Martin & Alistair Bishop’s flight around the Essex countryside
First up, I didn’t quite know what to expect flying in such an historic vintage aircraft. I have travelled in smaller 2 seater Robinson Helicopters and various larger commercial passenger aircraft, the last experience I had was a pleasure flight over the Goodwood estate at the Festival of Speed.
Going up in XT435, I was honestly 100% surprised on how smooth the flight was, and how stable the aircraft felt in flight. Ok the steel framed olive-green canvas rear seats are not quite of the leather clad luxury of the Goodwood estate commercial aircraft, but this is missing the point, to fly in such a historic machine, being able to witness the pilots actions, seeing all the instrumentation and controls, and the excellent views offered by the all-round visibility, feels a privilege. The pure mechanics of flight offered here is an experience I would recommend to anyone.
John (the Pilot) was friendly and flew smoothly and professionally. He allowed flight requests and was happy to answer questions about the Helicopter, its history and the flight.
An experience I will remember for a long time and would totally recommend to all.