Unfortunately most pilots who are killed in these types of accidents are reported to be "one of the best" by their family and friends. Alan's son probably knows the saying, "There are old pilots, and there are bold pilots, but there are never any old bold pilots."
To me the video showed nothing unusual. The Macchi jet trainer formerly used by the RAAF used to use that takeoff profile. The reasoning was that it wanted to get to speed first, then height. The ejection seat in the Macchi wasn't a modern one and therefore wasn't "zero/zero", that is, it wouldn't work on the ground with no speed. From memory it needed about 120 knots to be effective at zero feet.
Maybe instead of interviewing a professional lecturer, the journalist should have interviewed a former or current pilot of that aircraft type.