Gloucestershire is home to the Jet Age Museum, one of the best aviation museums in the country. Anyone who’s visiting the area should definitely pay it a visit - but this recommendation comes with a warning. If you’re anything like us, spending a couple of hours looking at historical aircraft of all stripes is enough to give you a burning desire to get into the air yourself. The good news is that here, you can! In fact, at the very same airport as the museum, there are flight schools and operators who welcome members of the public to fulfil their dreams of flying in some of the most classic aircrafts of all: helicopters.

We’ve all travelled in an aeroplane before, usually it’s a big commercial jet taking us on holiday. And though it can be an enjoyable experience, the waiting, cramped legroom and small windows mean that the main excitement is the anticipation of getting to our destination. Helicopters, on the other hand, embody the old adage of “It’s better to travel than to arrive.” Flying in one of these machines is an experience like no other, combining speed with comfort and giving the journey an unrivalled backdrop of 360º aerial views. Whoever it was who came up with that quote, either Robert Louis Stevenson or the Buddha according to the internet, probably wasn’t thinking of helicopters, at the time, but you’ll find that the message becomes clear when you take to the skies here.

Takeoff points

Gloucestershire Staverton Airport is located right in the centre of the county, between Gloucester and Cheltenham and right by the intersection of the M5 and the A40. In addition to this, the county’s main airfield, there’s also a heliport in the south at the Cotswolds airport, near the town of Cirencester.

What can you see on a helicopter ride in Gloucestershire?

• The Cotswolds: These hills are a designated and protected Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. They lie between Gloucester and Cirencester, so any helicopter tour here will begin with views of this landscape opening up beneath you as you ascend into the air. The undulating hills are topped in green grass, which hides the gold coloured Cotswold stone below. Quaint houses of this distinctive building material cluster in small villages, nestled in the folds of the landscape. For city dwellers, or anyone else for that matter, contemplating the Cotswolds from the air is almost a therapeutic experience that will do you a world dof good.

• Cheltenham: The second largest town in the county, Cheltenham is famous for its racecourse. It sits below Cleeve Hill, the highest point in the Cotswolds, and hosts some of the most prestigious, and lucrative, horse races in the country. The town itself grew in the Regency period as a spa town, and is characterised by charming and well preserved Georgian architecture.

• Gloucester: This is the only city in a mostly rural county, but with only 130,000 residents it doesn’t spoil the scenery. In fact, the city’s skyline remains relatively unchanged since mediaeval times, so if anything it enhances the feeling of fantasy that you can enjoy on a helicopter ride. Standing out above the city’s rooftops is the tower of Gloucester Cathedral. This holy building traces its roots back almost 1000 years, and its timeless design has landed it parts in blockbuster movies - most notable as part of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter films.

Options for organising an experience

- There’s no better way to see the sights of Gloucestershire than on a helicopter pleasure or sightseeing flight. You’ll be taken on a tour of the county that will take in more sights and scenery than you could hope to see in a month without the power of flight. In just 5 minutes you can travel 8 miles through the air, which is the shortest option - designed with nervous flyers in mind. We recommend taking a longer flight of 10, 20 or 30 minutes, to complete a larger loop around the area and take in even more. In just half an hour, you could cover 50 miles, and see an area of hundreds of square miles!

- These tours are a wonderful way to see what the county has to offer, but if you’ve got a specific destination to get to, why not arrive in style in a helicopter? You can charter a flight to leave from one of the airfields and take you where you need to go - an outdoor birthday party or wedding, or even the races at Cheltenham Racecourse.

- Finally, we know that some people don’t like to ride as passengers, and if the idea of travelling through this region's skies by helicopter has got your fingers twitching, you’ll want to get your hands on the controls of the aircraft. For you, we recommend a trial flight, which could be a fantastic day out, or the start of a new hobby. You can live out the fantasy of being a pilot for a day with the help of a trained flight instructor who’ll get you airbourne, show you the ropes, then let you take control. In a 1 hour session, you’ll have enough airtime to get a hang of the more simple controls, whereas a 20 or 30 minute session will be more of a taster.

Requirements to do this activity

Riding in a helicopter isn’t reserved for firefighters, police forces, or news crews - you can organise a flight for you and your friends, family, prospective business partners if you’re aiming to impress. If you’re coming with the kids, bear in mind that they will have to travel in their own seat, so once they're old enough to sit up on their own in the car, they should be okay in the chopper. Pleasure flights usually take place in a 4-seater craft, so there’s room for 3 passengers and the pilot. You’ll be asked for the weight of all passengers in advance, in order to make sure that is viable.

When it comes to piloting a helicopter, you have the choice of one with 2 or 4 seats. If you want the excitement of flying a lighter, more agile then you should choose the 2-seater, but if you want to have an audience, take some passengers up with you in the larger one.

We know that this is an irresistible opportunity, so don’t waste any more time and click the book button!