Helicopters vs. plane trips
 

The message below about the helicopter crash on Hawaii got me thinking that perhaps we should take a plane tour of the volcanos. Has anyone taken one (or even preferably both) and can tell me the advantages of one vs. the other?

thanks!

I have no idea about Hawaii, but helicopters are nothing like planes, even small ones. I've been on helicopters twice now, and loved every second. Planes are fun, but just don't compare. You can see more from a chopper, and presumeably get better pictures. It's like being on a roller coaster without anything underneath you-I highly reccommend it!

The advantage of a plane tour vs a helicopter tour is that you have a far better chance of surviving the tour.

I have flown in both a helicopter and in small planes (although not in Hawaii). Like kmchick says, you have a better view and can get much better pictures from a helicopter.

On the other hand, it is much more comfortable in a plane. The helicopter I flew in (over the Grand Canyon) was a 6-seater. Two of us had to sit facing backwards. Our seats were designated by weight -- heavier people in the back, mid-weights in the middle, lightest person in the front with the pilot. Everyone ended up mildly sick to their stomach from the up and down motion of the helicopter. If you're not subject to motion sickness, I guess that wouldn't be a problem. We all had to wear large headsets to listen to the tour narration; plus, it was quite warm in the helicopter, and we were all wringing with sweat when the tour was over.

If you decide on a helicopter tour, try and find out if it is narrated by the pilot, over a speaker, or by a recording played over a headset. You can't ask questions when you're listening over a headset. (Well, I guess you could, but you couldn't hear the answers.)

Good luck!

Donna

Although it's not at all funny, I had to laugh at the truth in Rusty's reply, which was posted while I was typing mine. Every time I use my 35mm camera, I see a sticker I placed on the back of my camera after my helicopter tour in September of 2000. The sticker says "Papillon Helicopter Tours". Since then, I have heard of 3 or 4 fatal helicopter crashes involving the same company. Kinda deters me from wanting to fly in a helicopter again.

Before you choose a company, do a Google search. Enter __________ (name of company) helicopter crash ... and see if anything pops up.

Donna

As I said in the other thread, helicopters are ten times more likely to crash than fixed-wing aircraft. I found this out from researching the NASA websites. Whatever company you choose, the very nature of where helicopters fly, and how helicopters fly, makes them much less safe than other aircraft. Have you ever read the accident rate of crashes for the medical helicopters that fly from medical centers and news helicopters? It's terrible.

I have to point out that helicopters frequently fly in adverse conditions especially medical copters. In the long run their record may be worse but they may also fly more when conditions are bad.

I believe, in other words than yours, shaz60, that I said just that above........... " the very nature of where helicopters fly, and how helicopters fly, makes them much less safe than other aircraft."

Helicopters often fly low into small, cramped areas that you can't get to with other aircraft, and when you do that you take some risks. I just do not think most people who choose to fly into the hidden reaches of Kauai, for instance, realize that it is much more dangerous than their flight to Hawaii on an MD-80.

There have been several small plane crashes too. You just need to look into it and think about what you are comfortable with for your family.

We took a fixed-wing tour over the volcano on the BI and loved it. My spouse had previously done the same trip on a chopper and said she preferred the plane. Everyone gets a window, it's faster than the chopper hence you're "on station" longer; if it's a high-wing plane the view down is superb; if it's a low-wing plane then the pilot can circle the sight with one wing down (or reverse) so pictures are excellent. And mainly, it's half the cost of the chopper, ergo twice the time for the same investment.

In response to Shaz60's comments on medical copters flying in bad weather...On the contrary, my finance' is a flight nurse and she says they rarely fly in adverse weather conditions as opposed to other types of aircraft. They won't even fly with wind gusts over 20 knots. However, new's copter pilots are crazy!!! I've seen them try to fly into a tornado...My next door neighbor is a helicopter mechanic and he says they are all safe, as long as, the aircraft receives regular maintenance and the pilot has over 2000 hrs flight time.

We just canceled our Helicopter adventure tour in Kaua'i due to this recent series of accident reports.