Everyone has a bucket list. You know, those items you really want to achieve before leaving this deadly earth. There are people, you know you may never achieve it. Others, you know it can be done with a little work. For me, I know I may never be able to say I was on a plane that was ejected or landed on an aircraft carrier. I also know I can never take an helicopter on a Los Angeles Airport Photogr for an hour….
Wait, this may be possible!
Let's start a few months ago. The moment I realized I was able to attend Spotlax2023 The September event, I knew I really wanted to do one thing: filming the airport and on the plane at Los Angeles Airport, spending an hour on the helicopter.
I started looking into the details of how to achieve this. The first item is to search for companies that offer such flights. I've met Celebrity helicopterlocated in Hawthorne Airport in Los Angeles. The first item to look at from the list is the answer to this question: “Dad, what do you want to do on Father's Day?” My family's answer to this made the whole experience begin.
Knowing the dates I would be in the Los Angeles area, I set out to study when it would be the best day and flight time. This involves a few hours of flight and departure from Los Angeles International Airport. Once I know what I want to shoot, I can figure out when it works best. After setting my favorite date and time, I contacted Star Helicopters online to keep my flight. This just requires me to fill out the booking request form and select the date and time of the flight. Within a few hours, I received confirmation from the Star helicopter and everything was set. A few months laterIs it time to go to Los Angeles?transparent
Finally, the trip to Los Angeles happened and the day of the helicopter journey finally arrived! The moment I walked into the celebrity helicopter, I started an amazing experience. The staff were very welcoming and friendly. When I arrived, my pilot Philipp was doing all the inspections on the helicopter. After he was finished, he came to the office to discuss the details of the flight. It is important to note that there is a description on their website Allowed locations. Each flight allows for a transition between locations, so make your choice wisely. I chose to spend the upper half high between the two sets of runways and then transition to the south of the airport.
After calling Lax Tower's regulatory phone to approve the completion of the flight, we headed to the helicopter, Robinson R-44, to register for the N91AV. Philipp went through the final safety briefing of the flight and then boarded it all. It should also be noted that there is no passenger door on the left side of the plane, so you can easily take pictures. If you suffer from vertigo, it is important to be aware of this.
From the moment we took off, heading to runway 25 in Hawthorne, Philipp's local knowledge and experience in doing these flights stood out. Passengers wearing headphones can hear all the interactions with the Los Angeles International Highway Tower, which is also a way to communicate with the pilot. Philip began to point out all the interesting attractions.
Click here to play our flight on Flightradar24 (subscription required).
The first location we went to was between the complex between a height of 2500'. Once we were granted permission to transition, we both started looking for inbound aircraft. Meanwhile, I pointed out the interesting things I wanted to shoot. The wonderful thing Philip was able to do for me was that every time I took a picture, he would spin the helicopter. All I have to do is focus on the photos I take.
During the flight, local TV news helicopters transitioned through loose airspace not far from us. This provides an excellent opportunity for air-to-air shooting. This is a very interesting and unexpected opportunity. We circled between the complexes for about 30 minutes and photographed everything available. Soon after, it was time to make our transition to the south of the airport and lower the altitude to 1,000'. Again, Philipp searched all the arrivals of the sky so that I could focus on what I was shooting. This allowed me to add more images to the memory card in my camera.
It was too early and it was time to return to the short-haul flight to Hawthorne Airport. After saying goodbye to the incredible staff, I got in the car and called my family immediately and the first sentence from my mouth was “Wow, that was incredible”. This is definitely a storage inventory project that can be achieved. This is an experience that will live in my mind for many years.
For anyone wishing to view one of their list, please contact Star Helicopter via their website or call them at (310) 355-1959.
