What does a helicopter ride feel like? Honest Review

We had our daughter’s birthday party celebrated on a helicopter, a few years ago. It was the Melbourne based helicopter ride, we flew across the Melbourne City, Yarra River and so on.

Check out our Comprehensive post on Heli Rides 🚁FIRST-TIME Helicopter Ride – All things you need to know

So, what was the feeling like? keep reading below.

What factors can affect your Helicopter ride Experience?

Well,  it’s really hard to generalise the experience, simply because there’s such variability among pilots, types of helicopters, and vistas you might take in from one opportunity to the next.

To me, the only common denominator is the unique perspective you get from a (relatively) low-level flight — say, from about 300 to 500 feet above the ground.

Even that varies based on what you happen to fly over. In some places, the view isn’t nearly as good due to haze layers that like to form right in that altitude band.

In every other case, mixing and matching the variables I mentioned upfront will make every flight at least a little bit different.

There are too many details that go into describing a helicopter flight that can trip you up unless you memorize and faithfully parrot each one the same way, every time.

Somebody who’s been exposed to the real thing most likely would catch you out in a detail at some point because you’d have to be consistent on any number of fine points, such as:

1. Where did you sit? If upfront, left seat or right? Were there two sticks within reach, just one, or none?
2. Which way did the main rotor blades turn?
3. Were the blades turning when you got on/off? If so, did you have to duck?
4. Did the pilot shut down the aircraft before you got out? If so, did the blades gradually coast to a stop, or did they slow down and then get abruptly stopped by a brake of some type?
5. Were there doors next to where you sat? If so, were they secured open during the entire flight, closed, or removed?
6. How many people were on board in total?
7. Did the helicopter hover fairly level, or a bit nose-high?
8. How did you take off — straight up? Gradually moving forward out of a hover? With the nose pushed over hard at first?
9. Where did you go, and what did you fly over along the way?
10. How loud was it? Could you talk, or did you have to wear a headset?
11. How rough was it — did you feel a distinct thump with every rotation of the main rotor system, or was it pretty smooth?

So, How was Our first Helicopter ride Experience Like?

We have had few helicopter trips as of now and they were awesome. Believe me, they were really awesome.

The very first was our Daughter’s 6th birthday in  September 2019.

We were Riding from Essendon airport ( In Melbourne Australia) and Flew toward Melbourne City, across Yarra River, MCG, Docklands … for 30 Mins.Many things were coming into my mind before I entered and my seat belt was on.

When I was watching the helicopter landed in front of me I kind of scared. The reason was helicopter landed in an awkward position though it became normal and lasted for just 1 second.

The left front part landed first and it was tilted for a second and the pilot handed it very beautifully. Though I was scared the way the pilot handled it, gave me confidence.

The Pilot was sweet enough to make us all feel comfortable.

As soon as I was approaching the helicopter my heartbeat was increasing.

Also, the pressure created due to the CHOPPER is very high, you may lose your balance and fall, now imagine, so keep your leg tight and hold the ground.

Well, after it took off it was superb. The pressure I can feel on my head due to chopper ( due to acceleration)

The things were really small as if you are seeing a fantasy Toyland where things move. The journey feels awesome due to a slight feeling of weightlessness. 

When we saw MCG from above, it was an awesome feeling. WE never Imagined Melbourne looked so different from above.

When the helicopter lands it feels even more awesome because of the high feeling of weightlessness.

Our 6 YO daughter also had real fun and she was not scared at all for a 6 yo  .She looked and made us feel like she was enjoying the ride a lot.

Though you will be in your seat because we still have gravity on our planet.

Below is the Picture with our Pilot( I don’t remember his name though but he was an awesome Pilot)

I thought flying about 1,000 feet above the ground would be one scary ride. (Thanks to the action movies I’ve watched which painted helicopter ride a scary image for me.)

But whoa!!, seeing everything in a 360-view made me want to freeze time forever. “Has the world always been this magnificent?” That’s what I’ve been asking myself the whole time I was up there.

It’s kind of refreshing to see skyscrapers and landmarks in a whole new way.

So how was my first helicopter ride? Definitely memorable and worth a second try.

About Author

Since we started the OutdoorFizz blog site, we have jumped at the chance to be researchers, bloggers, and influencers.
A blog site of family outdoor adventures, including skiing, surfing, running and golfing, plus gear reviews, by Manny and Div, offering tips and information, photos, gear reviews, and expert trip-planning advice on outdoor adventures.

Div Acharya
Savvy Blogger & Influencer