Mystery white Hs painted onto the grass appeared in Downing College and Churchill College on Thursday. It became clear today that they were for Sir James Dyson's visit to Cambridge – via helicopter. The registration of the helicopter, G-DC01 is thought to be a nod toward the standard Dyson DC-01 cleaner that initially made the company a success.

After landing in Downing, Sir James first went to the Department of Engineering, where he discussed the opening of the James Dyson lab. His visit follows the recent announcement of the James Dyson Foundation investment of £8 million into the Department of Engineering. This was the largest donation ever received by the department and will go towards the James Dyson Building for Engineering and the Dyson Engineering Design Centre.

Later, he headed over to the West Cambridge Site to visit the Whittle Laboratory (which specializes in fluid dynamics and thermodynamics of turbo machinery) and the Institute of Manufacturing, after which he was picked up by his helicopter at Churchill.

The aerial visit was a welcome study break for students, with Downing College PhD student Krit Sitathani noting that: "there was a large amount of students somehow casually 'working' around the paddock today to witness Sir Dyson's arrival. I was somehow magically reading a paper on the grass today at 9:40am."