A plane flying over Germany drawing a Christmas tree

Apparently a test flight of an Airbus 380 by the Emirates airline according to Spiegel Online: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.spiegel.de&#x2F;reise&#x2F;aktuell&#x2F;emirates-testflug-ueber-deutschland-airbus-fliegt-einen-weihnachtsbaum-a-1183167.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.spiegel.de&#x2F;reise&#x2F;aktuell&#x2F;emirates-testflug-ueber-...</a><p>So, yes, looks like somebody having a blast during Advent season. :-)

<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;twitter.com&#x2F;flightradar24&#x2F;status&#x2F;940959604896358400" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;twitter.com&#x2F;flightradar24&#x2F;status&#x2F;940959604896358400</a><p>&gt; <i>@Airbus is almost finished with their A380 Christmas tree. Will they put a star on top?</i>

While this seems legit, it&#x27;s worth noting that ADSB, the RF message protocol used for most &#x27;live&#x27; location stats in FlightRadar24, has no form of authentication. Nevermind the network protocol weaknesses, trolling FR24 would require little more than a $300 radio and some free software.

Screenshot of the flight shape at the moment <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;i.imgur.com&#x2F;oPk8XY8.png" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;i.imgur.com&#x2F;oPk8XY8.png</a>

That&#x27;s pretty cool, ornaments and all. Boeing flew in the shape of an airliner once <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;nymag.com&#x2F;selectall&#x2F;2017&#x2F;08&#x2F;boeing-plane-flies-test-route-in-shape-of-a-plane.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;nymag.com&#x2F;selectall&#x2F;2017&#x2F;08&#x2F;boeing-plane-flies-test-r...</a>

Today in Sweden the military flew a couple of jets in xmas tree formation over Stockholm :)<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.aftonbladet.se&#x2F;nyheter&#x2F;a&#x2F;oRpj10&#x2F;darfor-flog-jas-plan-i-formation-over-stockholm" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.aftonbladet.se&#x2F;nyheter&#x2F;a&#x2F;oRpj10&#x2F;darfor-flog-jas-...</a>

Speculating here, but pilots have flight hour requirements for various certifications. Maybe this is a flight that had to happen to log hours but isn’t otherwise necessary so the pilot decided to have some fun.

Reminds me of last August when a 787 drew a US-sized 787 with it&#x27;s flight path over 18 hours.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.wired.com&#x2F;story&#x2F;boeing-787-8-drawing-test-flight&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.wired.com&#x2F;story&#x2F;boeing-787-8-drawing-test-flight...</a>

This type of thing is popular with runners and cyclists. Search for &quot;strava art&quot; The hard part is finding roads that match your desired picture. Or findind a picture with the given roads. Planes have it easy.

As someone who doesn&#x27;t look at flight radars often, I&#x27;m always surprised by how many planes are flying simultaneously.<p>Is there an estimation about how many more planes are possible before it gets too crowded?

What a pleasant sight to watch on the map. But I guess the travellers won&#x27;t be relishing the experience as much as we do. :-)

I wonder how much extra would it cost for this Airbus A380 test route in Xmas tree vs. a circle path?

In america we draw dicks.

That&#x27;s bad ass, Merry Christmas Germany.

#oneplanetsummit

Shouldn&#x27;t it be &quot;an&quot; xmas tree?

&quot;plane&quot;<p>That&#x27;s Santa Claus making a test run.

One HN launches drawing-cultural-symbol-with-plane-as-a-service

Waste of fuel and adding more CO2 to the atmosphere

Anyone know the reason for this? To promote this website? :P

Is this a joke? If not what would be the point of this, seriously? Reminds me of drones writing the name of a Pharmaceutical product into the blue sky of Toronto, a few years back.

Is he really drawing a Christmas tree? Or is this just another poorly executed penis drawing?