The drive from London to Goodwood is about sixty miles. On Festival of Speed weekend the last ten of them can take longer than the first fifty. The helicopter from Battersea takes around twenty-five minutes, and you land inside the estate.
Most people who plan a helicopter to Goodwood Festival of Speed assume it is the only way to arrive by air. It is not. Goodwood treats its three big events differently, and the rules decide which aircraft you can use, what you pay and how early you need to move.
Can you take a helicopter to the Goodwood Festival of Speed?
Yes. Helicopters can land at Goodwood Aerodrome (EGHR) during the Festival of Speed, and so can fixed-wing aircraft. It is the only one of the three major events that admits both. Every arrival needs prior permission and a paid slot.
The aerodrome sits inside the estate, next to the motor circuit. That is the point of arriving by air: you do not join the A27 queue, and you do not walk from a field car park. Goodwood says handling and transport from the aerodrome to the event are included in the landing fee, so you step off the aircraft and into a vehicle.
A few operating facts worth knowing before you ask anyone for a quote:
- Slots are allocated, not first come first served on the day. Goodwood describes arrivals as strictly PPR (prior permission required), with a slot process and payment in full at booking.
- Hours are short. The aerodrome runs 0730 to 1900 local time, and there is no lighting. Your last departure has to be planned around 1900, not around the last session on the hill.
- You cannot overfly the festival site. Helicopter pleasure flying runs over the site, so routes come in via set points: Trundle Gate for runway 14 arrivals and 32 departures, and Point Sierra for the reverse. Your pilot handles this, but it is why a direct line is not always the route you get.
- No refuelling with rotors running. Avgas and Jet A1 are available, but a helicopter that needs fuel shuts down first. Plan fuel at your departure point, not on the apron.
- Tickets are separate. The landing fee covers the aircraft, handling and transport. Your entry to the festival is bought from Goodwood in the usual way.
The 2027 Festival of Speed runs 15 to 18 July, according to Goodwood's own announcement. General ticket sales open in November.
Fixed-wing or helicopter: what is allowed at each event?
This is the part few people know. Goodwood's published pilot information sets it out:
| Event | Fixed-wing | Helicopter |
|---|---|---|
| Festival of Speed | Yes | Yes |
| Members' Meeting | No | Yes |
| Goodwood Revival | No | Yes |
So the Festival of Speed is the one weekend a year when you can fly a Cessna, a Piper or a turboprop into the estate. For the other two, it is rotary or nothing.
There is a second constraint on the fixed-wing side. Goodwood is a grass aerodrome. The preferred fixed-wing runway, 06/24, is roughly 855 metres long and 30 wide (published figures vary slightly, so check the current AIP entry). That suits light aircraft and short-field turboprops (a Cessna Caravan or a Pilatus PC-12 are the sort of types people ask about), not jets. Check the specific aircraft against Goodwood's conditions of use before anyone commits, because the aircraft type is the first thing the slot team will ask.
If you want to arrive by fixed-wing and the aircraft is too heavy or too fast for the grass, there is a clean workaround. Land at a nearby hard-runway airfield such as Southampton, Farnborough or Shoreham and finish the last twelve to twenty minutes by helicopter or car. We cover how to pick between the London airfields in which London airport to fly private from.
How much does it cost to land at Goodwood?
Landing fees at Goodwood depend on the aircraft, and they are not small. The figures below are from Goodwood's pilot page, include VAT, and are the current published prices. The helicopter fees are labelled 2026. Expect revisions for 2027 and check before you book.
Fixed-wing (Festival of Speed only), by seats:
| Seats | Landing fee |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | £258 |
| 5 to 6 | £402 |
| 7 to 10 | £585 |
| 11 or more | £75 per seat |
Helicopters, by type:
| Class | Examples | Landing fee |
|---|---|---|
| Piston | Robinson R22, R44 | £255 |
| Smaller single turbine | Bell 206 JetRanger, R66, EC120 | £357 |
| Larger single turbine | AS350, Bell 407, LongRanger | £483 |
| Light twin | A109, AS355, EC135, EC145, Bell 429 | £693 |
| Medium twin | AS365, S-76, AW169 | £1,026 |
| Large twin | AW139, AW149, AW189, S-92 | £1,857 |
Two rules matter more than the numbers. Slots are paid in full when you book. Cancel up to 48 hours before and you get a full refund. Cancel for weather on the day and you phone it in, and you lose a £75 administration fee. Changes to a slot depend on availability.
For the pilot or operator, the booking route is Goodwood's event slot team (eventslotbookings@goodwood.com or 01243 755066). Everything is on Goodwood's arriving by air page. If you are booking through a charter operator, they will normally make the request for you, and you should ask whether the landing fee is inside the quote or on top.
How long does it take to fly to Goodwood?
Goodwood is close to everything in the south of England and a reasonable distance from everywhere else. The distances below are straight-line from the airfield to Goodwood. The times are our own arithmetic at typical cruise speeds (about 130 knots for a light twin helicopter, 110 for a Cessna 172, 250 for a PC-12), so add time for departure routing, Heathrow and Gatwick airspace and weather.
| From | Distance | Helicopter | Cessna-class | PC-12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battersea heliport | 42 nm | 25 min | n/a | n/a |
| Biggin Hill | 41 nm | 22 min | 25 min | 15 min |
| Denham | 45 nm | 25 min | 25 min | 15 min |
| Farnborough | 25 nm | 12 min | 15 min | 10 min |
| Oxford | 62 nm | 30 min | 35 min | 20 min |
| Birmingham / Wellesbourne | 86 to 103 nm | 45 to 55 min | 50 to 60 min | 25 to 30 min |
| Manchester | 160 nm | 75 to 90 min | 90 min | 45 min |
Air Charter Service quotes about 25 minutes for a London helicopter transfer, which matches the Battersea figure. Biggin Hill is worth a note because it runs its own helicopter shuttle to Battersea, so a jet arriving there can connect onward by rotor.
