The Mona Lisa presented a particular challenge: how do you recreate the most famous painting on earth using a single engine Cessna? On 18 September, McDaniel reproduced Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait over the Arkansas–Oklahoma area, translating its familiar features into a flight path. The face leaves little room for error: one wrong move and McDaniel’s work could make Giménez’s restoration of Elías García Martínez’s fresco Ecce Homo (Behold the Man) look brilliant.
Spider Man
Pray for Nepal & Dolly
In the same week, a glacial collapse and subsequent landslide devastated Nepal and country music legend and humanitarian Dolly Parton died. McDaniel’s flight on the last day of August paid tribute to both.
Lord of the Rings
Follow along and let us know your favorites
You can explore N1810R’s flight history on the Flightradar24 data pages and send your suggestions for future flights to McDaniel on his Pilot Picasso page. Set your Flightradar24 alerts for N1810R, but be prepared to let the flight path reveal itself.
Which pieces of sky art are your favorites? Let us know in the comments below.
The post The intricate sky art of Benjamin McDaniel and N1810R appeared first on Flightradar24 Blog.
