History of The Helicopter at the Game Fair

As it quickly approaches its 60th birthday we’ve been looking through the archives of the Game Fair and spotted that the helicopter has a small but prominent role in some of the event’s milestones.
At the second Game Fair was held at Hackwood Park, Hampshire in 1959 and he new patron, the Duke of Gloucester, arrived at the event by helicopter. We have no archive of his landing but it must have made quite an impression as there weren’t many helicopters around then.
If we were to guess on the make, it could well have been a Westland Widgeon or Dragonfly that would have been ideal for the occasion.
What you should have a look at is this video below from the opening year. It was almost a wash out but ‘Game Fair weather’ came to the rescue. The fashions might also give you some inspiration for Goodwood Revival.
Bird’s Eye View of the Traffic
Even at the first Game Fair in 1958 falconry skills were on display but those wonderful birds have yet to be trained on how to spot traffic snarl-ups on the approach to every Game Fair.
With around 23,000 vehicles heading to the event, the Game Fair now has its own helicopter to report on potential bottlenecks.
This is another reason why a helicopter charter to the Game Fair is recommended. Along with the time saving, you avoid the long queues getting into Ragley Hall, and the equally long wait when leaving.
They’ve had a helipad in operation for the past 30 years and in one of our twin engine aircraft you can expect a flight time of 45 minutes from London, 40 minutes from Manchester and 60 minutes from Plymouth.
You can fly from any part of the UK and our friendly Operations team will arrange every aspect of your itinerary and all chauffeured transfers. Get an instant estimate using the Quote Generator below.