FAQs

Flight Experience Information

We class all four terms as the same – throughout our website we may use any of these terms. You might be looking for a flight for yourself or as a gift for someone else, either way, our rides and tours offer an unforgettable experience for anyone and for any occasion.

A trial lesson is exactly what it says. It is an introductory lesson undertaken in one of our fully dual-controlled flight training school helicopters, where you actually get to fly the helicopter with hands-on control alongside one of our highly experienced flying instructors.If you're serious about wanting to become a helicopter pilot or you want to buy a gift for someone else with that extra special difference, then our trial lessons offer the perfect answer.

A gift experience is one of our listed tours, rides or trial lessons. A gift voucher is a monetary gift that allows the recipient to redeem against anything on our website.

Elite Helicopters operate at numerous and various events throughout the year, such as the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Epsom Derby, Goodwood Revival, and the Supercars Event. At these events we operate a helicopter pleasure flying service where you can take a flight over the event and local area. The events at which we are operating will be listed and regularly updated here on our website. You can either buy online or on the day at the event. Generally we only offer a local area flight at these events, however if you do have a specific requirement for a longer flight at any of the listed events then please give one of our flight advisers a call FREE on 0800 804 8807.

We have our own pilots, our own helicopters and operate under our own Air Operators Certificate (AOC). We sell direct to you, the customer. There is no third party involvement from any agency or marketing company. Our pilots are very familiar with the specific areas within which our range of helicopter flights and tours are conducted, and they have worked to put together routes that will give you the very best in excitement and spectacle. This means it's very simple and straightforward for you to find the perfect unforgettable gift for anyone and for any occasion.

We have kept it simple and offer a select choice of amazing experiences. Our flight experiences are available from different locations giving you a variety of breathtaking views on any individual flight. Coupled with options for varying lengths of flight time, you're able to choose an experience that really will provide memories of a lifetime. The aerodromes that we operate from will enhance the experience further, offering lots to see and do.

If you're still not sure what type of helicopter flight to buy, then a helicopter gift voucher offers the perfect answer. Available from £25 up to £500, these can simply be redeemed against the price of any of the flights we offer. The perfect gift as they enable the recipient to choose the flight experience they want.

If you're uncertain about anything or want some specialist advice, then you can always call one of our flight experience advisers FREE on 0800 804 8807 or email us.

Yes. You are able to upgrade your existing flight experience to any of the other flight options that we offer. Simply give one of our flight advisers a call free on 0800 804 8807 and they will arrange the upgrade for you. Please do have your existing order details with you when you call as we will require certain information.

No, our gift packs can be left open-dated so that the recipient can choose a date to take their Helicopter experience. They do however need to make their booking before the expiry date.

Yes. As a licensed Commercial Air Transport Operator we are required by law to provide full third party liability insurance.

There is an individual passenger weight restriction of 17 Stone/108 kg on all of our Helicopter Experience Flights and Sightseeing Tours. Any person weighing 17 stone (108 kg) and over will need to contact us to confirm as to whether we can accommodate them on the specific helicopters being used. If we are unable to accommodate, and subject to their actual weight, we may be able to offer them the option to pay for an additional (empty) seat. We will not be able to confirm your booking until we have all of the individual weights of all the passengers in you party.

If you are booking a Trial Lesson Experience Flight the weight restriction is 16 Stone/102 kg. Any person above this weight limit will need to contact us to confirm as to whether we can accommodate them on the specific helicopters being used.

There is no specific height restriction on any of the listed flight options, however if you are over 6 ft. 2 in / 188 cm tall you may feel cramped in certain helicopter types. If in doubt please feel free to contact us to check.

For our Helicopter Experience Flights and Sightseeing Tours the minimum passenger age is 2 years. Children under 10 years of age must be accompanied by an adult. For our Trial Lesson Experience Flights the minimum passenger age is 14 years.

We will make every effort to accommodate disabled passengers on all of our flight options but would ask you to please contact us to discuss your needs.

Family and friends are welcome to attend at the venues we operate from. There are cafés/restaurants at the aerodromes we use that have extensive menus and serve both hot and cold beverages. You can even buy lunch vouchers in advance and make these part of your gift. By all means make a day of it and bring the family along – don’t forget to bring the cameras and camcorders to 'catch the moment'.

