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Chicago Helicopter Charter

Charter any of our 3 helicopters from the fast and nimble Hughes 500, our Twin Engine VIP Bell 222, or our Eurocopter AS355 Twin Star! 

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Heli Chicago operates a Eurocopter AS355 “Twin Star” for TV and Movie production in Chicago. We have supported many of your favorite local TV shows locally for the last 15 years.

Most Popular  Tours

Downtown Chicago

45 minutes | Up to 3 passengers United Center – Soldier Field – Navy Pier – Willis Tower – John Hancock – The Bean – Wrigley Field – Museum Campus – Mag Mile – 70 Miles of flight

Intro Flight

30 Minutes | Ages 8 +,  Fly a hughes 500 helicopter with one of our experienced instructors. See what it takes to be a Helicopter Pilot. Makes for a great gift for aviation lovers.

NW Suburbs Ride

30 Minutes | Up to 3 passengers Fly over the Fox river, and scenic Barrington Hills. This ride is perfect for first time flyers or anyone who wants to experience a helicopter on a budget

Twin Engine Helicopter Tour

45 Minutes | Up to 6 passengers Fly on our largest helicopter. Great for bigger groups. See: Downtown Chicago – United Center – Navy Pier – The Bean – Wrigley Field, and more

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Helicopter Marriage Proposal 

Give your Significant other a magical proposal they will never forget. Propose while hovering over the beautiful City of Chicago. 

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Heli Chicago can also drop you off or pick you up with our on demand charter service

O’Hare to Dowtown 

Downtown to o’hare, schaumburg to lake geneva, chicago to milwaukee, custom charters, call to book, fly with heli chicago, see chicago from the sky.

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New York City Helicopter Experiences

New York City’s premier helicopter charter & sightseeing tour company.

CHOOSE YOUR EXPERIENCE

Indulge in the ultimate luxury of helicopter travel with HeliNY. Whether you seek the convenience of a direct charter to destinations across the northeastern US or the thrill of a breathtaking tour over the iconic skyline of New York City, we offer a seamless blend of efficiency and unforgettable moments. Our meticulously maintained fleet and professional pilots ensure a journey that is both swift and extraordinary.

VIP Destination Charter Experiences

Whether you are taking a quick trip to the airport or heading to the Hamptons for the weekend, a helicopter charter offers a quick, easy and comfortable alternative for travel in and out of the New York City area.

OUR DESTINATIONS

Discover the ultimate in luxury and convenience with HeliNY’s helicopter charter service, offering exclusive and private transfers from New York City to top summer destinations. Whether you’re heading to the Hamptons, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Cape Cod, Chatham, Newport, Atlantic City, or the Catskills Mountains, HeliNY ensures a seamless journey, allowing you to fully enjoy your getaway.

Summer Favorites

The Hamptons, Martha's Vineyard, and more

Brotherhood Winery

Washingtonville, New York.

Hemlock Neversink Spa Retreat

Neversink, New Tork

Catskill Mountain Getaway

Callicoon, New York

Northeast Ski Resorts

Killington, Stratton, and more

Our Charters fly in luxurious and comfortable Bell 407 helicopters, guaranteed to make your travel painless and timely. Don’t waste time sitting in traffic or stressing over travel plans. Simply arrive at the time booked and allow our expert pilots to take you directly to your destination.

Don’t wait! Even when your dream weekend seems too far away – with HeliNY, it’s today!

AWARD WINNING NYC AIR TOURS

See Manhattan and the surrounding area in comfort and style on a HeliNY helicopter tour! With both day and night options available and a commitment to safety and service, let us provide you with your dream helicopter ride above New York City! Fly out of our heliport in Linden, NJ for more affordable rates and additional time in the sky!

NYC DEPARTURES

NJ DEPARTURES

Discover New York City from an entirely new perspective with our award-winning air tours. Depart from either our Manhattan or Linden, NJ locations and embark on a journey that reveals the city’s iconic skyline in breathtaking detail. Each location offers unparalleled views, with the Linden, NJ departure providing extra airtime and enhanced booking flexibility. Elevate your sightseeing experience with HeliNY and see the city like never before.

