Questions and Answers
Yes, you can use public transportation. Check the MBTA website or Google Maps for directions.
My son and I went on a tour this summer and loved it so much I just purchased 3 tickets to use when my mother and sister are here visting from California Oct 27th to Nov 5th. But I only see a couple of dates in September and maybe the first weekend of October. Are the dates I want going to be available or should I cancel?
So is it $99 per person or $99 total for the ride that includes yourself and 2 guests?
Hi, Linda. Glad that you enjoyed your summer tour. We’re grateful to you for being a repeat customer. Since you have three tickets you can call 781-274-6322 and book a private tour at your convenience (maybe call about a week in advance). Thanks for posting. You reminded me that I need to add some more blocks for Groupon customers who buy just one or two tickets. We’ll add some more blocks today and we’ll keep adding as the existing blocks fill up.
Hi Courtney -
It is $99 per person. Each person flying will need a Groupon.
Thanks!
Patrick
For folks who wondered about the schedule… I just added blocks of availability on September 11 (TOMORROW), September 25, and October 11 (Columbus Day). Again, these are for folks who need to be combined with other Groupon customers to fill up the three-passenger capacity of the helicopter. If you bought three tickets we’ll be delighted to schedule a tour whenever you want to go (but remember that Boston Red Sox games shut down the airspace over Boston for +/- one hour around the games).
[If you did buy three Groupons and find that one of these blocks suits your schedule, please feel free to book three spaces in one of them and you can fly then.]
So, I see this is good until June 2011 – is that when the deal expires or when the tickets you purchase expire. I so would love to buy this for my husband to take my 2 sons – they are working on their aeronautics badge for boyscouts and the last thing they had to do was either fly in something, or use a simulator – there are no simulators to be found. If this last till next week I would be purchasing 3.
Michelle: We would be delighted to take your husband and sons flying for the Boy Scouts. The tickets are good until June 2011 but have to be purchased this weekend, I’m pretty sure. Groupon deals are generally only for one day. There is a non-motion simulator in Nashua, New Hampshire, by the way. Check out http://www.nashuaflightsimulator.com/ ; we send our students there sometimes for instrument practice (we also have our own simulator at East Coast Aero Club, but it is not as fancy)
Ok, I would not be able to buy the tickets til next week, so that answers that. So as not to fill up your groupon discussion is there somewhere that I could contact you about them trying your simulator, as this would suffice for the badge if I get some documentation that that experienced working one. Thank you
I don’t know where the schedule is, I’m scared that if I bought this, it will only be for my friend and I, that we won’t be able to get a flight because we would need one random person.
Would I be guaranteed we will be able to use it? Also where is the schedule you are talking about?
Thanks for your help!
I laughed when I read a highlight was “Unusual proposal location”…yeah, with that third person in there with you!
Anyone looking for how to get to Hanscom Field on public transportation, you can go to the Concord Station, but then you will need to take a cab to the field, about 3 miles away. Or bike there!
Go to www.mbta.com and scroll down to “Plan a trip”, and just type in your start and end destination and it will tell you how to get there.
Happy flying!
Carey: http://bostonhelicoptertours.com/groupon/tour is where you can see the schedule for the tours. As Philip said above, we will be adding more availability as the existing blocks fill up. Again, these slots are for folks who need to be combined with other Groupon customers to fill up the three-passenger capacity of the helicopter. So you are welcome to buy only one or two tickets and schedule yourself for one of these time slots.
Amy: We have had many customers purchase 3 Groupons to do a private 2 person engagement tour! They simply use one of the Groupons to purchase the 3rd seat and fly with it empty. This has worked out especially well as with 3 Groupon tickets you can schedule a custom time. There is nothing more romantic then a sunset helicopter tour over Boston..
IS there a minimum age requirement. Can a little toddlers take the helicopter ride In which case I guess I should purchase a ticket for my 22 month old and book an individual seat for her or is she on our lap.
Thanks
Hi Kathleen!
Question for you after reading your post, so you are saying that if I buy three tickets I can book a private tour/or a tour and that third seat can be empty?
I was excited when I saw this deal but then when I saw it had to be three people, it was a little of a buzz kill, but not anymore if what you said is how I am understanding it to be!
THANKS! :)
S.D.- There is no minimum age requirement. If your child is under 24 months old then they may sit on your lap (no extra ticket needed to be purchased). If older than 24 months they must be sitting in their own seat (this is a Federal Aviation Administration requirement).
