Fairey Tale

The history of aviation is littered with aircraft concepts and prototypes that promised to bring point-to-point passenger services to the traveling public. The idea of replacing massive and remote airports with a rooftop or downtown landing pad was, to say the least, inviting. The 1950s were a time of enthusiastic aerospace development and innovation, and one odd-looking aircraft of the era was the Fairey Aviation Company’s Rotodyne. It was designed to meet a short-haul vertical-lift requirement of British European Airways (BEA), an ancestor of today’s British Airways.

2023-04-17T10:07:17-08:00June 21st, 2017|

4 of the best helicopter sightseeing tours in North America

It's magical. And it's very loud. That moment when a helicopter lifts off is a sweet sensory overload, with turbine engines screaming and the main rotor beating the air into submission just a few feet above your head. But coddled in a good set of noise-canceling headphones or cocooned in a super-soundproofed cabin, you can experience the wonder of rotary-winged flight while marveling at the spectacular views unique to heli-sightseeing.

2023-02-20T20:01:49-08:00May 8th, 2017|

Help From Above

Tune into the TV news in Vancouver, and one might see a story about a hapless hiker who’s lost in the local mountains, or a senseless snowboarder who rode out-of-bounds into a ravine. Invariably, to get the story, the reporter interviews one of the back-country rescue specialists at North Shore Rescue (NSR), with a bright yellow helicopter belonging to Vancouver-based Talon Helicopters hovering in the background. If the rescue is successful, the video might show people dangling on a long-line below Talon’s TwinStar helicopter as they drop gently into a parking lot. Sometimes, though, the rescue becomes a recovery mission. And in the 20-year relationship between NSR and Talon, rescue specialists and pilots have seen their share of both.

2023-02-20T20:01:50-08:00March 15th, 2017|

Best View in the House

In the midst of the many challenges facing the industry, some of Canada’s helicopters operators are finding a bright spot. Fueled by tourists looking for a new perspective of the Great White North’s fabulous landscapes and skylines, the heli-sightseeing and heli-tourism sector is seeing growth. And with the Canadian dollar’s continued weakness against the U.S. dollar, the tourism industry north of the border is set to receive a serious boost from those looking to take advantage of the generous conversion rate.

2023-02-20T20:02:21-08:00August 24th, 2015|
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