THE HELINY DIFFERENCE

Safety first.

Safety is paramount! We fly Bell407 helicopters that include the state-of-the-art TCAS system (Traffic Collision Avoidance System) maintained by our in-house team of factory-certified technicians! On site, we ensure you receive a safety briefing and are always escorted to your aircraft by our trained ground crew.

EXPERIENCED PILOTS

HeliNY conducts regular recurring training to ensure our pilots are ready to take you on a journey you will never forget. Our pilots come to HeliNY with at least 1,000 flight hours, and their training ensures they know the Bell407 aircraft inside and out, not to mention some facts about NYC they can share with you on your tour.

5 STAR SERVICE

Our service is how we stand out! We understand that your HeliNY experience begins the first time you contact us. From our reservations, ground crew and pilots, we strive to ensure you have a stress-free and exciting experience. Our attention to customer satisfaction is why we’re rated 5 stars on TripAdvisor!

Air Medical Helicopter Charters

Transporting organs and medical crew for time-sensitive surgeries, is especially crucial in densely populated metropolitan areas. Helicopter transport reduces the time the organ spends outside the body, thereby maximizing its viability and increasing the likelihood of a successful transplant.

HeliNY, a division of Helicopter Flight Services, Inc. carries FAA approval to conduct Helicopter Air Ambulance (HAA) Operations as A021 under its Ops Spec.

Give them a gift they’ll never forget.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

• Our 5/24 tour was an experience of a lifetime. Complete professionalism from check-in to boarding. Our pilot, Bill, left a lasting impression. His calm, welcoming & funny tone really put my fiance at ease, not to mention his smooth flying. To each of you, a salute & high-five for a great experience! Rashaad 8/17/2023
• We had the best time when we took our 30min flight. We chose HFS as the windows in the helicopter were larger than the others and it certainly paid off. Kerri 8/17/2023
• I went on a helicopter tour with my father & my little sister, 14, & we had an amazing time. The whole crew works hard to guarantee your safety. Our pilot was absolutely lovely & had lots of interesting trivia for us. It truly is the BEST view of New York. 10/10 recommend. Cammie 8/17/2023
• We had an absolutely amazing experience with HeliNY. The service was great and the flight over scenic New York City was fascinating! We definitely recommend the company and staff! Maja 8/17/2023
• Easy booking online on a trusted site. Great location and easy to get to. Staff are welcoming and friendly. The helicopter ride was fantastic and would highly recommend. The best sights such as Statue of Liberty could be seen and the pilot directed us what sights to look out for. Would recommend doing this for the best experience of New York. Kate 8/17/2023

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3 Breathtaking Helicopter Tours

There’s nothing quite like a NYC helicopter tour!

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Nothing Quite Like A

Nyc helicopter tour.

Sightseeing tours of New York are one thing, but a New York helicopter tour is in a special league of its own. Helicopter New York City offers a breathtaking experience that will allow you to see the city from a whole new perspective. New York has so much iconic sights that flying over it is nothing short of magnificent.

A tour of New York simply isn’t complete without a helicopter flight with a tour over Manhattan, Brooklyn, and from high above. The tour includes famous bridge like the George Washington Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Verrazano Bridge, an the Manhattan Bridge.

A New York City helicopter tour grants a unique perspective on all of NYC’s most beloved landmarks through downtown and beyond. No other New York City tour is quite as much fun!

Thanks to our new Bell 407 helicopters, you will also know that you are in a helicopter that has been specifically built for optimal visibility and sightseeing potential. The 180-degree view from inside the cabin means that you will see all that New York City has to offer! Our new helicopters have generous legroom and amazingly comfortable leather seats making your Helicopter New York City ride nothing short of extraordinary!

While New York helicopter tours offer a thrilling adrenaline rush, you can rest assured that our friendly staff assures your safety and comfort at all times.

