Companies
Hi All.
Firstly, i am one of the pilots that fly to the Canyon on a daily basis, secondly, i am a Brit so i see and hear the differences between the styles of flying between the two sides of the pond.
In regards to companies, go online and read up on them all, EACH ONE has either had and accident or incident at sometime.
I fly for Sundance and i could preach and sing my companies praises and i will if you ask me directly, but i'm not here to advertise for them.
I'm sorry to say this but the main question that started this thread is a bulls@*t question. If you are that conserned about dying, then stay on the ground.
Anyone who has done their homework will see that the last fatal accident was 51/2 years ago and the one prior was 71/2 years ago. Tours have been flown to the Canyon for close to 25 years and just Sundance alone flies over 18000 trips a year, thats a hell of alot of safe flights to one fatality and there are 4 other companies as well.
Sundance and Maverick have cameras onboard their aircraft that are used to make DVDs of the tours for the guests and as i can't speak for Maverick i can tell you that Sundance watches the trips on a regular basis to check quality of the tours but mainly to see how each pilot is flying and are they keeping to the tour routes and company standards. If not, that pilot will be let go... no 2 weeks notice or finish out the week..... gone that day.
There are no thrill rides out here in the Canyon... you might be on a flight with a pilot that throws the aircraft around and thats great to you but he/she will be spotted by one of the other 20+ aircraft that fly out at the same time and it will be reported or recorded. If you want one of those rides then you'll have to go to the top of the Stratosphere and you have 3 to choose from.
Sorry to sound a bit punchy on this subject but this is my job and i love what i do and topics like this aren't what i want to see or hear from in this industry regardless of what side of the pond it is on.
The styles of flying and aviation rules on either side are very different and even though i have never flown in the UK i have sat in one of the safety meetings at Red Hill and listen to the way things are done over there. You guys have a ton of rules and alot different to us over here.
For those interested, you will have 20+ helicopters flying the canyon at any one time... this includes decents and departures to and from the bottom and this is EVERY hour. There is NO tower in the Canyon and it is all monitered by the pilots at set reporting points and altitudes.
There is nothing i have seen or heard of in the UK or Europe that can compare to this level of aircraft activity condensed in to a corridoor that is just under a mile wide (edge of Colorado River to the Canyon wall), 15 miles long with an altitude change of 3500' in a space of 4 miles.
Regardless of who they fly for, all the boys and girls that fly in the Canyon are safety orientated. No one wants to crash, they all give good tours and want to keep their jobs.
Please come over and see us, you won't be disappointed regardless of who you fly with (prefer it to be me). It is an eye opener to see how the other half do things and if you fly let me know and i'll try and hook you up in the co-pilots plug and you'll get a first hand look at what we have to do and why we enjoy it .
Fly safe.