New York Helicopter Tour – Open Door!

Are you looking for a new and exciting way to see New York City? A helicopter tour over New York can be a thing of beauty that offers stunning views and new perspectives.

I’ve lived in northern New Jersey for most of my life, and as you may or may not know, it’s just a skip from New York City. Close enough that I can go in whenever I feel like it. As such, I’ve always felt weird about bringing my camera with me.

In every other city I’ve been to, I’ve had no issues with taking photographs. But with New York, it has been either my camera phone or nothing at all.

I’m not entirely sure why it feels so weird, but it’s just too touristy for me. As if I’m acting like one in what is essentially my own backyard. Yeah, I know it sounds ridiculous, and I’ve been told as much, but I’m not trying to be one of the people looking up.

Has anyone else ever experienced this sensation? Let me know if you have!

This had me wondering if there was some way around it. A way to get over that feeling.

Well, what better way to get over something than to go over it. With a New York Helicopter tour, you’re as over it as can be. Right?

Now enough of the why! Here’s how.

There are a few operators who offer New York Helicopter tours. The one that I chose to use was flyNYON based out of Kearny, NJ.

The Facility

Things start simple enough. You check in, give your ID to the employee at the desk, and fill out an online waiver. 

After that, it’s into a conference room to view the safety video. 

The video is pretty straight-forward. It gives you the dos and the don’ts of riding in the helicopter. Listen to the pilot, don’t have anything loose in any of your pockets, know how to release the harness, don’t jump out. Simple.

Once the video is done, it’s into the back room where you’ll store all your loose items in lockable bins.

Items secured? It’s harness time. An employee will strap you up and then attach your phone to a lanyard that you must wear around your neck. Your camera must be secured as well so make sure your strap is attached. 

Once you’re set here, everyone circles up for another safety talk which covers much of what was in the video, but it also includes a hands-on demonstration of how to operate the harness’ emergency release.

Ready to go? Time to pile into a van for a short drive to the helipad.

The thrill of flight

There were three helicopters present when my van arrived and people are arranged based on weight so if you’re going with someone, be sure to book together to ensure that you will be on the same flight.

My pilot’s name was Rod, and he likes to party. He met us at the van and after a few pictures with the parked bird, we were good to go. 

I’m trying to remember back to when I was little, but I’m fairly sure that this was my first time in a helicopter.

To call it exhilarating with the doors off is a bit of an understatement. I loved it.

Unsettled nerves for something like this are completely understandable but you’ll get more and more comfortable as the flight goes on.

At first I was wondering about the lack of a handle. By the end, I was leaning out the door as far as my harness would allow. 

The Route

The route for your New York helicopter tour is pretty straight-forward for the thirty-minute flight. You fly due east from Kearny and approach Manhattan from the New Jersey side of the river.

You then fly along the edge of the island of Manhattan and up to Central Park. You’ll hover above the park for a moment before the helicopter rotates 180 degrees.

This rotation is important because it allows everyone to get good views regardless of where you’re sitting.

There is, however, a slight seat drawback for those sitting on the left side like I was. While the rotation is key, I was sitting on the outside, opposite Manhattan for the entire time we were in motion. 

I did have more room to hang out the door than they did, but I still felt like I missed out on a lot of great pictures.

In the end, regardless of seating arrangement, I rate the entire experience as outstanding and can’t wait to do it again in another city.

What do you see?

For the open door helicopter tour there are two zones containing what you’ll see.

On the sixteen-minute flight you’ll see:

• Statue of Liberty
• Ellis Island
• Wall Street
• Freedom Tower
• 9/11 Memorial
• The Oculus
• Lower Manhattan Money Shot
• Brooklyn Bridge

On the thirty-minute flight you’ll see all of the above as well as:

• Empire State Building
• Midtown
• Times Square
• The Vessel
• Central Park

If you’d like to see Yankee Stadium, you’ll have to book one of the longer, “door on” helicopter flights.