Why Fly With Us?

Helicopter New York City is an unforgettable opportunity to experience some of the most stunning views of Classic Manhattan and the rest of New York.

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Experience NYC Like Never Before.

10 Best NYC Helicopter Tours (Day, Night, Private, Doors Off, & More)

By: Author Charles

Posted on August 29, 2023

This overview will lay out the best NYC helicopter tours to take part of while visiting the city. Whether you are looking for standard skyline tours, night tours, doors off, or a private experience, the list will cover it all and more.

When it comes to experiences in New York City, there are few that can compete with seeing the city as part of a helicopter tour.

If it is the Manhattan skyline, Central Park, the Hudson & East Rivers, Statue of Liberty, or Brooklyn Bridge, a heli tour will have you seeing them all and much more.

Picking a helicopter tour over New York City can be an overwhelming decision. This list is here to simplify the options & better help you pick the best tour for your visit.

Read on for list of the top tours and some helpful things to know along the way.

*  Affiliate Disclosure : This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you make a purchase through the links provided, at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting the work I put into TripTins!

Top NYC Helicopter Tour Picks

Are you looking to make a quick & easy decision when it comes to picking the helicopter tour that is best for you? Check out these highly rated top picks that you just cannot go wrong with.

All Around Helicopter Tour

Looking for the best value overall tour? This NYC Helicopter Tour offers three options including 15, 20, & 30 minute flight times around the city

Private Helicopter Tour

Do you want to have a more private experience? You can opt for a Romantic Couples Tour or this helicopter option that allows up to 6 people.

Nighttime Helicopter Tour

For a New York City nighttime experience, this Night Helicopter Tour is the way to go. Seeing the skyline all lit up is going to be a top experience!

New York City Helicopter Tour Overview

One of the main issues I came across when researching NYC helicopter tours is that there are so many different options to choose from. They all seem very similar with little to distinguish between them all.

The purpose of this list is to simplify the options for you.

Instead of listing out all the tours from all the companies, I have chosen the highest rated helicopter tours in a few different main categories.

The goal is to have no complexity and no confusion. Simply book the type of tour that interests you most and be on your way!

To start, below is a high-level view of the New York helicopter tours I will talk more about in this overview.

New York City All Around Helicopter Tour (#1, #2, #3)

This All Around NYC Helicopter Tour gives you three different options when it comes to amount of flying time & the attractions you will see along the way. Depending on interest & budget will dictate which option you end up choosing.

These tours depart from downtown Manhattan, making it an easy and convenient helicopter ride to take part of.

• The New Yorker Tour (12-15 minutes)
• The Ultimate Tour (17-20 minutes)
• The Deluxe Tour (25-30 minutes)

NYC City Lights Helicopter Tour (#4)

For those that want to take part of a nighttime experience, then the City Lights Helicopter Tour is a top option out there. This is offered as a 25 minute tour departing from New Jersey.

NYC Doors Off Helicopter Tour (#5)

If you are looking to dangle your feet outside of the helicopter, then this Doors Off Helicopter Tour is for you. There are 16 minute and 30 minute options to choose from that depart from New Jersey.

Private NYC Helicopter Tour (#6, #7, #8)

While the options above are all group tours, there are also options for a private NYC helicopter experience. Here are three in particular that take off from nearby Westchester (transport can be included when booking):

• Private Helicopter Tour for Couples
• Private Helicopter Tour for Up to 6 People
• Private Helicopter Tour for Marriage Proposal

Hudson Valley Foliage Helicopter Tour (#9)

Throughout the month of October, the Hudson Valley comes to life as the leaves turn to colors of orange, red, and yellow.

This Hudson Valley Foliage Helicopter Tour takes people high above the Hudson, as you get a bird’s eye view of the surrounding foliage.

Helicopter Piloting Experience (#10 )

Lastly is this Helicopter Piloting Experience , which is more than just a helicopter ride. Instead you will go through an instructional course with a pilot and then get to take control of the chopper and fly for 30 minutes.

