Top Gun Tom takes to the skies of London for flying lessons

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The A-lister is learning to fly a helicopter for real by having lessons
Last week he took off in Battersea Heliport's 18-year-old Eurocopter AS350
Flight records show he flew 30 minutes west to Berkshire then turned back

By Simon Murphy and Valerie Elliot For The Mail On Sunday

Published: 17:21 EST, 26 March 2016 | Updated: 17:21 EST, 26 March 2016

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As Top Gun fighter pilot ‘Maverick’, Tom Cruise was a reckless daredevil in the air.

But now the A-lister is learning to fly a helicopter for real – and he’s taking a far more responsible approach.

The star took a lesson in the skies over London last week, and before he started, he was spotted carefully inspecting his aircraft, then taking about ten minutes to familiarise himself with its controls.

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Tom Cruise (right, centre) is learning to fly a helicopter for real. He took off in the 18-year-old Eurocopter AS350 (pictured left) from the heliport at Battersea last week

Wearing Maverick’s trademark Aviator shades, he then took off in the 18-year-old Eurocopter AS350 from the heliport at Battersea.

Flight records available online show he flew for about half an hour west to Berkshire before turning around for the return trip.

One onlooker told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I was running past the heliport and recognised his voice before I saw him. I couldn’t believe it was him. He was chatting to what looked like an instructor, and then he got into the helicopter and off he went.’

Cruise, 53, has held a pilot’s licence for more than 20 years, and has a number of jets and a Second World War P-51 Mustang fighter among his impressive aircraft collection.

Now he seems to be expanding his skills. He has been spotted three times at the London Heliport in the past month, and has previously been seen undergoing instruction in Surrey.

To obtain a non-commercial helicopter licence in the UK, pilots have to complete 45 hours of flight instruction, including ten hours of supervised solo flight time.