and NTSB reports linked in these threads I was determined to buy a helicopter tour (of the Hawaii Big Island) as a birthday gift for my gf during our trip to Hawaii in November. Now I'm not so sure it's such a great idea as I initially thought it was. I don't think I'm easy to scare and I so know that the volume of flights every day is huge but there seems to be too many accidents often caused by human error to just say it's exaggeration.
Your thoughts/experience???
I've done night 'copter tour over Vegas many years ago and absolutely loved it. Is it a better (read safer) alternative to Hawaii? Although boxes from concreete and glass can't even remotely compare with natural scenery that's for sure.
Corey07850 From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 2522 posts, RR: 5 Reply 1, posted (6 years 1 day 16 hours ago) and read 3335 times:
Did a helicopter tour on Maui and it was unbelievable... The company I went on did the filming for the opening scenes of Jurassic Park where they are flying low level over the water and pull up above the cliff and recreated this for us, pretty cool stuff. Stick to the major companies and you should be fine in terms of safety. Try to get a helicopter that has two-way communication on board. On my trip we could hear the pilot, but the pax didn't have mics to talk to him which sucked when you had a question...
An alternative would be to take a catamaran tour of the island. We did this on Kauai and it was incredible. Basically an all day thing with food provided. Great scenery, they take you to good snorkeling spots, fun ride, and great people on board make it a really good time.
AirPacific747 From Denmark, joined May 2008, 2096 posts, RR: 23 Reply 2, posted (6 years 1 day 15 hours ago) and read 3320 times:
Quoting Corey07850 (Reply 1): Did a helicopter tour on Maui and it was unbelievable... The company I went on did the filming for the opening scenes of Jurassic Park where they are flying low level over the water and pull up above the cliff and recreated this for us, pretty cool stuff.
I did exactly that kind of tour on Maui too! Our pilot flew really close to the mountains, so that we were surrounded by the mountains from 3 sides.. there were some strong winds but because of the rotor on the helicopter, you don't feel it so much... it was extremely beautiful!
Airfoilsguy From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 3, posted (6 years 1 day 15 hours ago) and read 3313 times:
Quoting Corey07850 (Reply 1): The company I went on did the filming for the opening scenes of Jurassic Park where they are flying low level over the water and pull up above the cliff and recreated this for us,
Blue Hawaii Helicopters. Well worth the money plus you get a video of the whole tour. Don't even think about it, you must do it or you will be sorry later.
AirPacific747 From Denmark, joined May 2008, 2096 posts, RR: 23 Reply 4, posted (6 years 1 day 14 hours ago) and read 3298 times:
Quoting Airfoilsguy (Reply 3): Blue Hawaii Helicopters. Well worth the money plus you get a video of the whole tour. Don't even think about it, you must do it or you will be sorry later.
I got a video from my tour too... I think all the companies offer this...
Arniepie From Belgium, joined Aug 2005, 1265 posts, RR: 1 Reply 5, posted (6 years 1 day 14 hours ago) and read 3293 times:
I wouldn't hesitate to do it, I took some helo rides in the US and they where always worth it.
So far I've been around the SF bay area, New York city, a ride around the Grand Canyon and a tour over the Hoover dam, every single one of them was more than worth it and I never had any safety concerns whatsoever.
Quoting Corey07850 (Reply 1): Try to get a helicopter that has two-way communication on board. On my trip we could hear the pilot, but the pax didn't have mics to talk to him which sucked when you had a question...
Good advice but as far as I can remember I always had a 2way comm system so maybe you where not that lucky (or I was every time).
Related question:
Has anybody ever taken a tour around Mount st Helens and how was it?
What other tours are worthwhile to take (worldwide)?
Fbgdavidson From United Kingdom, joined Oct 2004, 3688 posts, RR: 31 Reply 6, posted (6 years 1 day 13 hours ago) and read 3286 times:
Quoting Airfoilsguy (Reply 3):
Blue Hawaii Helicopters. Well worth the money plus you get a video of the whole tour. Don't even think about it, you must do it or you will be sorry later.
I did a tour with Blue Hawaiian on Kauai a few months back and don't have a bad word to say about them. I've done quite a few helicopter tours in various parts of the world and they were the most professional lot I've ever dealt with. I'd have no hesitations when it came to safety. Heck, even if the helicopter did go down I can't think of many other places I'd rather die! Kauai is spectacular.
