Castle Air is one of the biggest onshore helicopter operators in the U.K. Running charter, sales and maintenance operations from three sites, it also has experience in aerial filming that goes back to the ’80s. And it all started with a speeding ticket. 96 Vertical magazine Story by Jon Duke Photos by Lloyd Horgan In 1979, the U.K. boasted very few private helicopters, and in the rural southwest, the Royal Duchy of Cornwall was home to just one. Roy Flood’s business in used car sales was doing so well that when his driving license was suspended following a misin- terpretation of the speed limit, his only sensible means of getting around was to learn to fly helicopters, and buy a new Bell 206 LongRanger. Meanwhile, Cornwall-based Royal Navy pilots Jerry Grayson and Keith Thompson were leaving the service with the dream of starting a local helicopter charter business. After a few rejections, their letter to Roy Flood’s Castle Motors was met with curiosity, and the three formed Castle Air soon thereafter. Grayson flew a charter flight on the same day he left the Navy, and the business has grown ever since. Operating from the car sales business outside the small town of Liskeard, the three not only flew the aircraft, but built the facil- ities that they would use to house and maintain them. In his book Rescue Pilot, Grayson describes Flood’s approach as being very hands-on. “It was a jigsaw puzzle where you had to make all the pieces yourself and then put them together with a crane.” Cornwall’s rugged coastline and spectacular undulating countryside made helicopter sightseeing pop- ular with tourists, and by 1982 the company was able to add two new JetRangers to its fleet. The same year, high winds battered southwest Britain, knocking trees across narrow roads and causing power outages across a county in which, without any motorways, getting around to assess the damage was already hard enough. Answering a contract for aerial survey of the infrastructure, Castle Air’s pilots had an intimate knowledge of the landscape, and as the only charter business within a few hundred miles, the saving in transit costs alone was significant. It was valuable experience, and the realization dawned that the skills used to follow downed power lines at low level could be well employed for producers keen to introduce a new perspective to entertainment television. The company’s TV debut came on the 1982 gameshow Treasure Hunt, which ran for seven seasons and developed a cult following in the U.K. More work in the industry followed as the pilots developed an understanding of the unique demands of maneuvering the camera to the right position, regardless of the orientation of the aircraft. While most of this work had been Castle in the sky One of Castle Air’s A109S Grand models flies past the iconic Tower Bridge in London.