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Footage of Boris Johnson on the plane received mixed reactions online.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently donned a pilot’s uniform and jumped into the cockpit of a Typhoon fighter jet. A video shared by Downing Street on Monday showed the future former British Prime Minister wearing a mask as he rode on the plane. He was also seen giving the thumbs up to the two other planes flying alongside him.
“Prime Minister Boris Johnson flies in the cockpit of a Typhoon fighter jet at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire,” the YouTube post’s caption reads.
Corresponding itv, the video was filmed last week as Mr Johnson was given a demonstration of a Typhoon fighter plane by the pilots and flight crew at the RAF (Royal Air Force) base in Lincolnshire. He visited RAF Coningsby to take a look at the RAF’s two Quick Reaction Alert Stations protecting British airspace.
Speaking to reporters later, the outgoing prime minister claimed he briefly took control of the plane to perform some tricks. Mr Johnson said when then-wing commander Paul Hansen asked him, “Do you want to try it?” he replied, saying, “Are you sure? It seems very expensive to me.” “‘I think we only have 148 of these and they’re £75m each.’ And he said, ‘Don’t worry, you can’t break it.’ So I was like, ‘Well, famous last words,’” he added.
“So I pushed the joystick all the way to the right and we did an aileron roll and I pulled the joystick right back and we did an amazing loop-the-loop and then I did a more complicated thing called a barrel roll and I pushed in keep up and right a bit,” continued Mr. Johnson.
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Meanwhile, footage of Mr Johnson on the plane received mixed reactions online. Social media users called out to the British Prime Minister, pointing out how he appeared to be attempting to portray actor Tom Cruise’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in the film top gun. “What did it cost the taxpayer to happily let our lame Prime Minister go for that spin and play his pathetic Tom Cruise tribute act? Ridiculous,” said TV presenter Piers Morgan tweeted.
Another netizen praised Mr Johnson for keeping things “positive and popular”, while another simply wrote: “What was the purpose of this little funny person?”
Boris Johnson resigned as Prime Minister on July 7 after more than 50 of his ministers resigned. He had announced that he would remain in office until his successor was elected by the Conservative Party.
