THE MAN behind the glider firework display on New Year's Eve says it was "a magical sight".
Brighton beach was illuminated last Friday as fireworks were set off across the seafront, but the main event took place in the sky.
Hundreds of onlookers were shocked as they looked up to see a motor glider completing tricks in the air whilst fireworks fired off its wings.
The aircraft was piloted by Guy Westgate who is part of team Aerosparx.
The team has flown all around the world and one of the planes is now based locally at Bognor.
Guy once dreamt of carrying out displays like the one on New Year's Eve, and has now been performing them for 11 years.
He said: "It's just the coolest thing ever looking down on fireworks and sort of putting it all in perspective with beautiful cities being lit up and it's a magical sight."
He added: "Our plane’s LED lights have helped us pick up a huge following amongst UFO spotters, or people arguing was it a UFO? Was it a drone? Or a plane?
"And we've picked up quite a lot of interest in that way, and a few people have said 'Oh, you've got to do something for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve' and it got me thinking."
Guy says he is always in a good mood when he lands after a flight.
"I come back with a firework grin. I can't stop smiling after landing, because I just think I can't believe that it's so cool and we've just done that. That's amazing," he said.
Adding: "So I still think it's cool. I've been doing it for 11 years. I've done hundreds and hundreds of displays and I still think it's cool.
"What I loved about Brighton was you could just see everything, the fireworks going off illuminated the beach quite nicely so I could see the thousands of people on the beach myself."
Guy got the idea of attaching fireworks to his glider when he watched a display at Edinburgh Castle nearly two decades ago.
He said: "I thought wouldn't it be really cool to have a crop sprayer effect and rather than spraying chemicals behind the aeroplane, to have a shower of sparks instead.
"I dreamed about doing that for years and then I got a stunt glider and my airshow hobby was getting more and more, and I had the idea of putting fireworks on the wing tips."
In 2010 Guy was invited by the CEO of the Aerobility charity to get involved in the Paralympics opening ceremony in 2012.
The charity, based in Blackbushe, helps to get disabled people flying and offers them experiences to match what other pilots can do.
After the Paralympics Guy said he was able to gain a "really deep understanding" of how the authorities work with permissions to put fireworks on aeroplanes.
He said: "That's when really Aerosparx was born. And since then we've been full of growing awareness that there are alternatives to traditional firework displays.
"There's a quirk in the law, that after the tragedy in Shoreham, the CAA, the Civil Aviation Authority, have become very resistant, risk averse to doing anything other than an absolutely standard daytime flying display.
"At the moment, they're not permitting public, night time flying displays. I'm working with some people in the CAA this winter to try and get that moved on.
"So we are expecting to be allowed public night time flying displays for next year."
Under current CAA regulations if the event is advertised and open to public, it becomes a public flying display, which means a pilot needs permission.
Therefore, Guy's display on New Year's Eve was legal because he did not advertise it.
He added: "I just think what I do is really cool and I want to share it."
Guy says he has done everything possible to make sure the displays are safe for viewers and his team.
He said: "I spent 11 years working with the best in the industry to make sure we do what we do as safe as possible.
"And we've got many techniques to understand where the risks and dangers lie and we make it safe."
He is hopeful that next year he will be able to perform public displays and gain a bigger audience.
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