A British Airways pilot has shared a video showing a spectacular sunrise above the clouds over Africa.
Dave Wallsworth, 50, began his career at British Airways in 1993, flying the Boeing 737. Fast-forward to today and he flies Boeing A380s around the globe, building a large Twitter following in his spare time.
In his latest video, Dave shows a timelapse of a sunrise at 39,000 feet on his flight between London and Johannesburg, South Africa.
Sunrise from 39000 feet over Africa. Wonderful view and colours that the iPad timelapse can’t really capture. But hope it gives you some sense of how fantastic it looked earlier this morning. #A380 G-XLEJ BA55 @British_Airways pic.twitter.com/utkErAfFRA
— Captain Dave (@DaveWallsworth) January 25, 2018
Dave shared the video on Twitter, where it has been viewed over 16,000 times. The video forms just a small part of Dave’s Twitter content, which includes question and answer sessions, fun nicknames for aeroplanes and advice to nervous flyers.
Another view of the wonderful sunrise over Africa this morning. This time taken with the iPhone and starting when it was dark….?✈️ Slightly philosophical, but always makes me think “Here is another day. I wonder what this will bring?” pic.twitter.com/AHlnOHKGcE
— Captain Dave (@DaveWallsworth) January 25, 2018
Since he began the account, he has amassed a whopping 36,000 Twitter followers, a feat he says makes him feel “amazed”.
“I had no idea when I started my Twitter account that it would become so popular,” he told the Press Association.
“It would seem that people like the fact they can interact with a normal guy who just happens to fly the A380 for a living!
“It is my job, but it is a job I am extremely lucky and proud to be doing, and I hope showing that via Twitter and the videos helps promote our profession to the next generation.”
Ever wanted to know what it looks like from the flight deck of an #A380 during takeoff? Here we are setting off for Johannesburg on “The Princess” G-XLEA as @British_Airways BA55K. The same flight I will be on later today. Hope you enjoy the view. ?✈️ https://t.co/6cNcPbUrD7
— Captain Dave (@DaveWallsworth) December 30, 2017
Dave said he started the account to help people overcome their fear of flying.
“I wanted to show how relaxed the environment is in the flight deck,” he said.
“Posting on Twitter has also resulted in some interesting questions, which I enjoy answering very much.
“Knowing you are answering questions and making people feel more comfortable on flights is very rewarding. I also try to introduce people to the British Airways Flying With Confidence course whenever appropriate, as that has a wonderful record of helping people who are apprehensive about flying.”
