https://a.co/d/09MKcuHA, https://www.captainchris.com/links

captainchris, Gatwick Airport, Horley (2026)

31/05/2026

The Mach Loop in Wales is plane spotting like no other.

No airport fences.
No lounges.
No coffee shops beside the runway.

Just rugged Welsh mountains, freezing winds, rain, mud… and the sound of military jets suddenly echoing through the valleys at eye level.

Only the most dedicated and hardy photographers make the climb into the Loop, often waiting for hours in unpredictable weather for just a few seconds of pure aviation magic. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, a fast jet appears threading its way through the mountains with incredible precision and speed.

The images captured there are more than just photographs. They’re moments of raw energy, skill and timing frozen forever.

As an aviation enthusiast, I completely understand why photographers from all over the world make the pilgrimage to the Mach Loop.

Because when everything comes together… the light, the weather, the aircraft and the timing… the results are simply spectacular.

This cool videos and images were captured by who clearly understands both the patience and dedication it takes to photograph military aviation in one of the world’s most iconic plane spotting locations.

The Mach Loop isn’t just plane spotting.

It’s aviation theatre at full power.

31/05/2026

Having flown the Airbus A330, A350-900 and now the A350-1000, I’ve always found it fascinating how much landing gear geometry influences the feel of a landing.

The A330 earned its reputation as the “Butter Machine” for a reason. The bogie geometry naturally allows the rear wheels to touch first before the aircraft gently settles onto the remaining wheels.

Many people assume the A350-1000 would be harder to land smoothly because of its size and weight. Ironically, I find the opposite.

The six-wheel triple-bogie gear of the -1000 feels more similar to the A330 than the A350-900 does. The rear wheels generally touch first, allowing the aircraft’s weight to settle progressively onto the runway rather than all at once.

Watching this Korean Air A350-900 slo-mo touch down by reminded me how subtle design differences can completely change the feel of an aircraft in the flare.

Something else caught my eye in this clip.

Look closely and you’ll notice the right main landing gear touches down before the left.

That could simply be the result of a crosswind from the right, with the crew deliberately landing on the upwind gear first before lowering the other side onto the runway.

Alternatively, if the wind was coming from the left, the aircraft may still have been drifting slightly at touchdown, requiring a little more into-wind bank to fully arrest the drift.

Without knowing the actual wind conditions at that precise moment, it’s impossible to know for certain from the video alone.

That’s one of the things I love about aviation. A two-second touchdown can tell an experienced pilot an awful lot, but it never tells the whole story.

Passengers feel the landing.

Pilots notice the geometry, the wind, the technique… and then spend the next ten minutes discussing it. ✈️

29/05/2026

One of the biggest frustrations with social media is that there’s only so much I can explain before I run out of characters.

DM’s with questions about flying normally include:

✈️ When does the descent actually start?
✈️ What are the pilots doing before landing?
✈️ How do you prepare a 250-tonne airliner for arrival?
✈️ What’s happening behind that locked flight deck door?

The reality is that the answers rarely fit into an Instagram caption.

That’s exactly why I enjoy writing for

Their platform gives me the opportunity to go far deeper than social media allows, with articles of 1,500–2,000 words where I can properly explain aviation from a pilot’s perspective after more than four decades on the flight deck.

My latest article takes you behind the scenes of one of the busiest phases of any flight: the descent, arrival, approach and landing.

Many passengers assume the landing begins when they see the runway. In reality, the process starts hundreds of miles away as the crew reviews weather, calculates performance, plans the arrival and carefully manages the aircraft’s energy all the way to touchdown.

The more I write for Simple Flying, the more I appreciate the freedom to explain aviation properly. Instagram is great for a snapshot. A 2,000-word article lets me open the flight deck door and show you what really happens.

If you enjoy learning about aviation, understanding how airlines operate, or simply discovering what goes on up front while you’re relaxing in seat 34A, I think you’ll enjoy this one.

The article link is in my Stories and you’ll also find links to all my previous Simple Flying articles in my Instagram Highlights under “Simple Flying.”

Because every flight has a story, and most of it happens long before the wheels touch the runway.

28/05/2026

The Airbus/Ferrari AF350 Luce

Imagine if Airbus hired the same design team behind the Ferrari LUCE EV to redesign the A350… 😬✈️

This is the result.

The beautifully proportioned A350, possibly the most elegant airliner ever created, transformed into a bloated, anonymous flying appliance.

Gone is the sharp shark nose and iconic Airbus “raccoon mask” cockpit windows.
Instead, we get a bulbous mouse-like blob with a giant black glass visor that looks more like a Bluetooth speaker than a flagship airliner.

