With the benefit of hindsight it all sounds rather fanciful, but there was a time when the powers that be were envisaging a Fritz Lang-style future where Glasgow locals travelled to and from work - by helicopter.
Back in 1959 talks were held between the Glasgow Corporation and the Ministry of Civil Aviation regarding two possible city centre sites, one at Glasgow Green, the other at Kingston Dock, that could be suitable for a new heliport.
The dream of public helicopter travel had been mooted in the early part of the decade, with many aviation industry experts predicting that the famous 'whirly bird' would transform our daily lives "even more than the jet engine" and that within just a few short years every large or medium-sized town in the country would have its own central helipad station.
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Speaking in the House of Commons, Conservative MP Gerald Navarro said in 1953: “I believe we are on the threshold of a helicopter age in Britain for internal passenger transport.
“The point I wish to emphasise is that only by the erection of elevated stations in the centre of our principal cities can we gain the maximum benefit from all the time-saving potentialities of these brilliant machines.”
Glasgow was among a host of major UK cities tipped to introduce heliport facilities within the next 10 to 20 years and there really was a point where it looked likely that daily helicopter travel would become a reality.
At the start of the 1960s, traditional modes of transport such as the tramways and the railways were seen as old hat. More room was being made to accommodate cars and buses, while the helicopter, which could reach speeds of up to 170mph, was seen as the ultimate way to travel.
British European Airways chiefs confidently predicted that within eight years ordinary commuters in the likes of London, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow would be cruising at 150mph in 70-seater helicopters.
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As parliamentary secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, a pre-scandal John Profumo was defiant in his belief that helicopters would soon be the norm for folk getting to work.
“I am convinced the helicopter will be the bird of burden for domestic use in the future,” he told the House of Commons.
Clyde heliport
In one ambitious proposal, unveiled in the Illustrated London News in February 1962, planners envisaged the construction of a £5.25 million shopping and transport hub that would effectively cover 17 acres of the Clyde between Glasgow Bridge and Victoria Bridge.
Included in the Clyde 'deck' plan, which was put forth by Councillor David Wardley, convener of the Highways' Committee at Glasgow Corporation, was a bus terminal, a shopping precinct, a car park, and, crucially, a heliport. Boats would also be able to pass underneath.
Deemed frighteningly expensive, the project was promptly refused and the idea of a designated city centre heliport for public transportation use would never see the light of day.
In a 1984 report detailing the dream of mass helicopter travel in the post-war era, Joseph Corn and Brian Horrigan wrote: "The concept for a high-speed personal helicopter was an early expression of what would become in the years immediately after World War II an extremely popular vision of the future.
"To many observers, the helicopter seemed to promise wings for the city dwellers who might land atop their apartments or office buildings. Unfortunately, helicopters were – and remain – difficult to fly, relatively unsafe, noisy, and energy inefficient."
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