#1, #2, #3: New York City All-Inclusive Helicopter Tour

• Rating : 5 / 5 Stars
• Flight Duration : 12 – 30 Minutes
• Price : $239 – $379
• Time : 9:00AM – 6:00PM
• Departure : Pier 6, Manhattan
• Booking : Check Rates & Availability

When it comes to NYC helicopter tours, most people simply want to sit back, take some photos, and enjoy the landmarks of the city from above.

The issue is that there are so many tours out there that do this exact thing but just name their tours differently.

So, instead of reading through everything out there, I figured I just mention the highest rated NYC helicopter tour to choose from.

With a near perfect 5-star rating and over 3,000 reviews, you just cannot go wrong with this All in One NYC Helicopter Tour .

When you go about the booking, you will see that there are three different options to choose from. These include:

• The New Yorker Tour : 12-15 minutes ($239)
• The Ultimate Tour : 17-20 minutes ($289)
• The Deluxe Tour : 25-30 minutes ($379)

Now, you may be asking yourself what is the difference between these three tours. While the durations and prices are different, so are some of the main attractions that they visit. The below sections will talk through the main differences, along with helpful maps.

NYC Helicopter Tour: Book Today

12-15 Minute Helicopter Tour

For starters, the 12-15 minute tour will include all of the following (and more!):

Brooklyn Bridge

• Statue of Liberty
• Ellis Island

One World Trade Center

• Chrysler Building

Empire State Building

• Chelsea Piers

Times Square

• The Intrepid

Central Park

While 15 minutes is quick, the helicopter tour still gets you to many of the top highlights that the city has to offer. All the way down from the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor up to Central Park in Upper Manhattan, the tour covers a lot of air while taking in some beautiful views along the way.

17-20 Minute Helicopter Tour

Now, while 5 minutes doesn’t sound like too much extra time, a bunch more NYC attractions can be seen by opting for this longer option.

In addition to everything mentioned on the 12-15 tour, this 17-20 minute tour will also include:

• Columbia University
• Grant’s Tomb
• Yankee Stadium
• The Palisades
• George Washington Bridge
• Northern Tip of Manhattan

Essentially the tour heads further north past Central Park and towards the Bronx, as you get a more wholistic view of NYC and its skyline.

25-30 Minute Helicopter Tour

For those that want to take full advantage of an NYC helicopter tour, then the 25-30 minute is your best bet. Although the most expensive, it is also the most expansive.

This means you will get to spend a bit more time hovering above at each attraction in addition to some more highlights.

The 25-30 minute tour includes all the highlights already mentioned in addition to the Verrazano Bridge and the borough of Brooklyn.

It is the only tour that heads further out into New York Harbor, which is bound to give you more wholistic views of the NYC skyline looking northbound.

To get a better sense of attractions, the chart below lays it all out for you. It is important to note that these are just a subset of landmarks you will get to see.

Odds are that plenty more of New York City will be surrounding you during the duration of your flight.

Book Today : Be sure to book your NYC Helicopter Tour ahead of time and reserve your spot on any of the 15, 20, or 30 minute rides!

#4: NYC City Lights Helicopter Tour at Night

• Flight Duration : 25-30 Minutes
• Price : $274
• Time : 7:30PM – 8:30PM
• Departure : Linden Airport, New Jersey

While seeing the NYC skyline during the day is one thing, seeing it at night can be a whole other experience.

Once the sun sets, the skyscrapers and landmarks light up, which creates a new perspective to take in New York City.

And what better way to see the city at night than to take part of this NYC City Lights Helicopter Tour .

With this tour, you will get a very similar experience to the 25-30 minute day time tour. The main difference here is that the daytime tour departs from Manhattan and the night tour departs from Linden Airport in New Jersey.

Even with the NJ departure, you will still get to take in NYC from New York Harbor, all the way up to the Bronx. Taking in those bright lights of Times Square, the colorful landmark buildings, and the rest of NYC is something that is just tough to beat.

