Flying at 1,700ft above the Aire Valley with the sun starting to set on the horizon, it’s easy to understand why the rich and famous often choose to travel by helicopter.

We have flown the 20 miles from Yeadon to Skipton in a matter of minutes, the cars trundling slowly along the A650 looking like children’s toys.

But what is most exhilarating is the feeling of almost omniscience at suddenly having a bird’s eye view of the world.

I am on a trial flight in a four-seater Robinson R44 helicopter with Multiflight, the flight training centre based on the south side of Leeds-Bradford International Airport.

The company, which also operates the Yorkshire Air Ambulance service and chartered flights from its fleet of fixed wing and rotary aircraft, offers trial flying lessons in both aeroplanes and helicopters.

These can be for people wanting either a one-off session or those looking towards gaining a private pilots’ licence. Some of the centre’s pupils even go on to train to be commercial pilots or to fly aircraft for the emergency services.

I am a little nervous at the thought of flying as I have a rather unfounded fear of heights. But I needn’t be worried. I am met by friendly instructor Yannis Giannopoulos, whose calm and collected manner immediately puts me at ease.

Yannis, who has been flying helicopters for 11 years, is one of six pilots based at the training centre. As well as working as an instructor, he also flies chartered helicopters all over the UK and across the channel to France, taking people to business meetings and sporting events including Silverstone and Ascot.

Yannis gives me a short safety briefing and we decide where we are going to fly. He then leads me out to the concourse where the helicopter has just been returned after another trial flight, and we climb inside.

I sit in the pilot’s seat, but thankfully the helicopter has dual controls, so I’m not expected to fly it just yet. Yannis, who is sitting next to me, starts up the rotor blade and I strap myself in and put on a large headset so I can talk to him while we are in the air.

As the blade starts to gently rotate and whirr above our heads, Yannis radios the flight control centre and gives details of our route to check we are safe to depart.

The blade then starts pick up speed, causing the aircraft to shudder. There’s no time to feel nervous as Yannis releases what looks like a handbrake and we are on the move. Flying in a helicopter feels completely different to being in an aeroplane – there’s no need for any sort of runway as we able to able to rise swiftly upwards.

We quickly leave the airport behind and in a couple of minutes can see right across Bradford. Because of the engine type we are not able to fly low and hover over the city, but I can still make out landmarks such as Valley Parade in the distance.

Urban sprawl quickly starts to give way to green fields and we make fast progress along the Aire Valley. Soon we are flying over industrial units on the outskirts of Keighley, and a minute later we have passed Airedale General Hospital and are approaching Silsden. Looking down, I am again taken aback by the wondrous view of the world beneath us. I can see neat rows of houses, sheep that appear to be just tiny white pinpricks in a field and an expanse of rolling hills.

Yannis also enjoys our incredible vantage point. “Every time you go up you feel very privileged seeing everything from above,” he says.

“There’s not a lot of people that can do that. Everything looks so small from above. You appreciate the landscape and how it’s laid out.”

We fly over Skipton, taking pictures of the castle, and then start our return to Leeds-Bradford. If we kept going, Yannis says, we would be able to reach the Lake District in just 15 minutes.

Indeed, being in middle of the country means the airport is ideally placed for getting to places quickly.

“For most people learning to fly helicopters, it’s for recreational flying with their families,” he says. “In an hour you can go from Leeds to Windermere and back. In an hour and a bit you can go to Scarborough and back. For business use it makes sense, it’s value for money for people who want to go from here to London in an hour and a half.”

The magnificence of Salts Mill is all the more apparent from the air as we fly past Saltaire towards Yeadon.

It’s very windy and the helicopter is buffeted by large gusts every now and again. Due to the weather, Yannis has flown the helicopter so far, but he talks me through what he is doing.

There are three controls – at his feet, hands and side – which must all be working in sync to keep the helicopter airborne and flying on course.

Yannis is also qualified to pilot aeroplanes, but prefers helicopters. “They are so versatile and you hand-fly them all the time,” he explains. “With an aeroplane you can more or less let go and it will keep flying, but with a helicopter you keep flying it all the time, you are part of the machine.”

I take over the hand control and steer the helicopter gently to the right as we approach Leeds-Bradford. I try again as we land and it veers wildly to the side.

Controlling a helicopter at landing and take-off is extremely difficult, Yannis says, and takes hours to master. All too soon we are back at Multiflight and my trial is over, but I’m already itching to go back up again.

Whether you are pondering becoming a pilot or just curious to find out what flying in a helicopter is really like, I’d certainly recommend a trial session – if nothing else it gives you the chance to fully appreciate the beauty of our county.

People wanting to gain a private pilot’s licence must fly a minimum of 45 hours – most people need between 60 and 70 hours before they are ready – and ten hours must be flown solo.