Brits’ new pastime: plane spotting via Big Jet TV

I’d planned to walk the dog this afternoon. Until DH called out, “Big Jet TV’ is on again – there’s another storm.”

“Another one?” I replied, a little surprised that so soon after Storm Eunice the UK was being battered by yet more extreme weather. I couldn’t resist sitting down to catch more of Jerry Dyer’s hilarious commentary as he livestreams planes landing at Heathrow on his YouTube aviation channel.

“Bosh. Get it down, mate!” I heard him exclaim as a 777 landed and I settled in with a cup of tea. 

“I am landing this plane! I really am. I have a golf class,” he quipped as riveted viewers watched another plane’s wobbly approach from the edge of their sofas. “Hummmmm … maybe not … cancel the teacher please, I’m going round.” 

Filmed from a muddy pony field next to the airport, his channel rocketed to fame on Friday when Brits were advised to stay home (again) and avoid travelling due to 122mph winds. While trains and buses were cancelled, Heathrow was still operating under the most severe conditions, with some incredible landings and dramatic go arounds, testing the limits of the pilots.

Brits looking to entertain themselves found an unlikely hero in plane spotter Jerry, whose endearingly cheeky commentary was both enthusiastic and informative. His passion for the skill of the pilots at the controls was clear to see as he empathised with both them and the poor passengers being bumped and rocked around in their seats.

I especially loved it when a pilot’s wife messaged in and we then got to watch her husband land his plane. No pressure there then. 

I also LOVED the tweet from @Edgware Bubbles: “It’s ‘Strictly’ for planes, marked on style and technical ability!

Jerry attracted 6.5 million viewers that day as his channel, which he’s run for the past five years, really, erm, took off. People tuned in from all over the world. I should confess that we’ve watched it in normal times too, such are the TV habits of our aviation household – but it’s never been as nail-biting or stomach-churning as it was on Friday.

The airplane enthusiast, the son of an airline captain from Sussex, had to balance TV interviews with his relentless live commentary, at one point describing how Channel Four News were standing at the fence, trying to get into the field on the eastern end of Heathrow’s runway.

It did strike me that the aviation geek’s new-found-stardom and cool factor was bad news for birders, who were, until now, able to poke fun at plane spotters for being nerds.   

This afternoon, I thought I’d just spend five minutes watching Big Jet TV, then get on with walking our dog Bella … 

An hour and three mugs of tea later … “Sorry Bella! We’ll walk tomorrow. There’s another A380 coming in!” 

EDITED TO ADD: First Heathrow …now SPACE! Jerry is reportedly now in talk with Nasa over filming a rocket launch in Florida.

What do you think? Jerry told CNN the popularity of his livestream was all about the battle. In his words, “it’s the forces of nature against an alloy tub with wings on it that we built and we have to control it down onto the ground in Mother Nature’s winds”. And the whole episode does seem part of this new world in which rather than getting brownie points for heroically toughing it out, people instead watch the machines battle the elements from under the duvet.

What superjumbo pilots really do

Within the flying community in which we live, we’re used to our menfolk being around at odd hours, or leaving with a suitcase in the middle of the night. We see men in uniform climbing into chauffeur-driven airport cars, having kissed their wives and children goodbye, and returning home several days later, sometimes more.

But, over the past few months, a new trend has emerged that’s actually taking some getting used to. Every day, I see pilots at the gym, pounding the treadmill, pumping the weights. I’m seeing pilots traipsing after toddlers when it’s cool enough outside, and taking gangs of kids to the pool. They’re at school, too, watching little Johnnie perform in puppet shows and plays; at the supermarket in the yogurt aisle; and at DIY stores, sent there by wives who are either clapping their hands with glee that odd jobs are getting done, or [whispers] engineered the whole trip to get him out the house.

Each week, these men try their best to keep up with their wife and children’s jam-packed schedules. I see them removing their Ray-Bans to wipe the sweat from their brow and fiddling with their aviator watches, realising they’ve been on the same time zone for days and that the gentle hum of the kids doesn’t stop.

It’s been lovely having DH around so much while his airplane is fixed, but I think all the wives of the A380 pilots currently working reduced hours would agree there’s a reason why our husbands do what they do. Pilots don’t like being grounded. They’re not the kind of men who can happily sit round the house picking the fluff from their toenails, while any notion that ‘size matters’ is whittled away.

Quite honestly, I’d say our menfolk don’t quite know what’s hit them. And spare a thought for them: Plucked from a life of world travel, luxury hotels, far-flung cities, restaurant meals and telly in bed, they’re suddenly faced with a whirl of six-year-old playdates, 80-kilometre school runs, to-do lists the length of a runway, mindless errands and dental appointments.

You can imagine the shock.