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What sets Nomads apart from other operators is their ability to penetrate the heart of Patagonia. This is what had brought us more than 10,000 miles to one of the most pristine environments on earth. Patagonia, which is split between Chile and Argentina, stretches almost 1,000 miles southwards from Puerto Montt and provides a constantly changing vista of fascination and beauty.

The seas positively explode with life, from the tiniest of krill and other shellfish to sea-lions, penguins, dolphins and whales. Steamer ducks, four varieties of cormorant, turkey vultures, the occasional albatross and the caracara (an indigenous falcon) all helped to create a birdwatching nirvana too.

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Helicopter pilot Francisco made a quick announcement. 'Is everyone up for a low-level pass of the ship? If you are, I need to see all six hands up!' Six arms were immediately raised. And, with no further ado, our Bell 407 roared down to wave level and completed a high speed fly-by of our seagoing home, the MV Atmosphere.

Without realising it, Francisco had set the most exquisite exclamation mark on a week of Patagonian perfection. We had embarked in Puerto Montt, 28 intrepid travellers ready for adventure but unsure what to expect from this voyage into one of the world's most desolate wildernesses.

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Chopper 2004 wrote: Have you seen the MV Atmosphere with its pair of red Bell 407 in your neck of the woods or any high resolution shots?

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M/Y SAMAR is a 77m (252 foot) steel-and-aluminum Laurent Giles designed luxury motor yacht with studio and interior styling by Joe Thome. She was built and launched by Devonport Yachts of England in 2006. Yacht SAMAR is a very large and luxurious charter yacht which features almost everything that can be offered on a private motor yacht. SAMAR has a helipad, a large Jacuzzi pool, an open bar, large deck areas, a side garage, as well as a movie theater. The luxury yacht is capable of extended global cruising, with a range of 6,000 nautical miles and cold storage provisions for 44 people (including crew).

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500 fan wrote: That EC130 landing in Post #14 seemed a bit overly cautious with a lot of time spent in the avoid curve.

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That EC130 landing in Post #14 seemed a bit overly cautious with a lot of time spent in the avoid curve. I think they need to get a few tunaboat pilots involved. Straight in, no messing. They might spill a few sherrys in the back, though!

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The captain and crew of M/Y Calixe had a run in with Gibraltar authorities earlier this month trying to helicopter their guests off the yacht.

It appears that one aviation official gave the yacht clearance to take off, and then another rescinded the permission just as the helicopter was started.

“It’s a perfect example of the left hand not knowing what the right is doing,” said Rusty Allen, captain of Calixe. “The main issue was the man who gave us the initial permission was not authorized to do so. The authorities have apologized for the problems we encountered.”

In an effort to clarify Gibraltar’s position on helicopters taking off from yachts, Chris Purkiss, Director of Civil Aviation in Gibraltar, wrote a letter outlining the rules. He forwarded it to all marina operators and The Triton.

It reads, in part: “The main problem appears to have been caused by poor communication and a lack of guidance as to who is empowered to approve take-offs from areas other than Gibraltar Airport.

“The Civil Aviation (Rules of the Air) Regulations 2009 Section 6 (a) (ii) allow for take-offs from motor yachts such as Calixe and provides exemption from the 500-foot low-flying rule “when landing and taking-off in accordance with normal aviation practice or air-taxiing”.

“Obviously defining normal aviation practice is somewhat subjective, but in general terms if the helicopter is being operated from the motor yacht when in Gibraltar Territorial Waters to transfer personnel from the yacht to an approved landing site, or vice versa, then this is normal practice; in doing so helicopter captains will be expected to operate to their own operations manual, to have adequate separation from other vessels and to liaise with Gibraltar Air Traffic Control to ensure deconfliction from aircraft operating into or out of the airport.

“However, helicopter operations from inside the marinas within Gibraltar are not considered normal aviation and will not be authorized.”

Capt. Allen said the letter’s reference to operations “inside the marinas” was misleading as Calixe was in the basin with clearance all around when the helicopter started. The issue was resolved when an oil spill boom that had been laid out because of a recent oil tank explosion was moved and the yacht went out to the bay and launched the helicopter.

Gibraltar Airport Air Traffic Control can be contacted by e-mail at [email protected] or by telephone 00350 20053383.

Purkiss can be contacted by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone 00350 20061174 or mobile 00350 56000050.