The Midlands and Manchester change the question. At that range a helicopter is slow and expensive, and a turboprop is the better answer for the festival weekend itself. A PC-12 from Manchester lands at Goodwood in under an hour. A helicopter from the same place is an hour and a half in the air and likely needs a fuel stop on some types. For the north, fixed-wing at the Festival of Speed is the most efficient way in. It is also the only one of the three events where it is allowed.
Is a helicopter worth it compared with driving?
It depends on how many of you there are and how much your day is worth. The honest numbers go like this.
Goodwood itself names a shuttle partner, Elite Helicopters, flying from Eashing Farm near Milford on the A3. The trip takes about fifteen minutes, and Goodwood lists returns from £455 plus VAT. That suits two people who can get to Milford more easily than they can get to Goodwood.
For a full charter from London, the best published market figure we found is Heli Air's day-return package: £2,865 plus VAT for a four-seat helicopter from London Wycombe Air Park, with vehicle transport to the heart of the site included. Their price rises to £3,515 to £3,940 plus VAT from Wellesbourne and Gloucester. Treat those as the floor. Larger twins such as the AS355 (five passengers), AW109 (six) and AW139 (nine) cost more, and the landing fee scales with the aircraft, from £357 for a JetRanger to £693 for a light twin and £1,857 for an AW139.
A four-seat charter at £2,865 plus VAT is £3,438, or about £860 a head. Against that:
- Drive time. Around two hours each way in clear conditions. Local reports from past festivals describe A27 queues of up to ninety minutes on busy mornings. A round trip can take five or six hours of your day.
- The day itself. You arrive with the gates, and you leave at an agreed pickup time before the aerodrome closes at 1900.
- Weather. Cloud base and visibility decide whether you fly. A drive is less romantic and more reliable. Always have a backup car on the day.
Our view: for two people, the shuttle or a chauffeured car is the sensible answer. For four to six people who value the time, or a group taking clients, the helicopter earns its fee in time and in how the day feels. For anyone coming from the Midlands or the north, a turboprop with a landing slot is the efficient answer.
For other events where the same maths applies, see Cheltenham Festival by helicopter and flying to St Andrews for the Open in 2027.
Can you fly to Goodwood Revival?
Yes, but only by helicopter. Goodwood does not accept fixed-wing arrivals at the Revival or at the Members' Meeting. During the Revival, runway 06/24 (the one preferred for fixed-wing) is closed.
The 2027 Goodwood Revival runs 17 to 19 September, according to Goodwood's announcement. Tickets went first to members, fellows and 2026 buyers, with general sale later this year. The 84th Members' Meeting is on 10 and 11 April 2027, with tickets restricted to GRRC members and fellows at first.
The practical consequences:
- There is no fixed-wing option at all. If you own or charter a Cessna or a turboprop, land at Farnborough, Shoreham or Southampton and finish by helicopter or car.
- Helicopter supply is the constraint. Every aircraft arriving is a helicopter, so book your operator early.
- Hours are published by NOTAM. The 2024 aerodrome circular gave event hours of 0600 to 1815 UTC. Treat this as a pattern and confirm the current times.
- Large aircraft do turn up. Flexjet has flown owners into the Revival by helicopter, including the Sikorsky S-76, landing in the aerodrome zone and transferring to a hospitality lounge in period vehicles. The same large-twin pricing applies: an S-76 sits in the £1,026 class.
If you are planning around a party of six or more, a medium twin gives you cabin space, a second engine and a crew used to the arrival procedure. For two or three, a light twin or a large single is the right size.
Silverstone works very differently on Grand Prix weekend: twin-engine helicopters only at the circuit, and fixed-wing traffic through Turweston. See Silverstone British GP 2027 by helicopter or plane.
When should you book?
Earlier than seems reasonable. Goodwood allocates slots, tickets sell in waves and charter helicopters are scarce on a four-day weekend. A sensible order for the 2027 season:
- When Festival of Speed tickets go on sale (November). Buy your tickets first, then lock the date and the group size.
- Three to four months out. Ask an operator or broker for availability and get a written quote, including whether the landing fee, handling and VAT are inside it.
- Once the slot is confirmed. Pay Goodwood in full as required. You then have 48 hours before arrival to cancel for a full refund.
- Two days out. Check the weather outlook and confirm a backup car. Phone any weather cancellation through on the day.
For the Revival in September, treat the same timeline as a minimum. For the Members' Meeting in April, build in a fallback, because spring weather is less forgiving.
What we do about it
An event day by air is a small logistics project with a hard timetable: a slot, a pilot, a fuel plan, a landing fee, a ground transfer and a plan B. The people who get it wrong usually miss one of those, not all of them.
That is the work we do on private aviation. We check the aircraft against Goodwood's rules, source the operators, secure the slot, and keep a car on standby if the weather turns. If the plan has to change at six in the morning, someone is awake and makes the call.