FAQ's

What advice would you give to someone wanting to try out making YouTube videos?

1) Do it, but don't spend a fortune on camera equipment.  If you have a smartphone, you have a video editing suite in your pocket.  Start small, then grow.

2) Don't stick with YouTube only..it's a hard way to earn money.  Look into additional revenue sources such as Facebook, merchandising and affiliate marketing through your website.  

3) Don't expect results overnight - be patient, one step at a time etc.

4) Believe in you and believe in your brand - never, ever, be wowed by those with bigger numbers..you are the wow factor

5) MOST IMPORTANTLY - enjoy what you do.  When you stop enjoying it, you'll fail

 

How do you get to travel so much?

It's a mix of business and pleasure to be honest - about 50/50.  I have travelled with work for more than twenty years so am very used to those quiet nights in hotels (I actually love nothing more than writing and editing my vlogs/blogs over a quiet glass of Malbec in a hotel bar)

 

"I'm an introvert, I wouldn't make a good presenter!"

Believe me, you'll never meet a more introverted person than me.  If I can do it, you can.

 

What equipment do you use?

It varies by project but essentially I use a GoPro for most of my filming 'on the go', along with two DJI drones for aerial filming.  

For interview style videos and aviation photography, I use a full frame Sony A7 IV camera along with a Sony ZV1 as a backup.  

Where I need a smaller, less obvious camera, I choose the DJI Pocket 2 - it's an excellent 4K gimble-stabilised piece of kit.

Occasionally, especially for low light recording, I use my Samsung S22 Ultra and/or iPhone 13 Pro Max.

For sound, I use the DJI Mic kit..it's unparalleled - sound is very important when you're making videos.

All of my filming is recorded and produced in 4K.

 

Favourite destination?

Without doubt (and you'll know this already if you watch my YouTube videos!), the Canary Islands.  They're a set of well known and less well known islands just off the African continent.  I go as often as I can and many of my YouTube videos are filmed on Tenerife and La Gomera 

 

Airbus or Boeing?

A few years ago, I'd have said Boeing.  But right now, I'm firmly in the Airbus camp.  They have produced an excellent regional airliner, the A220, the popular A320neo series and of course, I do much prefer the A350 to Boeing's 787

I have yet to fly on a 737MAX but people tell me she's a very smooth and comfortable aircraft.

I'm not really a fan of turboprops but they are a key part of the connecting infrastructure.  I'd have to say my favourite turboprop would be the Saab 2000, although I'm not sure who still operates them since Eastern Airways disposed of theirs

 

Favourite hotel chain?

Easy - Hilton.  I have had Diamond status with Hilton for several years and really value its benefits.  Some Hilton hotels have very nice lounges and Diamond guarantees entry, even on the cheapest rooms/rates.  I also get free breakfast and to date have a 90% upgrade success rate, which they usually tell you about in advance if you use their app to book

I've tried IHG and Accor, but neither comes close to the guaranteed benefits of Hilton Diamond.  If you've watched my videos, lounges (either hotel or airport) are a critical part of the experience to me

 

How do I choose my trips to report on?

It's a mixture of suggestions from YouTube viewers as well as airlines or hotels that I have wanted to see myself.  I'm always looking for new ideas so if you have something you'd like me to cover, drop me a line

 

It must cost a fortune?

In short, yes!  But I raise funding through YouTube ad revenue as well as my great Patreon supporters, plus the small profit that I make from selling branded items in my online shop.  I also work full time so work pays for about 50% of my travel.  I try to bolt on my personal travel so that also keeps costs down.  In a typical year I spend about £50k on travel

 

The trade off between work and Moments In The Sky.  Where do you find the time?

If you love something enough, you simply figure it out.  I love running Moments In The Sky and spending a third of the year in hotels, it gives me a lot of time to work on things like this, my blog - and video editing for the YouTube channel.  Some call it hard work, and I suppose it is..but it's the kind of hard work that I enjoy

 

Can I come along with you on one of your journeys and feature in a video?

Yes, for sure.  You'll need to pay for your own seat obviously and will need to sign a model release form (I kid you not..we live in a litigious society!)

 

Why do you do this?

Two main passions really, borne from an overwhelming and completely incurable addiction to airports and hotels.  I also love writing, so the two work together quite nicely.  To me it's not about the destination, it's about the journey.  I rarely stay more than one night in a place.  I also love to write about the places that I visit (and the airlines that get me there).  I'm never happier than when I'm flying somewhere or typing my blogs over a nice glass of Rioja in a hotel bar in some far flung destination. 

I'm duly obliged to go on holiday with my wife once a year where we stay for 7 or 10 days in one place.  I'm usually bored after day two!

 

You love travel and travel tech.  What's the most expensive item you've bought lately?

