Originally Posted by
Fareastdriver
Unless you are gong to look at something that is 10,000ft. plus there seem little point of going that high.
Well, photography of tall things can sometimes call for it. Back in the early 1980's I was hired to shoot photos for a book on Mexico's national parks and "natural wonders." My publisher wanted some shots of Volcan Popocateptl outside Mexico City, so in addition to the ground visit, we hired a Hughes 500 (if I remember right) and pilot out of Aeropuerto Benito Juárez.
It was a beautiful clear day, flying over to the volcano with the door removed on my side. To get a good angle on the volcano, the pilot kept climbing higher as we slowly circled it. The mountain is 17,802 ft. high. I wasn't paying attention to the gauges but I know we didn't get high enough to see into the caldera, so I'd estimate we reached maybe 14,000-15,000 feet. I remember at one point the pilot said we had set a local altitude record for helicopters. That surprised me; I didn't think we were up that high. The ground looks abstract and difficult to judge height once you get high enough. I do remember how cold it got. I hadn't thought ahead about what it would be like with the door off at that altitude, and wasn't dressed for it. Lesson learned for later air-photo flights in mountainous areas.
I don't remember any ill effects from the altitude. We weren't up there for more than a few minutes, and I had been staying for a couple of weeks in a hotel in Mexico City at 7,000 ft. I guess I was partially acclimated, and so was the pilot working out of that airport.