THERE'S nothing quite like dropping in for a business dinner - from a height of about 500 feet.

Helicoptering your prospective financial backer to a meal to close a multi-million pound deal provides just the sort of high-flying panache needed as a backdrop to down-to-earth bargaining.

At least that's the theory behind the "heli-lunch" being promoted by Restaurant Martel at Gateforth Hall, near Selby, which has had so many requests for helicopter landings that it has now built its own heli-pad in the grounds. I was invited to become one of the first guests to try it out by chef-proprietor Martel Smith, who, through Robert Hields of Hields Aviation at Sherburn Airfield, provided the transport. It was Robert who reconnoitred the grounds of the 189-year-old hunting lodge both on foot and in the air to plot out the best place for a landing H, and it is through him that any requests for commercial flights will be passed on to his friend Peter Scott, of Heliscott, in Pontefract.

My heli-chauffeur for the day was commercial pilot and instructor Roger Moody whose craft was a nippy bubble called, aptly, the Robinson R44 Raven. Apt, because I was raven-ous.

At 120mph the two air miles seemed to be over far too quickly as we negotiated phone lines and tall trees to settle on the H, shaking surrounding hedges in our swirl.

Having proved we could do it we then hopped the hedge to park in front of the magnificent pillared and porticoed building.

But one word of warning. If you do happen to hire a Raven make sure that you're not carrying any seriously fat cats. There is a weight limit on passengers of 300 lbs, or a little more than 21 stone. They may just qualify on the journey there, but they may not qualify for the trip home...