I seem to spend a lot more than I'd like on travel tech, it's true.  Recently I wanted to get into plane spotting, something that I have never really done.  So I bought a Sony camera and 600mm lens - the total cost was in excess of £5,000.  Alongside that, I am constantly looking for the ultimate laptop - thin, light, able to edit 4k video, great battery life - so I bought a new Dell XPS Plus - with the extra spec I wanted, it came to just shy of £1,500 - but power and portability are everything to me.  I spend a third of the year on the road..the last thing I need is weight! (the laptop is great, by the way and there's a review of it on my blog)

 

You said in one of your video's that you left corporate life recently?

Yes, in 2021 I walked away from 25 years in the corporate world of banking and I have never looked back.  I was worn out in so many ways - the corporate world is obsessed with Powerpoint (which I have a pathological dislike of!) and I just couldn't take the people that banking attracts anymore.  I now work for a much smaller niche company and believe me, it is so much nicer!

 

Would you want to take your travel reporting full time? (And a stern warning before you do!)

Wow - the toughest question I get asked and it all comes to down to numbers.  I have only been on YouTube for three years..here are my views and experiences..

On the one hand, simply, yes.  Who wouldn't love to quit their job and be paid for travelling.  On the other hand, there are many reasons why I wouldn't.  Any travel vlogger dependent on YouTube ad revenue would tell you that the last two years have been the toughest ever.  I know of two YouTuber's who faced bankruptcy as a result of being travel vloggers in a locked down world.  I'm really  not sure that I would have the stomach for that kind of roller coaster income.  That said, I know several UK-based YouTubers who are making the upper end of UK incomes at around the £150k (net - so after tax and costs) a year mark, which is realistically what I would need to leave my current industry.  But to gross in excess of £1,000,000 a year on YouTube, you really do have to be at the top of your game.  Some YouTubers achieve this level of financial success, but most don't.  

YouTube isn't a licence to print money - you have to go into it with your eyes open and YouTube can't ever be your only source of income doing this kind of thing.  You need supplements such as Patreon and merchandising.

 

"Do you think some YouTubers are ignorant and rude?  I never get replies from my favourite YouTubers" - asked one of my subscribers recently. 

It's a good question and here's my perspective..

The vast majority of YouTuber's are decent, well natured people who love what they do - especially the interactions with subscribers.  But put yourself in their shoes.  Personally, I read and reply to every comment (unless it's abuse).  But for those successful YouTubers turning over £1m+ a year with 1m+ subscribers, keeping up with all those comments could be a full time job in itself.  I do know of YouTubers who employ social media managers to ensure that the viewer interaction is maintained. 

Before I embarked on my own travel reporting journey, I went to "VidCon" in Singapore.  It's an annual gathering of primarily YouTuber's, both large and small.  I heard from a couple of high profile YouTubers who proudly declared "I'm a social media celebrity..I don't need to talk back..they follow me because they love me" - to me it's that kind of arrogance that ends up being someone's downfall.  But it's who they are.

Worse still, is if the YouTuber themselves retorts to your innocent comment with abuse.  There is never an excuse for that.  YouTubers work in customer services (they'll dispute this, but it's true).  At a minimum, you should expect them to be polite (it works both ways of course).  If the YouTuber comes across as permanently negative, then unsubscribe and walk away.  You don't need that in your life!

I recently had a comment on a video that said "I'm giving your video an 'unlike' because my experience (of the company my video was about) was much nicer than yours".  You see to me, that doesn't make any sense.  No company is perfect 100% of the time - I clearly got the bad experience and the commenter clearly got the good experience.  That doesn't make either of us wrong or make my video unlikeable.  So it does work both ways.  

 

"I work for an airline and a YouTuber was negative about my company"

At the start of my career, I worked in a call centre for two years.  As far as negativity goes, you really do see the worst of humanity when customers think that they have been wronged.  A sentiment that came up time and time again from management at the time was "don't take it personally, they're not having a go at you, they're angry at the way the company operates.  You don't decide how that works, management does".  Now, when, on the very rare occasion I launch a negative video, it is extremely rare I ever criticise the flight crew.  In fact I have only ever done that once and that was only because the crew fell below even basic human standards.  

So, don't take it personally.  I love travel so much I try hard to find the positives in every journey that I vlog.  So if it's a bad review, you can be assured, it wasn't a great experience for me and in 99% of cases, it's down to management to correct that, not you.

In recent years, the only standout awful experience for me was with TUI on a flight from Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, to Manchester, UK.  I tried hard to find positives of that experience.  The toilet was well presented.  In all other respects, it fell far short of expectations.  That's how I reported the trip.  It was a successful video, in terms of numbers and income, but it didn't go down well with some TUI staff.  That's the way the cookie crumbles on YouTube.

 

Do you do collaborations with other YouTuber's?

I do indeed.  If we can make it work (and don't underestimate how much planning is involved), then drop me a line on the Contact form