The graceful taper of the fuselage? Lost.
The perfectly balanced engine proportions? Gone.
The elegant stance and athletic posture of the real A350? Replaced with swollen plastic-looking nacelles and awkward toy-like proportions.

Even the soul disappeared.

It now looks less like a £300 million state-of-the-art long-haul aircraft… and more like a budget EV crossover.

And that’s exactly why the Ferrari LUCE has received so much negative press this week.

People aren’t criticising the technology.
They’re reacting to the loss of emotion, identity and beauty.

Because great design isn’t just about making something cleaner or simpler.
It’s about proportion. Presence. Character and Heritage.

The real Airbus A350 has all of those things.

Maybe it’s best we leave Airbus design… to the Airbus designers. 😉

27/05/2026

2000 Instagram posts ❤️✈️👨🏼‍✈️

What started during the pandemic with my “Buy Airline Tickets Like You Bought Toilet Paper” post was simply my way of supporting my airline, the aviation industry and my grounded colleagues around the world.

Then came as I was training pilots returning to the Flight Deck again.

And , when I asked people to send me photos from their last flight before the world shut down… reminding everyone that one day we’d all fly again.

And then, we did, bigger than anyone expected.

Since then, this page has grown into something far bigger than I expected too.

From Airbus aircraft and airline life to general aviation, simulators, spotting, mentoring and inspiring future generations of pilots… I’ve tried to share my passion for aviation with the world.

Today, more than 700,000 people follow this amazing community of avgeeks, nervous flyers, future pilots and aviation professionals.

Of course, along the way there have been a few people who tried to clip my wings. Back home in Australia we call that Tall Poppy Syndrome.

The more disappointing challenges have sometimes come from places where you’d expect support instead of resistance. But adversity has a funny way of sharpening your focus and reminding you exactly why you started.

So this is post number 2000… and trust me, I’m only just getting started.

Thank you for following my journey.

And to the few people still hoping I’ll disappear quietly into the background…

You’re going to be very disappointed. ✈️

25/05/2026

Motivation Monday

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in 44 years of flying is this:
Having a purpose changes everything.
It gets you out of bed on the difficult days. It keeps you going when progress feels painfully slow. It gives meaning to the small steps that nobody else sees.
When I first started learning to fly, I didn’t know exactly where the journey would take me. I didn’t know I’d one day fly wide-body Airbuses around the world, train other pilots, or get to share this extraordinary aviation life with so many people.
But I did know one thing.
I loved flying.
And that love gave me purpose.
Because when you have a purpose, the hard work stops feeling pointless. The studying, the setbacks, the early mornings, the knock-backs, the self-doubt… they all become part of the climb.
You’re not chasing a job title. You’re not chasing applause. You’re building the life you were meant to live.
And that’s why every step matters.
Even the small ones. Especially the small ones.
Dreams don’t arrive fully formed overnight. They’re built slowly, quietly, and often when nobody is watching. One decision at a time. One lesson at a time. One brave little step at a time.
So whatever your dream is, find the purpose behind it.
Because if your purpose is strong enough, the journey becomes worthwhile long before you reach the destination.
And one day, you’ll look back and realise those small steps were never small at all.

23/05/2026

The older I get, the more I realise life’s not really about “stuff”.

It’s about time. What you do with your time and who you spend that time with.

As a Dad, most of the best moments in my life come from shared experiences. Proper memories. The sort of days you laugh about for years afterwards because they felt so completely unreal at the time.

Last year I had the chance to fly an L-39 Albatros fighter jet with out in the Nevada desert and it was absolutely bloody incredible.

The noise.
The speed.
The G-force.
The desert terrain flashing underneath us.

Just pure adrenaline and pure fun.

After I posted the videos, I was flooded with messages from followers asking:
“Can normal people actually do this?”
“Where do we sign up?”

Well… that’s exactly why I was excited to find MigFlug.

These guys make experiences like this possible for ordinary people. And doing something like this with your son or daughter takes it to another level completely.

Because as you get older, you start understanding something pretty important…

Your kids won’t remember the iPhone you bought them.
Or the trainers.
Or half the stuff you spent money on.

But they WILL remember the day they climbed into a fighter jet.

They’ll remember the nerves beforehand.
The laughter afterwards.
The photos/videos
The feeling of doing something completely extraordinary together and a lifetime of telling that story.

That’s the good stuff.
That’s the priceless stuff.

And these days, I reckon creating memories like that matters more than almost anything else.

Thank you

11/10 experience.

captainchris

31/05/2026

31/05/2026

29/05/2026

28/05/2026

27/05/2026

25/05/2026

23/05/2026

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