June 17, 2005

12 minutes over Manhattan with Liberty Helicopters

As part of our romantic Manhattan weekend to celebrate our anniversary almost three weeks ago, my husband and I flew on the Liberty Helicopter tour over the city.

We took "The Big Apple" tour billed as a 10- to 12-minute tour of the city for $108 per person.

Before we could cross 12th Street (also known as the West Side Highway,) we were stopped by two men in red vests wanting to know if we had helicopter reservations. They told us we had to pay there before crossing the highway. They looked official (and indeed they were,) though it sure felt like a potential scam. We were told we still had to pay our heliport fee at Liberty's trailer near the heliport.

We crossed the street and took the footpath along the Hudson River bike path. As we walked along, we passed three helicopters on the dock, all with their blades spinning.

When we got to the Liberty Helicopter trailer, we were confronted with about 100 other people waiting for their flights. Now it seemed clear why they wanted us to pay across the street, before we saw the line. Once we got to the front of the line to pay $9.50 each for our heliport fee, it was already 11 a.m. I asked how soon we might be able to board; half an hour, I was told. (It was a full hour before we were on board.)

"Even with our 10:45 reservation," I asked. Yes. What would it have been without a reservation? "We're not talking walk-ins today."

We also had to pay $1 for a locker. While you're allowed to take a camera onboard, you can't take much else. Cell phones must be stored in the lockers.

There were some seats in the trailer, but most people had to stand. After about half an hour, our names were called and we had to walk though a security gate. It wasn't clear if the security guard was working for the TSA. He opened my camera case, but there was no machine to X-ray other items like at an airport.

Once through security, we stood in another room for close to half an hour waiting for our turn. We were all handed life vests that could open with a tug. We strapped them around our waists and the staff came around to make sure they were secure. A safety film played over and over. It said Liberty uses different types of helicopters, so they'd show us safety for each one. If you’re in this kind of helicopter, this is how to do your seatbelts and how you open the door. If you’re in this kind of helicopter, this is how it works. However, while you're standing there, you don’t know which kind of helicopter you’ll be on. One type had recessed handles and I remember thinking I hope we don’t have that kind of helicopter because in an emergency they’d probably be harder to find and operate.

Although the film played over and over, when we got into the helicopter, I couldn't find the seatbelt and had to be helped by my husband.

There were eight of us in the helicopter. Four in the front; four in the back. I sat directly behind the pilot on the left side of the helicopter. We all wore headset that allowed us to hear the pilot, though we couldn't talk to him. (My husband said his headset audio cut out about halfway through the flight.)

The helicopter lifted off from our heliport on the docks and hovered for a few seconds before swooping up and out over the Hudson River. As we headed toward Ellis Island, the pilot asked if we liked rollercoaster. Unsure if he could hear our answers, but he gave us a quick dip of weightlessness that lasted just a second or two.We swooped above Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty and then deeper into New York Harbor and toward Brooklyn, and Governor's Island. We could see pretty much everything from there - Staten Island, New Jersey, Brooklyn, Manhattan, New Jersey and all the bridges and ferries and big ships below. The pilot then headed back over to Ellis and Liberty islands, hovering for what felt like a long good look at the monuments.

All of the seats in our copter had good views, though your pictures aren’t going to look great if you don’t have a window seat.

As we headed up the Hudson, the pilot repeatedly pointed out the location of Ground Zero. We went up toward the George Washington Bridge, turning in over land only when we were up near Yankee Stadium. We went inland as far as about 5th Avenue, which was easy enough to see as it runs on the east side of Central Park. From there, the helicopter went back to the Hudson and back to our starting point.

June 17, 2005 06:55 PM in Tours

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