Las Vegas - Heli chartering in Las Vegas

Hi,

In June I will be spending a weekend in Las Vegas to relax a bit from work... Since I'm also a photographer I would like to know if there are any possibilities to rent a heli cheap?

I don't want a regular tour and I don't want other tourists with me... I want to make pictures of Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, etc... but not during a regular tour with a bunch of tourists where you don't have time or have to share a windowseat...

Are there companies who charter their heli's? Can it be done cheap? I don't want the picknick nor champagne (I don't drink), etc... I just want a heli who can take me to some places to take pictures. ;)

Any suggestions? Is this a good time? Does the crisis affect the heli companies also and are there chances that they are willing to operate at a "fair and decent" price?

Is it allowed to open the doors inflight or are there companies who operate heli's with windows which can be opened?

Thanks for any suggestions!

I am moving this over to the FT Las Vegas forum for suggestions and discussion.
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

why not just buy out a tour/etc of some kind? that wouldnt be that expensive. you might also check for hotel packages for a short strip flight.

i cant imagine a "discount" on a charter would bring the price below thousands/hour.

Here are some links to services. Contact them to see how much they will charge for one person. Maybe they might just charge you for a flight if it was full, i.e. $200 per person and 5 persons max per flight = $1000 just for you.

http://www.sundancehelicopters.com/
http://www.maverickhelicopter.com/
http://www.grandcanyonhelicoptersaz.com/
http://www.papillon.com/

I'd do it more during the summer months, i.e. June - September. It will be hot but almost guaranteed better weather. Consider late morning to early afternoon time slot unless you want sunrise/sunset shots.

This type of stuff is easily handled at North Las Vegas Airport (VGT (http://www.mccarran.com/ga_nlv.asp)).

What's a "heli"??:D

What's a "heli"??:D

Sorry, but my native language is Dutch ;)

I thought that "heli" was just like in Dutch an abbrevation for helicopter.

My mistake... :D

I am moving this over to the FT Las Vegas forum for suggestions and discussion.
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

Thanks and sorry ;)

why not just buy out a tour/etc of some kind? that wouldnt be that expensive. you might also check for hotel packages for a short strip flight.

i cant imagine a "discount" on a charter would bring the price below thousands/hour.

Thanks for the suggestion! Didn't think about that!

Here are some links to services. Contact them to see how much they will charge for one person. Maybe they might just charge you for a flight if it was full, i.e. $200 per person and 5 persons max per flight = $1000 just for you.

http://www.sundancehelicopters.com/
http://www.maverickhelicopter.com/
http://www.grandcanyonhelicoptersaz.com/
http://www.papillon.com/

I'd do it more during the summer months, i.e. June - September. It will be hot but almost guaranteed better weather. Consider late morning to early afternoon time slot unless you want sunrise/sunset shots.

Thanks! That's indeed maybe a possibility. ;)


Unfortunately my short trip to Vegas is allready booked. I've booked my flights and hotel (BRU-IAD-LAS and back with UA and a suite in TheHotel@Mandalay) with a local travelagency. I'll be in Vegas from 4 to 8 June. And even that is probably allready to hot for me :cool: ;)

June was the only option open for me. During the end of July we are closed but then I have allready booked another holiday. And besides that, July would be definately to hot for me... I prefer Las Vegas more to the end of the year (when it's a bit cooler) but during the end of October and the beginning of November I've allready another "holiday" planned. I'll be guiding a visit to the firedepartment of Dallas where we will stay for a week with a group of 10. The week after we will be touring San Antonio, Austin & Houston to do some siteseeing...

To bad my days off are limited :D

I like indeed sunrise/sunset shots... ;)

I'll contact some of the companies and hear what they can offer.


Thanks all for the suggestions!

In addition to contacting one of the tour operators try calling one of the local helicopter flight schools, preferably at one of the outlying airports. When I was taking lessons it was about $130/hr wet for a Robinson R-22 (2-seat trainer) and about $35 for the flight instructor. I'm sure it's probably more by now, but CFIs are generally there to build hours and the FBOs are happy to get the rental income. It might be a bunch cheaper renting a 2-seater than "buying out" a larger bird. Also get them to remove the passenger door for better shots.

In addition to contacting one of the tour operators try calling one of the local helicopter flight schools, preferably at one of the outlying airports. When I was taking lessons it was about $130/hr wet for a Robinson R-22 (2-seat trainer) and about $35 for the flight instructor. I'm sure it's probably more by now, but CFIs are generally there to build hours and the FBOs are happy to get the rental income. It might be a bunch cheaper renting a 2-seater than "buying out" a larger bird. Also get them to remove the passenger door for better shots.

Thanks but nowhere in this life I'll be flying in a R-22, hell this "thing" won't get even of the ground with me (I'm a very big guy) :D

But I'll have to admit, it's a very cheap solution... ^

very interesting Zarf4 ^

In addition to contacting one of the tour operators try calling one of the local helicopter flight schools, preferably at one of the outlying airports. When I was taking lessons it was about $130/hr wet for a Robinson R-22 (2-seat trainer) and about $35 for the flight instructor. I'm sure it's probably more by now, but CFIs are generally there to build hours and the FBOs are happy to get the rental income. It might be a bunch cheaper renting a 2-seater than "buying out" a larger bird. Also get them to remove the passenger door for better shots.

I would agree with the above as well, you don't necessarily need to get a R-22? i'm sure if you looked around they probably have a R-44 that could easily get up with whatever gear you might want to bring? (probably closer to about 190-200/hr wet or so

Last year we "chartered" two helicopters from Maverick. We just purchased 2x6=12 seats and said that we want two helicopters exclusive for our group. Our group was 10 pax so we had a couple of spare seats. No problem at all.

When you check companies be sure to ask if they will land, I got the impression that not all companies are licensed to land.