57AZ From United States of America, joined Nov 2004, 2550 posts, RR: 2 Reply 7, posted (6 years 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 3247 times:
I took a helo tour of Maui back some time ago-certainly worth it. Furthermore, the helo operations allow tens of thousands of people to enjoy the beauty of the islands with a minimum of impact on the environment. Saying that the helo tours should be curtailed or shuttered due to the number of human error accidents is like saying a major airline like United should be shut down if they have two or three similar accidents, despite their millions of safe flights.
"When a man runs on railroads over half of his lifetime he is fit for nothing else-and at times he don't know that."
4holer From United States of America, joined Feb 2002, 2854 posts, RR: 10 Reply 8, posted (6 years 1 day 5 hours ago) and read 3208 times:
Quoting Airfoilsguy (Reply 3): Don't even think about it, you must do it or you will be sorry later.
Absolutely!!!
The only way to see it.
I did Kauai and the volcanoes on the Big Island (Where Kilauea is up to something these past few days, BTW) and it was the highlights of my trip, if not my life.
Do it.
SJCRRPAX From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 10, posted (6 years 23 hours ago) and read 3164 times:
Just to be contrary here, I did the Blue Helicopter tour of Maui. The company was first rate, the Helicopters were top notch, perfectly safe IMHO, but I thought it was a waste of money. The Helicopter never went down very low, might as well been on a Cessna. The money and time in my opinion would be better spent renting Harleys or snorkling. I felt sorry for the Blue Hawaiian guys, my wife missed the Barf Bag about 1 minute before landing. I had no idea she was air sick, still don't understand that as I normally get motion sick fairly easy and I felt nothing. Blue Hawaiian guys were real nice, even after that, but I felt sorry they had to ground their million dollar Helicopter for awhile to clean it up. I have heard some of the other Islands have better tours, but for me the Maui ride was too expensive for what I got and I'll never take another ride Helicopter ride again unless the price goes way down.
57AZ From United States of America, joined Nov 2004, 2550 posts, RR: 2 Reply 11, posted (6 years 20 hours ago) and read 3136 times:
Quoting SJCRRPAX (Reply 10): The Helicopter never went down very low,
Must've been the pilot. I think they were the company we flew with. Our pilot was an ex-West Coast police pilot and we rarely got significantly above treetop level except where required by law.
"When a man runs on railroads over half of his lifetime he is fit for nothing else-and at times he don't know that."
Hawaiian717 From United States of America, joined May 1999, 3095 posts, RR: 8 Reply 12, posted (6 years 20 hours ago) and read 3133 times:
Big Island is definitely worth it, it's pretty much the only way to see the lava coming out of the volcano up close. If that's your main interest, take a flight out of Hilo; since its closer it should be cheaper, though you won't get to see as much of the island from the air as you would if you had to fly out from the Kona side.
MD-90 From United States of America, joined Jan 2000, 8422 posts, RR: 13 Reply 13, posted (6 years 18 hours ago) and read 3115 times:
My parents went to Vegas for their honeymoon and the best thing about it from their perspective was renting a Cherokee and flying over Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon at altitudes that are now restricted.
And any Hawaii helicopter tour is probably safer than taking the really scenic route through the Grand Canyon.
L410Turbolet From Czech Republic, joined May 2004, 5411 posts, RR: 18 Reply 14, posted (5 years 12 months 3 days 14 hours ago) and read 3034 times:
Anyone had a chance to experience and compare quality of tours over the Big Island vs. Kauai and inflight experience aboard A-Star vs. Hughes 500 vs. ECO Star???
4holer From United States of America, joined Feb 2002, 2854 posts, RR: 10 Reply 15, posted (5 years 12 months 2 days 23 hours ago) and read 3011 times:
Quoting L410Turbolet (Reply 14): Anyone had a chance to experience and compare quality of tours over the Big Island vs. Kauai
I loved both, but I gotta give the edge to Kauai. It truly moves the soul. Volcanoes were way cool, but I still get choked up thinking about Kauai. As someone said before, if the helicopter had gone down there, I can think of no better way to go.
Corey07850 From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 2522 posts, RR: 5 Reply 16, posted (5 years 12 months 2 days 20 hours ago) and read 2998 times:
Quoting 4holer (Reply 15): I loved both, but I gotta give the edge to Kauai. It truly moves the soul. Volcanoes were way cool, but I still get choked up thinking about Kauai. As someone said before, if the helicopter had gone down there, I can think of no better way to go.
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