Gina- You understood me correctly. You can purchase 3 tickets and book a private tour. You would could show up for one of the times on the online scheduler OR schedule a custom time that fits your schedule! Enjoy! =)
My husband and I are only going to be in town a few days. There appears to currently be an opening for us, but we leave a couple days later. What happens if it rains?
Vicki: The weather tomorrow looks like it is going to be great for tours. http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?textField1=42.4699&textField2=-71.2889&site=EAX
While we try our hardest to ensure everyone can use their Groupon at their schedule time, in the event of cancellation due to poor weather we ask that customers find another time on our scheduler that fits their schedule.
The Groupons are good until June 2011 so everyone should be able to find a time that works for them.
My husband and I flying in from Arizona and will be in Boston from 10/9 – 10/13th. The last time we were in Boston was 10 years ago. I am sure we will not be back again before 06/11. What happens if we schedule (pursuant to your schedule) for the 10/11 or 10/12, and it rains the those days?
I bought 2 of your helicopter flying lessons a few months ago and was wondering if I could pay the difference and get this instead?
To Jennifer K.
Please see this link to convert your lessons to tours.
http://philip.greenspun.com/groupon/convert-to-ride
Vicki: I just landed from a tour with a couple of customers from Ottawa. We had originally scheduled the flight for Wednesday morning, but it was thunderstorming then. They were on our standard $199/person 2-person minimum private tour so it was easy to reschedule while they were still in town. You could buy three Groupons and schedule a private tour (flying with the third seat empty if you don’t have any local friends). Or cross your fingers and hope for the best with the October weather. It didn’t occur to us that out-of-towners would be interested in this Groupon offer, so your question is a new one for me.
Ok. My husband and I are only in town for 3 actual days [We get in late on the 9th and leave early on the 13th]. Let say we purchase the 3 seats, we schedule the private day tour for the 10th, and just our luck it rains. 1) What are the possibilities you would have an opening for another private day tour on the 11th or 12th at that late of date? or 2) What happens if [God forbid] it rains all three days? Then what?
Vicki: We would almost certainly be able to get you up in the air at some point that weekend. If not, I think Groupon has a pretty liberal refund policy and you can simply get a refund from them (hard to get a refund from us since we don’t have your credit card information or even all of your money).
Hi!
Are there any restrictions for people with disabilities for helicopter tour?
Is the area accessible to approach hilicopter if person is in a wheelchair?
Nadya: Great question and I’m sorry that we don’t have this addressed on our Web site. The helicopter is not a whole lot more difficult to get in and out of than an automobile. So if a person can get in and out of a car they should be able to get in and out of the Robinson R44. The main issue would be ability to evacuate in the event of an emergency, so a person who was completely immobile might not feel safe flying unless with a companion. The ramp area should be accessible to a wheelchair and we will certainly do everything that we can to assist. In the four years that we’ve been running tours we haven’t flown anyone who was wheelchair-bound, but we have had some folks using canes and they were comfortable.
Thanks Philip. I will check into it more. But it sounds like it would be a great time.
If I just buy two tickets, will the third wheel—er, person—be sitting awkwardly in the same row of seats? Or will they be in the front with the two of us in the back? Thanks!
I take it that there is no way to accommodate a 4th passenger on the same tour?
Jeff: The Robinson R44 that we fly has two seats in front and two in back. So if we fly a couple plus a single ticket holder we typically put the singleton in the front with the pilot and the couple rides together in the back. Weight and balance sometimes dictates that we put the heaviest person in the front left seat, regardless of affections.
Rob M: One reason that we can offer such a long tour (about 30 minutes) at such a low price is that the Robinson R44 is very efficient. One way that they make it efficient is by having only four total seats rather than five, as with the old Jet Ranger. So unless one passenger is less than two years old and can ride in an adult’s lap, we’re limited to three passengers and one pilot on each ride (that said, we typically operate two helicopters during Groupon blocks, so a group of four would all fly within the same hour typically).
Does this mean we would need a ticket for a child under 2 if she would be riding on a parent’s lap?
Jodi: Kids under 2 ride for free. We had a 5-month-old on a tour today. He slept through most of it, I think.
What if I’m only buying a groupon for one and I’d like to fly past my office bldg in South Boston and my condo in Marina Bay? How do you negotiate the flying tour with passengers that aren’t together?
I am wondering about the weight limit of 525. If I have 2 men going who are nearly 200 lbs each, I’m assuming the 3rd person would have to be 125 or under??? I’d love to order 3 tickets but I don’t want to have to split us up!
if you use 3 groupons for 2 people… can a 240lb. person travel or is the limit 220lbs. period…. thanks
want to purchase 3…but noticed there is nothing available for Saturday Sept 18th?