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On August 22, 2010, about 1819 Pacific daylight time, a Robinson R44, N7186Z, made a forced landing in the water at San Diego, California. Point Zero Corporation was operating the helicopter under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The private pilot sustained serious injuries. The helicopter sustained substantial damage from impact forces. The local personal flight was departing from a yacht. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.
The pilot reported that the engine lost power at 100 feet above ground level (agl), and he heard a low rotor revolutions per minute (rpm) alarm. He inflated the helicopter’s pontoons prior to water impact. After touchdown, the helicopter rolled onto its side. The pilot extricated himself, and was standing on the wreckage when first responders arrived.

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It’s one of the world’s more exclusive clubs, made up of pilots whose job in the growing world of luxury superyachts is helicopter operations.

No one seems to know exactly how many pilots are actively engaged in this calling, but best estimates put the number at barely 50, based on the fact that no more than 50 superyachts worldwide can support helicopter operations.

Flying helicopters from superyachts has never been a particularly large club, but in recent years it has expanded, as demand by the super-wealthy for super-yachts has grown and yacht owners have come to see an onboard helicopter as a necessity rather than a convenience.

In years gone by, the truly large private yachts of a size capable of supporting a helicopter landing deck–roughly 150 feet minimum from stem to stern– were often converted from cargo or oceanographic survey vessels or, in a few cases, ocean-going tugs. A few had already been equipped for helicopter operations. Others had helicopter decks added as part of the shipyard conversion process.

Today, it is rare to see a superyacht launched that does not have a helicopter deck because more and more buyers are having a helicopter deck incorporated into the original design to enhance the yacht’s value in charter operations and resale.


When Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen took delivery of his new, 412-foot-long Octopus (see post #1 of this thread) early last year, it came with a helicopter pad on the bow and a larger helideck aft. If there is any doubt as to the size of this vessel, and the importance its owner places on helicopter operations, consider that it also has a hangar capable of accommodating a Sikorsky S-76. The ship has often been observed with an S-76 on the aft deck and a smaller MD Explorer on the forward landing pad.

According to industry insiders, as many as 200 yachts worldwide are outfitted with helicopter decks. But they agree that despite having an “H” painted somewhere on the deck and claims of being helicopter-capable, only about 50 meet most civil aviation requirements and most of those are yachts not regularly engaged in helicopter operations.

A 200-foot-long yacht has a beam of about 36 feet, barely sufficient to support helicopter operations. “The smallest yacht I know of with a helicopter pad was about 110 feet long, and it was very tight,” said Mark Elliott of International Yacht Collection in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Owners of yachts that do not have a helideck cite a number of reasons for the absence. One is that they are unwilling to give up to helicopter operations a limited amount of sea-going real estate that might be devoted to an additional stateroom or two, or an outdoor bar and Jacuzzi. As for yachts already in service, an afterthought helicopter deck is, almost without exception, said one yacht designer, “an ugly appendage,” no matter how convenient.

Finally, a lot of smaller yachts with narrow beams are not suitable for helicopter operations. “The landing rejection environment usually does not meet the public transport requirements of the civil aviation authorities in most countries,” said Nigel Watson, founder and chairman of Heli Riviera in Cannes, France.

Only a handful of the latest superyachts have both a helicopter deck and built-in hangar. With this in mind, a number of designers are working on a portable hangar that can be easily and quickly erected, broken down and stowed. “Maybe some sort of pressurized dome that would be practical for long ocean passages, and that would look nice,” said Watson.

Protecting the helicopter from the elements–in particular the corrosive effects of salt spray during extended periods at sea–is a major consideration. Fresh-water washdowns and maintenance checks are more frequent for helicopters engaged in yacht operations than those that are primarily shore-based.

In ports where facilities do not permit larger yachts to dock, the vessel’s helicopter allows the user to avoid the time-consuming process of being ferried ashore and then driven to a destination. The helicopter also permits a higher degree of privacy and security, which many high-profile yacht passengers and guests consider critical.

As they do in a shore-based environment, yacht-based helicopters also transport equipment and supplies and provide aerial sightseeing and emergency medical evacuation.

By far most of the helicopters used in yacht operations are owned and operated by the vessel’s owner. But not always. Watson, an English expatriate with both home and business in Cannes, can provide helicopters and/or flight crews for yacht owners, but his service comes primarily in the form of operational support.

Watson, 47, is ideally suited to his calling. He served five years with the Royal Navy, three years with the navy of the Sultan of Oman and 11 years in the luxury yacht industry. He has been a yacht captain and holds commercial helicopter and fixed-wing ratings.

Among Heli Riviera’s current clients is a yacht owner whose assets include a “substantial flight department” that wanted nothing to do with flying a helicopter on and off the yacht and frequently subcontracts with Heli Riviera to provide pilots and training and manage the yacht helicopter operation.


