Sherlock flies by private jet in Season 3 finale
A Danish Citation III operated by North Flying makes a cameo in the Sherlock Season 3 finale.
Sherlock, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, flies on a Cessna Citation III.
Private aviation made a strong showing in the finale of Sherlock Season 3, which reached its conclusion last night on PBS’ Masterpiece to an audience of 4 million, three weeks after it first aired in the UK to nearly 9 million viewers.
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In the episode titled ‘His Last Vow,’ Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) gathered at an unidentified airport with his brother Mycroft (Mark Gatiss), sidekick Dr John Watson (Martin Freeman) and Watson’s wife Mary (Amanda Abbington, who happens to be Freeman’s real life partner), before taking-off in a small private jet.
Although, in the show, the aircraft was meant to belong to the British government, some eagle-eyed viewers were able to spot the Danish registration prefix (OY-EDP) on the aircraft’s tail.
Corporate Jet Investor can reveal that the aircraft was, in fact, a Cessna 650 Citation III operated by North Flying A/S, one of Scandinavia’s biggest air taxi companies.
“Our involvement with Sherlock came about via our close business partners in Cardiff Aviation [co-owned by Bruce Dickinson, lead singer in Iron Maiden], who were initially approached by the BBC,” says Stefan Vilner, CEO of North Flying.
“The BBC needed a business jet of appropriate look and size for the world’s greatest detective, so they asked Cardiff Aviation to help them. Since Cardiff Aviation and North Flying are working closely together, we were able to make one of our Citation IIIs available at a good price.”
Vilner also confirmed that the scene was filmed at St Athan-Cardiff Airport, which is where Cardiff Aviation’s MRO centre is based.
PHOTOS: Sherlock flies private
A panoramic shot of St Athan-Cardiff Airport.
Sherlock bids farewell to Dr John Watson before take-off.
John and Mary Watson watch Sherlock leave on a private jet.
Sherlock takes an important phone call on board the aircraft.
Sherlock returns to the airport.
A close-up of North Flying’s Citation III landing.
A rear view of the Citation III on the runway.
Aviation enthusiasts take to Twitter
Upon its UK premiere, ‘His Last Vow’ became the most tweeted-about episode of any drama series shown in the UK. Many aviation enthusiasts used the micro-blogging platform to express their excitement (or cynicism) at the inclusion of the private jet and helicopter, which both featured towards the end of the episode.
Nerdy Sherlock plot observations – why was villain’s helicopter borrowed by police? Why was jet used by MI5 Danish registered?
— Harrasepp (@Harrasepp) January 13, 2014
I happen to know the private jet Sherlock just took off on rather well – very comfy seats!
— Andrew McQuillan (@CrowdSafetyNI) January 12, 2014
Double dose of geekery coming up: Sherlock aircraft was OY-EDP – North Flying’s Citation III – bit of an odd choice!
— Algernon Trotter (@algernontrotter) January 12, 2014