It is preferable not to bring animals to the venues. Helicopters can create an environment that animals may not like, and it is not good to leave animals locked in cars. If you do have to bring your dog for any reason then please do talk to us first. You will have to ensure that they are kept on a lead at all times and looked after by a responsible person.

We want you to enjoy your flight. We want you to get a great view of the sites we fly over, and we are therefore looking for fair weather conditions. Sometimes weather can stop us from flying. Fog, high wind, heavy rain or thunderstorms are all conditions that are not favourable to fly in and as such we may have to cancel or postpone flying. If in doubt then please call us before leaving home and we will be able to advise you accordingly.

We are unable to issue refunds for unwanted or unclaimed flight experiences, however we will allow you to transfer it to another person if you wish. Please contact one of our Flight Advisers on 0800 804 8807 or email us.

All flight experience tickets are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase. Expired tickets can be extended for a further 3 month period if required. There is a nominal charge of £25.00 which will be applied for each flight experience ticket that's extended. To extend a voucher please contact one of our flight experience advisers FREE on 0800 294 2506 or email us.

You are required to book and complete your experience within the 12 month validity period. If you are unable to do this for any reason you are able to extend the voucher for a further 3 months, charges do however apply. In the event that we have had to cancel/postpone your scheduled flying date due to inclement weather or other issues beyond our control we will extend your voucher free of charge for a minimum of one month or through until the next available flying date.

All monetary gift vouchers are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase.

Flights at events information

Your flight ticket does not give you automatic entry to any of the listed events, if an entrance fee to the event is required then you will need to purchase your entry ticket and pay for this separately. Please check with the corresponding event organiser for more details.

We will need to see a print out of your order confirmation, which doubles as your e-ticket.

Making a purchase

Right here on our website, purchasing a flight or voucher is very easy. If you have any difficulties at all then simply call one of our flight advisers FREE on 0800 804 8807.

If you have an urgent requirement we would recommend that you select the email delivery option, or the guaranteed next day delivery (UK only) as we can send this immediately on receipt of your order.

You can pay securely online by debit or credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or with your PayPal account if you have one.

Once you have added your chosen items to the shopping cart, there is a box to enter your voucher code. The value will be deducted from the cost. If you are booking over the phone then please quote your voucher code. Remember to bring the voucher with you on the day of the flight.

Currently you can only redeem one voucher per online transaction. If you have been given multiple vouchers as gifts and would like to use them all at once, please contact us on 0800 804 8807. One of our Flight Advisers will consolidate the total monetary value and issue you with another code for you to use. You will need all of your existing voucher codes when calling.

Once you have made your payment you should receive an email from us confirming your order. If you do not receive this please contact us and we'll check on our system.

Yes. We will have a copy of your order details and can provide you with an e-ticket replacement free of charge. Should you require a replacement sent in the post, a charge of £2.35 will apply.

Yes. Providing the voucher hasn't already been redeemed we can send you a new one either via post or email. Please call one of our Flight Advisers on 0800 804 8807. There will be an admin charge of £5.00 for doing this.

Yes of course. We will however only be able to send your experience via email.

Other

Elite Helicopter Flights and Elite Helicopters are both trading names of the parent company, Solent Helicopters Ltd. Solent Helicopters Ltd is a very long established Helicopter Charter Operator and Flight Training Organisation and is licensed through the Civil Aviation Authority as an Air Operator Certificate Holder (AOC No. GB2055) and an Approved Training Organisation (ATO No. GBR.ATO.0198).

We can offer all types of incentive programmes, corporate flying days or packages. Please contact one of our operations team to discuss your specific needs or requirements. Tel: 0800 804 8807 or email us.

Elite Helicopters / Elite Helicopter Flights (Solent Helicopters Ltd.):

  • Is fully GDPR compliant and does not pass any information about you to third parties.
  • We are not associated with companies sometimes referred to as ‘preferred partners’.
  • We do not provide marketing information about you to any other companies.
  • Any contact telephone number given at the time of purchase or booking will be retained purely for administrational purposes only.
  • Elite Helicopters do not sell, rent or loan any identifiable information regarding our customers to any third party without your consent.
  • Any information that you give us is held with the utmost care and security. It will not be used in ways to which you have not consented.

 

If you have any questions or comments about our experiences, vouchers, services, website, availability or anything else, please do contact us. Your feedback is crucial to ensuring we continue to deliver our commitment to providing the best possible helicopter experiences and customer service. Click here for contact details.