It may be the experience of a lifetime, but there have been a number of crashes, so it might just be the LAST experience of a lifetime. You couldn’t get me on a helicopter for a million dollars. One engine = single point of failure = I ain’t getting on.
Actually, I was asking for opinions of the tour from those who have taken it and was it worth $300. For those who haven’t I asked would they do it and I gave information about the tour so they could decide if it’s a good value. I didn’t ask if I should do it or not. I could care less if someone thinks I should or should not do anything. I wanted opinions of the tour.
Everyday I get in my car and drive to work my be my last experience of a lifetime. I don’t live in fear.
That newfangled “horseless carriage” has suffered a number of crashes too.
It’s not like helicopters drop like rocks if they have an engine failure - they can glide much like planes do.
I think you would be surprised by how many times in a given day you are a “single point of failure” away from certain death - especially automobile-related death. When was the last time you checked the air in your tires? A blowout at the wrong time could send you careening into a bridge abutment.
>Would you do it?
No.
I did the airplane tour and threw up everything but my kneecaps, and I was working on those. If you are prone to motion sickness, be advised that you WILL barf in copious quantities.
When I was there in 2006, I took a tour (can’t remember the name) that was different than the helicopter tour. We boarded a small plane at the GC airport at 6 a.m. The plane’s wings were above the windows, and each seat had its own large window. We had a spectacular flight over the eastern part of the canyon, all the way to the Glen Canyon Dam, where we had breakfast. We then went down to the foot of the dam, which was impressive. Then we got into jeeps and had a guided tour through Antelope Canyon. Then back to the dam, and into rafts. We then had a 4-hour rafting experience down the Colorado, stopping midway for a picnic lunch. When we got to Lee’s Ferry, we did some shopping, then were bussed back to the airport. It was a long, exciting day, and I believe cheaper than the helicopter tour, meals included.
My family and I included a helicopter tour with our vacation when we went to Vegas a couple of years ago. We all agreed that it was the highlight of the trip. The one we did took us to a ranch where we had a barbecue lunch, horseback rides, and were entertained by singing cowboys. We had a blast.
If you can, try to sit up front by the door (Our helicopter had three people in back and two people up front plus the pilot). The view was great from there.
When the engine quits in your car, you pull over to the side of the road. When the engine quits in a helicopter, you wreck into the canyon wall. There was a crash about two years ago, and there have been others. Considering the small number of helicopters doing this, it is a pretty poor safety record.
A pilot I knew spent 15 years flying helicopters and then changed to fixed-wing aircraft. He said 15 years of nothing big coming loose was more than any pilot should hope for. Lots of things are vibrating pretty hard, and if either rotor misbehaves there’s very little one can do.