Devon is the largest county in the south of England, and the only county in the country which has 2 distinct coastlines: the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site and the Bristol Channel coast to the north. The landscape in between is characterised by beautiful and rugged scenery. Two areas of upland moor are within the county, including Dartmoor National Park which has the highest peaks in the south of England. These areas and more provide fantastic panoramic views, which, combined with the low population density and absence of busy roads, have made this a wonderful place to discover by helicopter.

In an area as big and varied, you couldn’t hope to see it properly from ground level unless you had a couple of decades to spare, but from the cabin of a helicopter you can take in the landscape as a whole and understand its features in a unique way, all in a morning’s work. Helicopters are no longer the preserve of the military or TV news channels, they’re available for people like you and I to enjoy - and not even the pilot’s seat is out of bounds. That’s right, you can take the experience one step further in Devon and learn to fly one of these fantastic machines! Read on to learn all about it.

Where can you take a helicopter ride in Devon?

• Exeter: The county town is a fine mediaeval cathedral city, and you might be able to spot the spire as you take to the air a few miles away, at the airport. From there, it’s a short flight to the beautiful scenery of the Jurassic Coast. Following the River Sid, you get to the charming seaside town of Sidmouth and neighbouring Seaton which boasts an electric tramway with historical trams which run along an inlet of the sea. The coast itself has distinctive red cliffs, which fade to dark grey as you cross the border into Dorset and observe Lyme Regis from the air. Fossil hunters will know that this is one of the best places on the Jurassic Coast to search for remains of the ancient creatures which inspired the name of the area. The journey back takes you along the picturesque Otter River, famous among other things for the Otter Brewery, to the town of Ottery St Mary and back to the airport.

• Dunkeswell: This airfield hosts microlighting and gliding clubs alongside the heliport facilities. It’s located in the Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the border with Somerset. If you take a ride in a helicopter from here, you can expect to see the remains of the Cistercian monastery of Dunkeswell Abbey shortly after take off, before the rolling natural landscape of the hills opens up below you. Don’t be fooled though - this area is not completely untouched by human hand. Signs of ancient hill forts and Norman motte-and-bailey castles can be seen strategically located on hill tops and ridges, if you know where to look.

• Lustleigh: West of Exeter, Lustleigh sits on the edge of Dartmoor. The key activity of the village according to the Doomsday Book, was beekeeping. Nowadays the buzz of bees has been replaced by the whirr of helicopter blades as they take off and land here. Flying over Dartmoor is a wonderful experience. It quickly becomes obvious why Arthur Conan Doyle chose this area as the setting of the famous Sherlock Holmes Case, the Hound of the Baskervilles, and has been the inspiration for many other authors besides. There’s an inherent romance in the landscape, where rocky tors crown the peaks of treeless hills, and wild ponies graze by fast flowing rivers.

Kind of experiencies you can you take

- The best way to feel the sensation of travelling by helicopter is a pleasure flight. In most parts of the country, the standard length of an experience is 30 minutes and you can also find this kind of ride here. However, you can also organise longer tours in this county, which last 40 or even 60 minutes. An hour’s flying in a helicopter could mean travelling 100 miles, as them can easily travel at speeds of over 100 miles an hour, which would allow you to cover vast swathes of the landscape. But, uniquely among flying machines, can also hover in place above the ground, so this is the best way to contemplate the surroundings with a bird’s eye view.

- If riding as a passenger isn’t enough for you, we’ve got just the thing to convince you to book this experience. Trial lessons are on offer here (pilot for a day experience), where you’ll be taken into the air by an experienced pilot, who’s also your flight instructor, and take the controls of the machine. Certain aspects of helicopter handling are fairly simple and you’ll be able to fly forwards and do simple turns in no time, but there are other things - like that famous hover - which take hours of study and practice to master. If you get the bug, you’re going to have to think of an excuse to spend more time here while you learn to become a fully-fledged pilot.

Requirements to do this activity

There are a range of helicopters that operate civilian flights here. All of them are designed for comfort and aerial observation, with large windows and no visual obstructions. Four-seater models such as the Robinson R44 and the Hughes 500 have room for 3 passengers alongside the pilot, while the smaller Schweizer 300 can take two people as passengers. All ages are welcome, the only necessity being that young children are big enough to sit in a seat by themselves, using a booster seat if it’s necessary, because they can’t be carried on their parents’ knees. Training to become a pilot can start from the tender age of 14 years old. That’s right, you can pilot a helicopter before you can drive a car! The quiet, open skies of this region are the perfect place to do it.

What’s holding you back? Make your reservation now and we will organise the adventure of your life.