Residents of Horfield were treated to a close-up view of an impressive aircraft today (March 14). A huge helicopter, thought to be a military-style aircraft, was spotted flying low over Filton Avenue, before landing on the sports grounds behind houses, not once but twice this morning.
The first appearance was around 10:15am as the helicopter could be seen flying low just at the crossroads of Filton and Wessex Avenue. Bristol Live was told that it dropped down behind the houses in the direction of the Civil Service sports grounds, where it stayed for around 15 minutes.
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Then, almost as quickly as it had appeared, it took off again around 10:33am. Locals described 'hearing it before seeing it' but when they did catch a glimpse, they were not disappointed as, they said, it was 'massive'.
The helicopter seemed to circle back on itself, in the direction of Lockleaze and UWE's Frenchay campus, before it could no longer be spotted in the sky by locals. A Twitter account dedicated to spotting helicopters above Bristol tweeted at 10:11am: "A Skikorsky S-76C++ is flying over Bristol."
However, at around 2:07pm, it was spotted again above Filton Avenue, coming into land in the same place. With the sun shining and more people out and about, the helicopter's registration number could be clearly seen and one local resident (@TheTeenee) took to Twitter to answer people's questions, as many were still wondering what on earth the helicopter could be doing.
She tweeted: "Seems to be registered to the Royal Family. It landed in the civil service sports grounds and seems to be registered to the Queen's Helicopter Flight. Reg G-XXED."
Close to the helicopter's landing space, Trinity Academy, was expecting a visit from HRH The Duke of Kent to formally open a new school building. He was also said to be at a Commonwealth service at Bristol Cathedral this morning.
The Queen's Helicopter Flight (TQHF)
The Queen's Helicopter Flight is part of The Queen's Private Secretary's department of the Royal Household and is tasked by the Royal Travel Office at Buckingham Palace. From 1998 to 2009, it used a single maroon Sikorsky S-76C+ twin-engined helicopter, registered G-XXEA in honour of G-AEXX, the Airspeed Envoy that the Queen's uncle, the Prince of Wales, first flew in the King's Flight.
The helicopter, the first airframe dedicated solely to royal use, entered service on December 21, 1998. The S-76 is a commercial type widely used around the world, although the Queen's helicopter is only fitted with six seats for more comfort.
On November 4, 2009 Sikorsky announced a new S-76C++ helicopter to TQHF. This helicopter, registration G-XXEB, was capable of a maximum speed of 178 mph and a ferry range of 400 miles (640 km) with a 30-minute fuel reserve.
An AugustaWestland AW109S, registration G-XXEC, was operated on long-term lease to TQHF from 2014 to 2019 and a second Sikorsky S-76C, registration G-XXED, is owned by TQHF, based at RAF Odiham. It's this last craft that was spotted flying over Bristol on Monday, supposedly carrying Prince Edward.
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