History of helicopters in London

Twelve stories and a full timeline.

The first helicopters over Britain: Hoverfly to Dragonfly

BEA and the first scheduled helicopter services

The Waterloo heliport that lasted ten months

Battersea 1959: building London's heliport

Who has owned London Heliport?

Westland, Yeovil and the British helicopter industry

Eyes above London: police helicopters from 1967 to NPAS

London's Air Ambulance: 1989 to today

Vauxhall 2013 and what changed

The noise story: 1974 to "London in a spin"

London 2012: the sky under guard

The next chapter: tower, terminal and eVTOL

30 dated entries, each with a source. Entries we could only find on Wikipedia are left out; where a source is a secondary one we say so.

The first helicopters, to 1959

1. 1944 (January)Sikorsky R-4 shipboard trials for the Royal Navy
   US Coast Guard pilot Stewart R. Graham flew a Sikorsky R-4 Hoverfly (RN serial FT835) in joint British-American shipboard trials aboard MV Daghestan. Public-domain image description on Commons. commons.wikimedia.org
   Confidence: single source (Commons description); confirm in RN/FAA Museum
2. 1945 (early)Hoverfly I becomes the first RAF helicopter
   RAF Museum document says the Hoverfly I was the first helicopter used by the RAF, entering service at Andover early in 1945. The Hendon exhibit is KL110 (with parts of KK995), displayed as KK995. rafmuseum.org.uk
   Confidence: secondary (search summary of RAF Museum document; PDF not read directly)
3. 1952 (28 July)First BEA S-51 trial landings on the South Bank site
   Photo caption (John Stroud) states Wg Cdr Reggie Brie landed BEA S-51 G-AJOR at the former Festival of Britain site in the first of a series of trials. airhistory.net
   Confidence: single secondary source
4. 1953 (20 May)Commons question on amphibious helicopters and London helidromes
   Parliamentary Secretary John Profumo said discussions with London County Council on a temporary South Bank airstop were continuing, and that trialling single-engined types was not justified until a twin-engined helicopter was available. api.parliament.uk
   Confidence: verified (Hansard)
5. 1955 (April)BEA Bristol 171 Sycamore on Birmingham-Heathrow-Gatwick service
   Commons photo descriptions: Sycamore G-AMWG "Sir Gawain" at Gatwick on the passenger service from Birmingham via Heathrow, April 1955. commons.wikimedia.org
   Confidence: single source (Commons descriptions); confirm in Flight
6. 1955 (25 July) to 1956 (31 May)BEA Waterloo helicopter shuttle to London Airport
   ianVisits (citing Flight 1956 archive) says the shuttle used Sir Kay and Sir Ector (Westland-Sikorsky S-55, five passengers each) and carried 3,822 passengers before closing; a second source gives the same dates and total. The site was needed for the South Bank Centre. ianvisits.co.uk
   Confidence: two secondary sources agree; primary Flight page not retrieved
7. 1959 (8 April)First landing at the new Westland Heliport, Battersea
   Westland Widgeon G-ANLW flown by John Fay reported as first aircraft to land (secondary sources). airhistory.net
   Confidence: single secondary source
8. 1959 (23 April)London Heliport (Westland Heliport) opens at Battersea
   Built by W. & C. French. British Pathe newsreel "Air News: London Gets Helicopter Port", issue 59/34, dated 27 April 1959. learningonscreen.ac.uk
   Confidence: newsreel record located; 23 April date from Wikipedia citing BUFVC - confirm on BUFVC/Pathe page
9. 1959 (12 March)Fairey Rotodyne XE521 photographed
   Compound-helicopter airliner image from Commons (public domain). commons.wikimedia.org
   Confidence: image record only
10. museumsPreserved types in London and Somerset collections
    RAF Museum London (Hoverfly, Sycamore, Wessex HCC4, Sea King HAR3) and The Helicopter Museum, Weston-super-Mare (Sycamore, Whirlwind) - image records only. rafmuseum.org.uk
    Confidence: image record only

1960 to 1989

1. c.1967Plan for river-based landing pad near Waterloo for 26-seat helicopters to Heathrow
   ianVisits cites a 1967 Flight International archive item; never built. ianvisits.co.uk
   Confidence: single secondary source; Flight original not retrieved
2. 1974 (28 June)Written answer on helicopter flights in London
   Clinton Davis: no noise limits applied to aircraft in flight over Greater London; flights limited to a few prescribed routes; pilots to fly near the 1,000 ft maximum; GLC controlled Battersea movements through planning powers and was understood to have asked for reduced movements in 1974; CAA considering route changes for Brentford and Chiswick. api.parliament.uk
   Confidence: verified (Hansard)
3. 1970sGLC planning permission for the heliport: 80 movements a day, 12,000 a year
   Wandsworth-commissioned 2018 monitoring report describes the limit as current. Original GLC decision not seen. openresearch.lsbu.ac.uk
   Confidence: secondary (limit described in 2018 report via search summary); original GLC decision not seen
4. 1986 (11 August)Westland Lynx G-LYNX sets a world helicopter speed record
   Commons description: demonstrator built 1979 set the record on 11 August 1986. commons.wikimedia.org
   Confidence: single source (Commons description); confirm via Westland history
5. 1988 (December)London's Air Ambulance first helicopter G-HEMS lands at Trinity Square Gardens
   Official timeline: RCS report November 1988; charity set up January 1989; first mission September 1989 (transplant organs from Scotland). londonsairambulance.org.uk
   Confidence: verified (charity site, retrieved by extraction)

