NY From The Sky!

Undoubtably, one of the highlights of our holiday was the excellent Liberty Helicopter Sightseeing Tour. We selected the 'New York, New York' package which comprised of a seventeen minute guided tour from the air. At £106 per person, granted it is a tad extravagant but believe me it's worth every penny.

As is sadly the case now with all major attractions in New York, the security is shockingly over-the-top and thorough. I know that this is no bad thing but it always reminds me of the sheer lunacy of this world that we have to resort to these measures to protect ourselves. Anyway - I was poked, prodded, weighed, and had my belt ceremoniously removed before I'd even seen the waiting room!

Everyone was supplied with a life jacket (just in case!) and we were shown a brief instructional video which half of the people weren't listening to because they either didn't speak English or it was just too damn loud what with the Helipad being a mere stones throw away...

Incidentally, I always find those videos quite odd as they spend 99% of their time concentrating on what to do if a disaster occurs and the other 1% wishing you a safe and happy trip!

A few minutes later and we were attempting to frantically remember the way to attach the seat belt once inside the helicopter! It's capacity allows for eight people including the pilot and thankfully we seemed to have a nice level-headed group. Lots of nervous laughter as the 'copter banked forward and took off though...

Quite amusingly Mrs H was seated on the back row right by the hatch door. Perfect for taking piccies - not so perfect when the hatch starts to vibrate! As some of you will know, this is quite a natural thing to happen in 'copters but Mrs H was not convinced. At one point the 'copter banked right, pinning her against the door. She was bricking it and convinced that the door would burst open, so in a desperate effort to avoid this, she decided to clutch onto the handle and pull it towards her! Naturally this was quite pointless but oh so amusing!

We flew down the Hudson River toward Manhattan's Financial District and Ellis Island, allowing for a birds-eye view of the Statue of Liberty. Sorry about the reflection - I wasn't allowed to open the window ;)

We were also shown the site of Ground Zero which was quite chilling from the air...


Midtown's famous skyscrapers: Empire State and Chrysler Buildings, along with Central Park, and a shot I'm rather chuffed with - Yankee Stadium. This was truly a one time only shot as the 'copter was banking quite fast.

Thankfully the trip didn't fly by (Groan!) too quickly and we landed safely. Our picture was taken next to the 'copter and a special deal with our travel agent meant that the photo was free! It was a trip that will not be forgotten easily and we'd do it again in an instant.