Helicopter Club of Great Britain host the Queens Cup 2017

The Helicopter Club of Great Britain was awarded the honour of hosting The Queen's Cup Air Race 2017 by the Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom.

Chosen from other member organisations of the Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom, this is the first time rotorcraft has been selected to hold the race. The Cup was gifted to the Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. The cup dates back to 1719 and is made of Irish silver with the inscription " The Queen's Air Race Challenge Cup".

The race was held at Heli UK Expo in June of this year and was open to all UK entrants. After two fantastic days of racing the two best British crews went head to head in the final - David Monks and Hugh Barklem versus Stuart and Chris Rimmer.

The final was best of three and the event was the fender heli race. With one run apiece it was down to the last run to see who would be able to hold their nerve to win the race. The third and deciding run brought out the best in both pilots, they flew neck and neck up the course matching each other in speed and agility.

Flights over, the judges checked and double checked the scoring as only eight points separated the two crews. David Monks and Hugh Barklem had won the Cup in R22 G-ZAPY.