Although it is a further out journey to get to the departure point, the helicopter ride is actually cheaper. So, if you want to get a similar experience, see the city at night , and save some money, then the night tour could be for you.

Note : Linden Airport can easily be reached by the NJ Transit followed by a quick taxi/Uber ride. The quickest routes take just about 45 minutes.

NYC Night Heli Tour: Book Today

#5: Doors Off NYC Helicopter Tour

• Rating : 4 / 5 Stars
• Flight Duration : 16 or 30 Minutes
• Price : ~$500 – $800
• Time : 8:00AM – 5:00PM
• Departure : Kearny, New Jersey

All of the helicopter tours mentioned on this list are standard doors on experiences. While the doors on rides have large floor to ceiling windows, you can take it to a whole new level with this Doors Off NYC Helicopter Tour .

The doors off helicopter tour is exactly what it sounds like. Instead of having closed doors up in the air, you will be able to have an open-air cabin.

This will allow you to not have any glass out in front of you and it can give you the option to dangle your legs outside of the helicopter.

While a doors on ride can be a thrilling experience on its own, a doors off ride is only for those that are ready for a true adrenaline rush over NYC.

As you go about booking, be sure you select the doors off option as the company also offers doors on rides as well.

Note : The Kearny, NJ departure point can easily be reached by the NJ Transit followed by a quick bus or Uber ride. The quickest routes take just about 45 minutes.

NYC Helicopter Doors Off Tour: Book Today

#6: Private NYC Helicopter Tour for 6 People

• Flight Duration : 30 or 45 Minutes
• Price : $1,550 or $2,200
• Time : 10:00AM – 8:30PM
• Departure : Westchester County Airport

Up next are some options for those that want to enjoy a more private experience altogether. This can also be great for those that are traveling with a larger group of people.

Departing from Westchester County Airport, this Private Helicopter Tour for up to 6 people offers the chance to see the city on your own, without any additional people joining your group.

While Westchester may seem far, it is actually pretty easy to get to. This can be done by an hour drive or a 75 minute train + Uber. When going about the booking, there is also an option to include a private transfer from NYC to make things easier.

Since the private tour comes in from Westchester, the first part of the flight will be flying southbound as the city skyline continues to be seen in the distance. This will give you a new perspective of NYC that other tours won’t offer.

The 30 minute ride will focus on all of the various highlights up to midtown Manhattan. This essentially means that it wont go south of the Empire State Building.

During a flight though, you will still get to see the skyline, Central Park, George Washington Bridge, and plenty more.

If you want to get all the way down to the Statue of Liberty and One World Trade Center, then the 45 minute flight will need to be chosen. You will get the most comprehensive tour with this option as everything from downtown to uptown Manhattan will be covered.

Private Helicopter Tour: Book Today

#7 & #8: NYC Private Helicopter Tour for Couples

• Price : $800 or $1,100

This Private Helicopter Tour for Couples is the same exact layout as the tour mentioned above. Instead of maxing out at 6 people, this tour is just for 2 people.

With this two person option, you will find the prices to be much cheaper and not wildly far off from booking two people on a shared helicopter.

Similarly, there is a 30 minute option that heads down to midtown Manhattan and a 45 minute ride option that makes its way all the way down to New York Harbor.

So, if you are looking for a romantic NYC helicopter tour for two, it doesn’t get much better than this.

Marriage Proposal Option : Looking to propose over NYC? You can opt for this special Marriage Proposal Helicopter Tour that includes a private ride, photographer, illuminated sign, and more.

NYC Couples Heli Tour: Book Today

#9: Hudson Valley Fall Foliage Helicopter Tour

• Price : $330 or $475
• Time : 10:00AM – 4:00PM

Now, while the all the helicopter tours on this list are focused on NYC, this Fall Foliage Helicopter Tour is focused on the Hudson Valley.

Starting in the beginning of October, the leaves around New York City slowly begin to change color. Instead of a greenery filled landscape, the leaves turn to shades of red, orange, and yellow.

