A daredevil retired pilot has been captured on camera performing loops, rolls and a dramatic dive while flying the ‘world’s smallest’ twin-jet aircraft.
Bob Grimstead, 70, flew at an altitude of 5,000ft (1,524m) in the diminutive plane which has been described as a ‘bubble car with wings’.
At just 13ft (4m) long, 4ft (1.2m) wide and weighing a mere 180lbs, Mr Grimstead, from West Sussex, was able to reach speeds of 140mph (225kmh).
The former British Airways airline pilot used to fly 400 tonne jumbo jets and said he had no fear taking to the skies in the micro plane and said it was ‘superb fun’.
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Bob Grimstead, 70, (pictured) flew the diminutive jet at 5,000ft (1,524m). The plane has which has been described as a ‘bubble car with wings’
The jet measures just 13ft (4m) long, 4ft (1.2m) wide and weighs a mere 180lbs. Mr Grimstead, from West Sussex, was able to reach speeds of 140mph (225kmh) and perform myriad tricks in the plane, including going upside down (pictured)
Disorientating views of the world above Australia, where the plane was flown, reveal what it was like for Mr Grimstead as he tested out the plane, the 150th plane model of his career
His wife Karen, 62, was in a regular sized light Piper Aztec aircraft next to him taking stunning pictures of her husband in the custom-made Colombon Jet Cri-Cri.
The jet was built by South African engineers Sakkie Van Heerden and Davie Botes, who spent £17,000 ($21,000) on the two year project.
The lightweight aircraft is almost entirely made of aluminium and has a wingspan of 17ft (5.1m).
Mr Grimstead, a pilot with 50 years experience, travelled to Western Australia to take the controls of the tiny jet for three 40 minute flights.
He was there to carry out a ‘flight test’ review of the Cri-Cri for Pilot Magazine, a milestone occasion in itself as it was the 250th type of plane he had flown.
He said: ‘I’ve flown for 50 years, working as a commercial pilot in Boeing 747s, so you can say I’ve flown the largest planes and now the smallest.
‘I have known Davie and Saakie for many years, knew they were building it and asked if I could fly it when they had finished.’
The jet (pictured) was built by South African engineers Sakkie Van Heerden and Davie Botes, who spent £17,000 ($21,000) on the two year project
Mr Grimstead, pictured here when he was a pilot for BA in the cockpit of a Boeing 747-400, has more than 50 years experience and travelled to Western Australia to take the controls of the tiny jet for three 40 minute flights
Mr Grimstead (pictured in front of a jumbo jet, was in Australia there to carry out a ‘flight test’ review of the Cri-Cri for Pilot Magazine, a milestone occasion in itself as it was the 250th type of plane he had flown
Mr Grimstead’s normal plane, the Beoing 747-400, weighs 377.8 tons, generates 237,800 pounds of thrust in total – 2,530 times more power than the Cri-Cri and costs around £200 million
Mr Grimstead, pictured squeezing into the tiny plane, said: ‘I’ve flown for fifty years, working as a commercial pilot in Boeing 747s, so you can say I’ve flown the largest planes and now the smallest’
Mr Grimstead said that there was no apprehension because he knew it was designed by proper aircraft designers and Sakkie and Davie have done a ‘really good job’.
‘The smaller the aircraft the more responsive it is so it was a lot of fun to fly.
‘I went up for three 40 minute runs and when I was doing the acrobatics I was at full speed.
‘It was superb fun. I could have flown it all day. I can’t wait to return to Western Australia to do aerobatic displays in it.’
The Cri-Cri’s two PbS TJ20A turbojets each generate 47 pounds of static thrust, while a Boeing 747-400 has four Rolls Royce RB211-524H turbofans engines that can generate 237,800 pounds of thrust in total – a staggering 2,530 times more power.
A 747 is 230ft long, has a 210ft wingspan and a can carry 400 passengers.
Mr Grimstead said that there was no apprehension for him when he got in the Cri-Cri jet (pictured) because he knew it was designed by proper aircraft designers and said that Sakkie and Davie did a ‘really good job’
Mr Grimstead was propelled through the skies (pictured) by the Cri-Cri’s two PbS TJ20A turbojets each generate 47 pounds of static thrust, while a Boeing 747-400 has four Rolls Royce RB211-524H turbofans engines that can generate 237,800 pounds of thrust in total – a staggering 2,530 times more power
The jet has permanently deployed wheels and landing gear and was built by South African engineers Sakkie Van Heerden and Davie Botes, who spent £17,000 ($21,000) on the two year project