Cathy: The helicopter flies at between 70 and 130 mph, so it is easy to include anything within the general downtown and Charlestown area. South Boston may be a little trickier depending on the runways in use at Logan as some locations in South Boston conflict with approaches to Runways 4L and 4R. Marina Bay is about 7 miles south of Boston. If you buy three tickets and schedule a private tour we could add that to the trip (though it is beyond our standard area).
Lin: Can we fly with three heavier people? It depends on which of our instructors is flying and also how much fuel we’ve already burned. If you schedule a private tour we can usually arrange to have the helicopter in a reasonable fuel configuration and/or schedule you with one of our lighter pilots.
Paul: If you buy three tickets you can have a private tour with a friend as long as the total weight is something reasonable and nobody weighs more than about 275 (the per-seat limit in the Robinson is actually 300, but we always try to stay just under the limits).
HM: If you purchase 3 and want to fly on September 18th, you need only call the East Coast Aero Club front desk and schedule a private tour. I just checked the schedule and we can fly you at any time except for 11 am. (The Red Sox play at 7:10 pm, so we would want to launch out of Hanscom no later than about 5 pm to avoid running afoul of flight restrictions imposed during gains.)
Looks like there are only a couple openings available in Sept. and nothing in Oct. Are any more blocks going to be added since so many purchased this groupon?
Joy: We’re going to add a bunch more dates to the schedule as soon as the offer expires and we know how many Groupons were sold. I don’t think there will be a shortage of space. We offered tours for 36 people today, but only 10 signed up. Right now I’m looking at http://bostonhelicoptertours.com/groupon/tour and see that 13 spaces are available on the morning of October 11, for example (Columbus day). I’m not sure why you couldn’t find anything in October. If you’re very picky about the date/time, why not get three Groupons and schedule a private tour? Our calendar is wide open for October (remember that we have two helicopters and six instructors/pilots).
How well does the helicopter accomodate photography? Would window glare be a constant issue? Any recommended times of day for optimal photos?
This sounds like a great experience! Just to clarify, the groupon expires 6/1/11, do you have tours going all year round? Is there a schedule on your website? How far ahead can you/do you generally schedule tours?
I plan on buying two tickets. You mentioned that you would try and schedule one and two person bookings to fit in odd numbers, is this possible year round?
If only two people are booked for a session, will the tour still happen or will it be cancelled/on hold until all the seats are filled?
Aimee: We have 30 airplanes and 2 helicopters and fly 7 days a week, 365 days per year from our locations in Bedford, Nashua, NH, and Norwood. http://bostonhelicoptertours.com shows the schedule for Groupon blocks. We try to schedule group flying on days when we expect about 30 people to show up. If only two are left at the end of the block, we fly those last two rather than ask them to come back. If you want to fly in the middle of January I would suggest that you buy three Groupons because I think it is unlikely that we will schedule a 30-person block then.
Dean: Window glare is not bad when the sun is behind you, which is the most favorable way to take pictures anyway. For commercial-grade photography we do special flights with a door removed (see http://philip.greenspun.com/flying/boston-aerial-photography ). This can be a somewhat chilly experience in December, but we do it anyway.
Hi Phillip, we are a group of 4 people, two of which are from Puerto Rico and will only be here for a week. That said, we all wanted to fly together. Is the absolute max 3 people? If it cannot accommodate four at a time, could it be possible to schedule two flights back to back? Please let me know what our options are so we can organize our trip since we need to rent a car and everything.
Thank you!
Mari: The helicopter has four seats, one for the pilot and three for passengers. Unless there is a child under the age of 2, the maximum and minimum for each Groupon tour is three passengers. If you wanted to come during one of our regularly scheduled Groupon blocks, we would try to get all four of you up in the air at about the same (we run two helicopters during these blocks). Otherwise I guess you could buy two extra tickets at the front desk and we could schedule two private tours for you (each of which would fly with an empty seat).
Hi – I bought this deal to surprise my husband on his bday, so we are going to go on December 12th. Any suggestions as to what time I should book our flight? Depending on the timing, I’ll take him out to lunch or dinner after. What’s a good time for a winter trip? Fingers crossed we have good weather that day! Is it worth doing the flight in the winter?
Thanks,
Nicole
How far from Boston? We will be in Boston Oct 7-14, but donot plan on renting a car. Is public transportation available to this venue? Is a cab a consideration?