Aerobatic pilot Andy Wilkins said he found himself suddenly 'famous' after appearing on Channel 5's Sunday night reality show Happy Campers.
The owner of Dunkeswell-based SW Aerobatics made a cameo appearance in .
In one episode, he was filmed taking Tencreeks Holiday Park manager Rob Ellwood for a spin in his Super Decathlon light aircraft in the skies over Cornwall.
'It was such a fun day, taking a day to film for just three minutes of footage. It was a great experience and now I get recognised in the street, it's great fun', said Andy.
The aerobatic experience session like the one featured in the show is part of a growing trend since the pandemic and could get a further boost inspired by the release of sequel Topgun: Maverick.
Though money is tight, people are wanting to invest in experiences rather than things and take themselves out their comfort zone..
Andy said: "Since Covid, people have been wanting to have fun and do more with their lives, try something new or fulfil a dream.
"Despite the talk of recession which we know is coming, people want to have an adventure."
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The aerobatic side of the business is a new direction for Andy. Up until Covid-19, the former Thomson airline captain and assessor had been teaching pilots using a B737-800 simulator based at the Flybe Academy in Exeter.
Before that he ran the Virtual Jet Centre at Chudleigh.
One of its major contracts was assessing pilots for Flybe - but when Flybe collapsed just before the March 2020 lockdown, a big chunk of his business was lost overnight.
And then when lockdown put an end to global travel, Andy said he every reason to pursue a long held dream.
"I had a whole career in pilot instruction and being in the cockpit of a big jet, being totally safe and 'normal'. Getting into my 60s, I felt that I wanted to do something not normal and that was challenging and was going to be exciting - aerobatics was it."
With more than 30 years aviation experience, Andy topped up his skills with an advanced course at the British Aerobatic Academy.
He now offers his own aerobatic training courses and is an ATO (Approved Training Organisation) for Advanced Upset Recovery Training for commercial airline pilots.
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And he offers fear of flying courses working from a SIM at Gatwick.
While Andy has stayed within aviation, many pilots and cabin crew permanently moved on when thousands lost their jobs during the pandemic.
Now travel is ramping up again, airline operators including Easyjet and British Airways are struggling to recruit enough staff and get them through training and security vetting.
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled due to staffing shortages - compounded by Covid-19 sickness absence - and airlines are offering cash 'golden hellos' to retain and recruit staff ahead of the summer season.
Andy said that some airlines had coped because they had retained staff on a 50% salary. But others had not and were now feeling the effect.
He said: "Commercial airlines suffered with recruitment and staffing issues when they let staff go. The issue is that specialist staff take time to train up, screen and assess. It takes two years to train as an airline pilot.
"Some of my pilot friends have gone on to retrain as lawyers or accountants because they're clever people and have the assets to start another career.
"With cabin crew, they take time to train up - you can't magic them up overnight."
And as the 海角视频 eases out of the worst of the pandemic, Andy thinks that people will be ready to stretch their horizons again - including his clients on the aerobatic experience days.
He said: "The most common reaction I get after an experience day is 'Wow', it's like the best fairground ride in the world. I had one couple who had gone round the world doing the most extreme experiences and they told me that this was the most adrenaline fuelled thing they had ever done, which is just fantastic to hear."
The plan now is to expand the experience days to also include his neighbours at Dunkeswell - a sky diving centre and wing walking specialists.
He also offers corporate away days with a chance to experience a barrel roll and loop-the-loop.
"You certainly get to see the world from a totally different perspective.," he said.
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