1990 to 2009

1. 1990 (January)First doctor and paramedic on board London's Air Ambulance
   Biggin Hill initial base. Later: Jan 1998 MD902 Explorer replaces Dauphin; Jan 2010 round-the-clock; Dec 2011 helipad on top of The Royal London Hospital; Feb 2013 overnight base Denham to RAF Northolt; Jan 2016 second helicopter; Oct 2024 two Airbus H135. londonsairambulance.org.uk
   Confidence: verified (charity site)
2. 2005Minimum altitude over London reduced from 1,500 ft to 1,000 ft
   London Assembly report: Secretary of State for Transport approved the amendment in 2005 to align with ICAO recommendations. london.gov.uk
   Confidence: verified (GLA report text)
3. 2006 (October)London Assembly Environment Committee publishes "London in a spin"
   First comprehensive review of helicopter noise in the capital (chair Darren Johnson AM); called for a movements database, complaints system, London Heliport Consultative Committee, user charge and 25% write-down allowance for older helicopters. Committee meeting held 13 July 2006. london.gov.uk
   Confidence: verified (GLA report text)
4. 2007PremiAir takes over operation of Battersea heliport from Weston (von Essen contract)
   Flight International headline; page returned 403. PremiAir described as operator since 2007 by search summaries. flightglobal.com
   Confidence: headline only - page not retrieved

2010 to today

1. 2010New passenger terminal and Hotel Verta open
   Secondary trade reports; AIN files dated 2026 appear to be 2010 stories with misleading metadata. bjtonline.com
   Confidence: secondary; year inferred - confirm
2. 2011 (August)RAF Puma over Olympic Stadium during security exercise
   MOD image, OGL. commons.wikimedia.org
   Confidence: image record only
3. 2012 (23 February)Reuben Brothers (Aldersgate Investments) buy London Heliport
   Seller: Andrew Davis, former boss of the collapsed von Essen Hotels. BBC reported GBP 35 million (via Wikipedia; BBC page blocked). travelweekly.co.uk
   Confidence: secondary (Travel Weekly); price from Wikipedia only
4. 2012 (14 July to 15 August; Paralympics 16 August to 12 September)London 2012 airspace restrictions; special exemption for London Heliport
   Restrictions began midnight 14 July; helicopters barred east of Battersea Bridge except cleared police, military, medical; HMS Ocean moored on Thames; Typhoons at RAF Northolt. gov.uk
   Confidence: official notice located (start date); Thames detail from trade press
5. 2013 (16 January)Vauxhall crane collision, Agusta A109E G-CRST
   About 07:59 GMT, helicopter diverting to London Heliport in freezing fog struck the jib of a crane on St George Wharf Tower. Pilot Pete Barnes and pedestrian Matthew Wood died; 12 injured. gov.uk
   Confidence: verified (AAIB); casualty detail via Wikipedia citing BBC
6. 2014 (9 September)AAIB report AAR 3/2014 and ten safety recommendations
   Causes: pilot turned onto a collision course with the crane and did not see it or saw it too late; contributory: continued to London Heliport despite being unable to stay clear of cloud. Recommendations 2014-025/026 (CAA/ANSPs to assess obstacles near VFR routes incl. London Thames helicopter routes) closed adequate 22 Dec 2014; 2014-027 asks DfT for a UK-wide obstacle data reporting mechanism. gov.uk page updated 25 Nov 2015. gov.uk
   Confidence: verified (AAIB report page and recommendation document)
7. 2014 / 2025Heliport House: 15-storey scheme approved 2014 (not built); 34-storey tower of up to 147 flats proposed
   Local Democracy Reporter, 11 February 2025; heliport operator lodged holding objection (April 2025, secondary). Outcome not found. southlondon.co.uk
   Confidence: secondary; outcome not found
8. 2018LSBU heliport noise monitoring study
   Commissioned by three boroughs; found residents near the Thames routinely subjected to noise levels that could be a health concern. lsbu.ac.uk
   Confidence: secondary (search summary)
9. 2022 (20 January)Skyports buys Falcon Heliport near Canary Wharf
   To be developed as a potential eVTOL vertiport; operates as Skyports London Heliport; price undisclosed. ainonline.com
   Confidence: verified (AIN)
10. 2025 (17 December)Vertical Aerospace, Skyports and Bristow plan UK electric air-taxi network
    Target start Q1 2029 subject to approval expected 2028; routes link Canary Wharf with Heathrow, Gatwick, Cambridge, Oxford; Valo aircraft up to 100 miles at 150 mph; Bristow pre-ordered up to 50. aamnation.com
    Confidence: secondary trade report; confirm on Vertical/Skyports release
11. 2026 (13 August)Vertical Aerospace Q2 2026 call: VX4 type certification now expected 2029
    Single aggregator source. marketbeat.com
    Confidence: single aggregator; confirm on company filing