Helicopter charter

[roddo]

What would the cost be to hire a helicopter to go from south yorks to oxford and return 3hrs later? Where would I find someone?

Many thanks
Paul

[Geneve]

Big cost differential would be the helicopter type. How many persons are travelling?

Flight time would be, typically, less than 1hr each way, and you only pay for flight time (allowing for positioning) and landing fees, etc.

[simonspider]

My Bell Jet Ranger takes four passengers (3 in the back 1 in the front) and is available for charter, its based at Sherburn-in-Elmet near Leeds.

Including a Commercial pilot I'd estimate a rough cost of about £1200 plus VAT. Drop me an email at [e-mail] if you would like more info or check out www.6thgearheliadventures.com

Thanks, Simon G

[Geneve]

Simon's figure is about right for a light turbine. You could save a bit with a piston engined R44, but not in the same league, or even more with an R22 if there's just yourself travelling.

Now, a lot of people might think heli travel is costly, but there are a few things to bear in mind:

- It can pick you up and deliver you almost door-to-door at times to suit you
- You'll float over the countryside arriving in a fraction of the time any other method of travel can offer (looking down on the grid-locked roads)
- On a nice day the whole journey will be a wonderful experience, seeing the world from a new perspective
- If four people travel it's only £150 p/p each way
- Time is money - helicopters save time.....

[mattdaniels]

Simon out of interest, I assume the heli is IFR equipped? How bad can the grog get before you can't fly? And if it can't fly due to wx, does the punter lose any kind of deposit or incur any costs at all? And if it does not fly, do you provide an alternative mode of transport or is that down to the punter?

Must admit that price is a lot cheaper than I thought it would be!

Edited by mattdaniels on Saturday 31st December 18:02

[roddo]

Thanks for the info.....

Its a valid point about weather conditions as I had february in mind? They would be two of us traveling.

Simon I'll call you after the holidays.......

All the best
Paul

[simonspider]

mattdaniels said:

Simon out of interest, I assume the heli is IFR equipped? How bad can the grog get before you can't fly? And if it can't fly due to wx, does the punter lose any kind of deposit or incur any costs at all? And if it does not fly, do you provide an alternative mode of transport or is that down to the punter?

Must admit that price is a lot cheaper than I thought it would be!

Edited by mattdaniels on Saturday 31st December 18:02

Pricewise the Jettie earns it's main keep doing pleasure flights at the event days 6th Gear runs, so as long as I can comfortably cover the costs doing extra work that's good enough for me

There's very few single engined choppers IFR equipped, mine operates under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) which is generally at least 1000ft of clear sky before cloudbase and about 3 miles of forward visibility. Wind wise with the jettie it needs to be less than 40knots/50mph. Visibility however is the key..

To answer the question we'd make the final call 48hrs before. I'd always refund a deposit if it were down to us whatever the reason.

[mattdaniels]

Thanks for answering - have made a mental note for a birthday treat this year.

[B16JUS]

simonspider said:

My Bell Jet Ranger takes four passengers (3 in the back 1 in the front) and is available for charter, its based at Sherburn-in-Elmet near Leeds.

Including a Commercial pilot I'd estimate a rough cost of about £1200 plus VAT. Drop me an email at [e-mail] if you would like more info or check out www.6thgearheliadventures.com

Thanks, Simon G

Didnt realise it can be done for this type of cost.

A few of us wondered about doing this to get to silverstone for the f1 rather than sit in traffic etc

Tempting or does silverstone charge a lot lot more to land ?

J

[Work too hard]

Silverstone charges a fortune to land...

Alternative, depending where you are coming from, is helicopter into Turweston, and take the 4*4 across the fields..

http://www.turwestonflight.com/silverstone/4x4_shu...

Not the same as landing on site, but offers a aving.....

[Geneve]

It's all changed at Silverstone in the last couple of years. It used to be the busiest airport in the world during GP weekend. At the 1999 event there were over 4,200 movements - mainly helicopters.

The new Heliport (operated by HeliAir) is available through most of the year, as is Farm (for BRDC members), but the Grand Prix weekend now has a lot of restrictions and relies on most transfer and charter operators using Turweston, with efficient shuttles to/from the circuit.

http://www.flysilverstone.co.uk/Operators/operator... Or, if money is no object http://www.airharrods.com/news/news_stories/news_s...

[roddo]

simonspider said:

My Bell Jet Ranger takes four passengers (3 in the back 1 in the front) and is available for charter, its based at Sherburn-in-Elmet near Leeds.

Including a Commercial pilot I'd estimate a rough cost of about £1200 plus VAT. Drop me an email at [e-mail] if you would like more info or check out www.6thgearheliadventures.com

Thanks, Simon G

Hi Simon
Tried to contact you today........

Could you contact me on 07770 566599
Regards
Paul