Scenic and charter helicopter flights from the Adelaide Plains, for up to three of you with the pilot.
The gulf coast, from the
front seat.
Move the pointer to bank. Arrow keys work too.
Where we would take you
We plan the route with you before the day. Here are three we fly, told leg by leg. Pick your seat, and each leg turns to your window.
- The gulf coast and back: under an hour.
- Across the water to the Yorke Peninsula: most of a morning.
- Kangaroo Island: a day, with time on the ground for lunch.
Times are a guide. The wind decides the rest.
The plains
Lifting off and heading south, towards the city and the water. About ten minutes, smooth and steady.
Left side The ranges, blue in the morning, the whole length of them.
Right side The salt pans at the edge of the gulf, white, or faintly pink after rain.
Under your feet Stubble combed in straight lines, and our own shadow crossing it.
The city
Over the city and out to the water in about the time it takes to boil the kettle.
Left side The hills behind the city, close enough to pick out the gullies.
Right side The parklands, a green ring around the grid, and the beaches beyond.
Under your feet Rooftops, then the sand.
The gulf coast
South along the shore for about twenty minutes, a little out over the water, so our noise stays off the beach and you can count the sandbars.
Left side Pale cliffs, then the dunes, with the hills behind them all the way.
Right side The water, the whole way. The swell comes in sets, and from up here you see each line long before it breaks.
Under your feet The surf lines, one after another.
Or west, across the water to the Yorke Peninsula.
About twenty minutes of open water, flat and bright on a still day, until the peninsula's cliffs come up. We follow them south with the cliffs on the right, turn at the bottom of the bay and come home a different way. Life jackets are on from the moment we cross the coast.
Left side The Southern Ocean, and nothing after it.
Right side Cliffs, then heath, then a long curved bay.
The island
Half an hour of open water, then the cliffs.
We only cross when the forecast holds for the whole day, both ways. If it doesn't, we move the date with you.
Set down in the paddock
Private transfers to country properties and events. We land where the owner has agreed, and we look at the ground first, from the maps and photographs you send us.
Pick the spot and bring it down slowly. Watch the air roll out across the grass, and the grass stand back up behind you. That's why we ask about the paddock.
At a hover the grass lies flat in a ring about 24 metres across.
We ask for stock to be moved to the far side, and for anything loose to be put away. Dust travels further than you'd think.
Weather and weight
We decide the afternoon before and look again in the morning: wind, cloud and how far we can see. If any of them is wrong, we call you and move the flight, to the spare day we picked together or another that suits you.
Three seats share one weight limit, so we ask each passenger's weight when we plan, privately. It decides who sits where and how much fuel we carry. On some days that means two passengers, not three.
From the first call to skids down
The days before
We plan the route with you on a call, and pick a day and a spare.
The afternoon before
We check the weather and call with a yes or a new day. Wear flat shoes, layers and a dark top (it cuts the reflections in your photographs). Bring a soft bag small enough for your lap.
On the pad
A ten-minute briefing, seats by weight, headsets on.
In the air
The pilot tells you what's coming up, and on which side.
Skids down
We wait until the blades have stopped before anyone steps out.
Tell us where you'd like to go
A few lines is plenty. We'll call to plan the route, the day and a spare, and ask each passenger's weight then.