Helicopter Flight Training out at Islip does have R44s (www.helicopterflighttraininginc.com). Not sure if their B206 is finished yet. They might be able to help.
The Long Island Railroad has a stop nearby the airport (Ronkonkoma), and you can walk to their location in 10-15 mins. It is about 50 miles from Manhattan though, and to get to Manhattan, a transit through JFK/LGA class B is required.

Pegasus in Linden might also be able to help (www.pegasusflight.com). Their website does show a R44 for tours. Getting there might be challenging. There is a NJ Transit station in Linden but I'm not sure how far from the airport it is.

All the best. Hope you can find what you're looking for.

Thanks NYH I have contacted them both and they are getting back to me what they can offer, both can be got to by Train

Cheers

Duncan

@NYhelipilot:

We have flown with Zipover a couple of days ago, one of their +/-18 minute flights and it was mind blowing on so many levels. I secured the front seat for myself so I could shoot some fine video. I forgot the pilots name, but he was a young dude who obviously enjoyed his work a lot and knew tons abou the area.

Plus he made a nice sharp u-turn over central park :)

I also dig they way you guys communicate with ATC, calling waypoints 'the lady' and such.

So thanks for the tip, it was truely awesome. :)

J

NEW YORK Pleasure Flight- Who's best to use ?
 

Just looking for a bit of advice - visiting NEW YORK in March 2010 and would like to do a pleasure flight around the sights for 6 persons - any reccommendations who to use ? :ok:

Liberty Helicopters.
I have used them and they are great.
I think they were the Company involved in the recent mid-air too (I thought I would tell you before someone else does).

I'm going to NY in 4 weeks and I will be using them again.

Joel

I fly with Liberty Helicopters frequently for aerial photography missions, and highly recommend them. Great group of people, nice aircraft, always been satisfied. They've got a good setup for tours, VIP charters, and photo/video work.

Wings Air also operate out of NYC.

I fly with them and can confirm their aircraft are well maintained, the pilots experienced and the outfit is professionally run.

Thanks to all who replied. Happy New Year to all...:ok:

Dear All,

I just wanted to update the Ppruners about a recent (and very positive) experience of mine.

I answered a post on this thread and mentioned that I would be visiting New York in February. Shortly afterwards I received a PM from a user who invited me on a trip around Manhattan in a Schweizer 300cbi.

I was delighted and accepted the invitation. I have just returned from New York and have to say that I was treated to a 2 hour trip around New York by an individual whom I had never met before and extended courtesy, hospitality and generosity. Furthermore, he refused to take any contribution from me and I only hope that he visits the UK soon so that I can repay his generosity
It just shows what a great community the heli community can be.

I have written about my experience on my blog here.

Whilst writing I should also say that Liberty helicopters were fantastic, I also took a ride around Manhattan with them. However, you may wish to consider Wings Air too.

Joel :ok:

JT - I'm in NY towards the end of next month and hope to do a heli tour of Manhattan (I'm not just fishing for your contact's details either!). Anybody got any fresh views on the best company to deal with?

New York Sightseeing Flights - (2011 season)
 

Hi All,

My brother is off to New York later this week and was hoping to take an aerial sightseeing trip 'around the bay'. Having looked into it, the going price seems to be around $150 for 12 minutes! :eek:

Is this a realistic price? Surely you can't see much in that time and any longer starts to make it prohibitively expensive. I was hoping to get a good steer not only for a reasonable price for a reasonable length of trip, but any heads up on recommended operators would be appreciated also.

I'm assuming that rotary would be the most practical way of getting to sightsee New York from the air, however if a fixed wing option is available any help there would also be appreciated. (He has a SEP fixed PPL if it makes any difference.)

Thanks in anticipation,
SS

dont know what kind of aircraft they operate but suspect if they can fill them at those price levels the laws of supply and demand will determine the going rate. It sounds quite stiff for 12 minutes sthough. At those rates a jet ranger could turn in quite a few hundred per hour. In fact $3000 per hour if my math is correct. Jeeze you could hire your own 212 for that kinda money!

Hoping to update thread: http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/213...-new-york.html


Agreed bolkow, seem excessively pricey.

Maybe they actually PAY the pilot!

150 Bucks might only get you a reasonable feed in NYC!

somehow I doubt the cleared amount from the $3000 per hour or any significant amount of it actually makes its way into the pilots pockets. But I'll grant you, its a lovely thought!

Check out these rates at Niagara Helicopters. I'm told the actual time in the air is about 8 minutes.
Niagara Falls Helicopter Tours - Sightseeing Flights Over The Falls

SilsoeSid, for the same $150 or so your brother could rent a 172 from a nearby field (Linden, Caldwell, or Republic) and fly around NYC on his own time. While the heli tour will provide him with the narration, if he rents a plane he'll get a lot more time and similar views. Flying around NYC isn't as challenging as one might think, and in my opinion preferable to a helicopter tour.

Just checked out Liberty Tours and you get 15 minutes for $150 - BARGAIN!! There are still some great deals to be had if you just know where to look :E

Are you serious??? Yeah, not that challenging if you're flying up the river in a fixed wing not making the mandatory radio calls like the rest of them.:ugh:

If you're gonna rent, I strongly recommend taking a local flight instructor or pilot with you who knows the river. Then there's the online SFRA course which helps a little, but only gives you the handful of mandatory reporting points, and none of the multiple other points that we actually use. It also doesn't give you any info on the routes the tour choppers fly. Without that local knowledge you'll have the local drivers screaming at you, and probably Newark and LaGuardia as well. It happens all the time, the towers will call us up on the river, asking if we can get a tail number for them of the dumbass that just busted bravo or a game TFR, or wandered up the east river.

Nobody has any business flying up and down that river for the first time on a sightseeing trip with no local knowledge(and that online course is not local knowledge).

Yeah, it's not going to kill the budget to fly with a local CFI and there would be many local knowledge benefits over and above safety.