Pricing

New York Helicopter Tour Packages Include:

• NYC Experience – Doors Off 16-19 minutes $149 per seat
• NYC Classic – Doors Off 30-35 minutes $275 per seat
• NYC Intro – Doors On 15-17 minutes $99 per seat
• NYC VIP – Doors On 27-30 minutes $135 per seat
• NYC Grand – Doors on 37-40 minutes $275 per seat

I opted for the NYC Classic – A doors-off flight which lasts around 30-35 minutes.

I recommend the longer thirty-minute flight. It costs a bit more, but time sure does fly. I checked my watch but it felt nowhere like 30 minutes. Plus, the extra sites were a great addition. 

One thing to note is that these prices are general and they do fluctuate based on the time slot you book as well as the month and day. I paid a little more than this but these are what was listed at the time I wrote the article.

You’ll also pay a little more for the sunset or night time slots, but between you and me, I’d recommend booking the slot right before sunset which is golden hour. We had much better light and sunset was just starting by the time we got back.

Add-ons

I also went for the shoe selfie seat guarantee which was an additional $82.35 per person, but the price seems to fluctuate based on the package you choose, the day you’re booking for, and how far in advance. $82 appears to be on the higher end.

While boarding, I debated if this was worth it and settled on “yes, absolutely!” as there was an inconvenient middle seat. The girl in that seat was less than thrilled so I told her later that I had paid extra to reserve the shoe seats. 

She said she felt better knowing that. 

Another add-on that’s available is Weather Insurance. While you can reschedule in the event of bad weather, these flights are non-refundable without the insurance. 

The insurance is most useful if you’re only in the city for a short amount of time and won’t be able to reschedule.

Camera Rental, including DSLR, mirrorless, and GoPros is available starting at $69 should you desire it. Out of six passengers, only two of us had our own cameras. Everyone else opted for their phones only.

Photography Advice

The timing

As mentioned above, consider the light while booking. I personally recommend booking golden hour rather than the sunset.

The gear

You’re allowed to bring two pieces of equipment with you. So what do you choose for your New York Open Door Helicopter tour?

I opted to bring my Sony mirrorless camera as well as my phone.

While I did have my GoPro with me, I ended up leaving it in the car after they told me bringing three cameras would make juggling the lanyards too much of a hassle. 

I’m not sure if I fully agree with their assessment, as I was just going to shoot one long time lapse, but what can you do?

Lens selection

I brought a 24-105mm lens since it seemed like a happy medium.

While something like this lens or the more common 24-70mm certainly did the trick, I feel like I would have done better with my wider 16-35mm.

I shot probably 90% of my pictures at 24mm with the others being zoomed in to try shooting through the opposing door without the other passengers getting in the way. 

And no, even though you might be able to sneak it on, don’t even think about swapping a lens while on an open door helicopter. The wind is so crazy that it could easily be whipped out of your hands and severely injure someone down below.

Get to know shutter priority mode

If you do bring a camera, shoot in shutter priority mode. You’re going to want a fast shutter speed to keep the helicopter’s movement in check. I shot at 1/1250 and 1/1600. 

Ready… set… fire away!

You’re going to be moving fast with a constant vibration. Your best bet with a full size camera is to just take aim, and fire away. It’s not like when you’re perched on a rock and trying to frame the perfect landscape. 

This is rapid fire so you’ll need a high-capacity, high-speed SD card. By the end, I had shot around two thousand photos. Two thousand photos in thirty minutes is quite the feat, especially considering that I switched back and forth between my camera and phone.

Back to base

Once you’ve circled Manhattan in its entirety, you’ll end up at the Statue of Liberty. After you’ve gotten your time to take pictures of Lady Liberty, you’ll head back across the river and to Kearny, NJ for the conclusion of your New York Helicopter tour.

Any questions about visiting New York helicopter tours? Ask me in the comments below! Also don’t forget to like and share if you enjoyed reading this or found it helpful!

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