Pilot training for helicopter operations on a yacht is, for the most part, an on-the-job process, “unless you flew for the Navy or Coast Guard,” said Elliott.

Watson recommends at least five hours of training in helicopter operations from a shipboard deck, and his company provides a service that matches new and experienced pilots for this purpose. There are no civil aviation regulations regarding pilot training, but according to Watson, lately insurers have been taking a closer look at yacht operations, and expectations of training and experience are therefore likely to become more structured and more formal.

Contrary to the popular perception, said Elliott, it is actually easier to land on and take off from a yacht that is moving into the wind than one that is at anchor or tied to a pier. Elliott described the process of landing aboard a helideck on a vessel at rest as akin to balancing a spinning plate on the end of a long wooden dowel.

Elliott, 48, knows of what he speaks. He obtained his fixed-wing ticket at the tender age of 16, was a yacht captain by 19 and was flying helicopters by the time he was 21. Now he works for International Yacht and runs his own helicopter charter business with a JetRanger “in New England in the summer and the Caribbean every winter.”

Yacht flying, he said, is as much a lifestyle as a job. A pilot isn’t going to build a lot of hours. Most average less than 200 hours a year, some much less than that. “It’s not necessarily the job for a young guy who wants to build hours,” concluded Elliott.

Watson added that it’s more a bachelor pilot’s existence, “and not a bad one at that. You see the world at someone else’s expense and you get to play with some pretty nice toys. You just have to accept that you’re not going to be flying very much.”

As for older pilots with family responsibilities, “They’re probably going to find it difficult to handle the long separations,” he added.

The annual salary, said Watson, is “a little above that in the average marketplace,” which for a corporate helicopter captain in the U.S. is in the $55,000 to $60,000 range. Watson said for a pilot with an A&P license, salaries start as high as $7,500 a month. It is not unheard of for a pilot who has been with the same employer for some years to enjoy an annual salary in excess of $150,000. But it is rare.

The higher pay suggests that much more than flying may be expected of a pilot engaged in yacht operations. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it isn’t. A small number of pilots are involved exclusively in flying. “The primo pilots on the big yachts do nothing but fly,” said Elliott. “They don’t even wash ’em.”

A much larger number of pilots have additional duties aboard the yacht, ranging from maintenance to onboard fuel system management. It is not unusual to find pilots assigned duty as officer-of-the-deck during periods that the yacht is moored offshore or tied up at pierside, or on the vessel’s bridge while under way.

The pilot may also be required to supervise training for deck personnel in landing, takeoff and refueling procedures. In cases where there is an onboard refueling system, the pilot’s duties may also include maintenance and training and supervision of the deck crew in fueling operations.

The yacht owner’s pilot is also required to possess certain personal characteristics, not the least of which is tact and charm. “A yacht pilot,” said Watson, “is expected to be a combination of Tom Cruise and Father Christmas–confident but deferential– and personable.”


According to Watson, designers and builders always make an effort to adopt commercial aviation standards as a basis for helicopter deck design and construction, but having a deck that meets commercial aviation standards is only the start of regulatory considerations.

The pilot of a helicopter engaged in yacht operations must become familiar with the regulations of the civil aviation authorities of dozens of countries. It becomes particularly demanding in the Caribbean and Mediterranean, where a yacht owner may require transport from an airport in one country to a private location in another, as well as to and from the yacht.

It isn’t always convenient for pilots to keep abreast of changing regulations in myriad countries, nor do they have the contacts in various government agencies to facilitate the timely issuance of permits.

In France, for example, permits are required from that country’s naval authorities for the operation of helicopters on and off yachts, whether at anchor or at sea, while within French territorial waters. Further, French authorities require that offshore helicopter landing surfaces meet specific standards. Watson explained that the standards are “specific to each vessel, helicopter type and aircrew, and if there are any changes to any of these, the operator must resubmit the permit application.”

Heli Riviera provides a service to help pilots and yacht owners meet regulations and operational standards worldwide, and as the number of superyachts carrying helicopters continues to grow, Watson expects demand for the service will also grow.

Neither Elliott nor Watson appears to have any regrets about his years as a helicopter pilot operating from moving targets. “I worked on Big Eagle (later Nadine) as both captain and pilot and had extreme freedom as both. The owner, said Elliott, would call and simply say, ‘Take us on an adventure.’” We would be anchored in Villefrance (on the French Riviera), waterskiing one moment flying to the Alps to snow ski the next.

“It is a glamour job, and when it’s right, it’s great!”

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The Bell helicopter that came with the yacht was so unreliable that the new owner had to buy a 2nd helo ..

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