Helicopter excursions around the Grand Canyon began in 1965. Nowadays several outfits operate from both Nevada and Arizona, providing thousands of tourists with the trip of a lifetime. Several airports have regular flights, but the most convenient is Grand Canyon National Park Airport.
Grand Canyon National Park Airport
Seven miles away from the South Rim, and just outside the Park itself, GCN handles primarily scenic and charter flights. One company flying from here is Grand Canyon Helicopters, who operate the Eco-Star helicopter. This state-of-the-art aircraft boasts air conditioning, comfortable bucket seats, specially designed windows and noise-cancelling headsets. It is also remarkably quiet, even when standing only a few feet away from the spinning rotors.
Helicopter Tours of the Grand Canyon
Passengers choose between the 30 and 60 minute trip, before being weighed and given a safety briefing. After a quick calculation, the dispatcher allocates seats based on these weights, with the lightest people getting the front-row, and the best view.
Everyone is then led out to the bright red helicopter, their clothes and hair whipped about by rotor downwash amidst the heavy smell of kerosene. Once harnesses and headsets are checked by the ground crew, the door is closed and relative silence fills the cabin. A quick wave-off and the pilot hauls back on his controls.
The helicopter becomes weightless and flutters a couple of feet into the air, hovering back and forth as if unsure whether it belongs there or not. However, once the pilot has completed his checks, he pushes the center stick towards the Canyon and the machine shoots forward. The distance to the Rim is covered quickly, just 100 feet above the tree-covered plateau, while the classic theme tune to 2001:A Space Odyssey is played through the headphones. With perfect timing, the first orchestral crescendo is reached at the same time as the edge, and suddenly the ground is one mile below.
The Grand Canyon Circuit
A narration replaces the music, explaining how the Canyon was formed and the exploits of the first explorers. Most passengers, however, hear none of this. No amount of pictures or films can prepare for the first time the true scale of this Wonder is revealed. The sheer walls consist of layers of multi-colored rock, towering impossibly high above the orange-hued Colorado River. The helicopter bobs and weaves like a cork in the thermals as the pilot follows a set route, banking around giant buttes that appear to be reaching out for the passengers' feet.
All too soon, time is up and the pilot navigates towards the airport. Even back over the trees, all the passengers crane their necks, trying to catch one last glimpse of one of the most beautiful sights the planet has to offer.
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