And although Fall foliage in NYC is a great time to visit the city, the Hudson Valley takes it to a whole new level. The nature filled landscape goes on for miles and miles with never-ending foliage surrounding the Hudson.

The Hudson Foliage Tour can also be done as part of a 30 minute or 45 minute option.

The main highlights include Castle on Hudson, Harriman State Park, Bear Mountain , West Point, and plenty others. With the 45 minute tour, you will also get to see Bannerman Castle and Dick’s Castle.

So, if you want the perfect combination of a helicopter ride and foliage viewing, then this will be the option to choose.

Timing Note : in general, mid October is when the foliage will be at its best along the Hudson.

Foliage Helicopter Tour: Book Today

#10: NYC Helicopter Piloting Experience

• Flight Duration : 30 or 60 Minutes
• Price : $560 or $985
• Time : 10:00AM – 2:00PM

Do you want to combine a helicopter tour with actually piloting the helicopter on your own? Well, this NYC Helicopter Piloting Experience may then be for you.

Instead of just going on a tour, this is going to give you 1 on 1 time to learn with a pilot instructor and then head up in the air to fly.

The day will start out with 30 minutes of instruction as you learn the ins and outs of the helicopter controls, systems, and procedures. From there, you will take off with your pilot and have the chance to actually fly the helicopter with some supportive help.

It is important to note that flight lessons are not permitted over New York City. So, this experience will just focus in on Westchester County north of NYC. Although you won’t get to enjoy the highlights & attractions as you would on a normal helicopter ride, there will still be views of the NYC skyline out in the distance.

You will have the chance to choose between 30 minute and 60 minute flight options depending on how long you want to spend up in the sky learning. Also note that 1 guest is allowed to join in on the helicopter ride as well.

Flights leave from Westchester County Airport so you can either opt to pay for the private transfer or head there on your own.

NYC Piloting Tour: Book Today

Important Things to Know

Before you head out on that helicopter flight over NYC, be sure to read up on some important things to know.

What To Bring : while each tour may be slightly different, expect to only bring what can fit in your pockets, in addition to a camera & sunglasses. Bags and other items can be left in lockers prior to the flight.

Weather : if the weather turns for the worse, it is possible that flights can be cancelled. Be sure to leave some flexibility in your schedule so you can hop onto a rescheduled flight.

Flight Path : due to regulations set by the City of New York, helicopters are not allowed to fly directly over NYC. However, the flights will follow the coastline along the East River, New York Harbor, and Hudson River. Given the elevation of the helicopter, you are still sure to get remarkable views of the city from above.

Elevation : speaking of elevation, expect the flights to be around 1,500 feet to 2,000 feet above sea level. This will give you the chance to fully appreciate all that NYC has to offer.

Passenger Seating : most helicopters have seating for 6 people (plus the pilot). One seat will be next to the pilot, and then 5 seats in the back (2 backward / 3 forward). Your seating arrangement will depend on the weights of the passengers to balance the heli.

Arrival Time : be sure to pay close attention to the requested arrival time. Before the flight, there will be some time for check in, lockers, and introduction.

Departure Point : also, be aware of the departure points of these various tours. These can be in downtown Manhattan (Pier 6), New Jersey (Linden or Kearny), or Westchester (Westchester County Airport).

NYC Helicopter Tour Attractions & Highlights

When it comes to attractions and highlights of NYC helicopter tours, there will be an endless list out there. Since you will have such a high vantage point over the city, the views will be expansive in all directions.

But there are some landmarks that you should get up and close to, as you take in panoramas that few others get to see. Here is a list of the best of them.

Located in the East River is the world-famous Brooklyn Bridge that connects downtown Manhattan with downtown Brooklyn.

The bridge is an iconic structure with its suspension cables and limestone towers standing tall.

In addition to the Brooklyn Bridge, the nearby Manhattan Bridge and even Williamsburg Bridge should be in view during a helicopter ride.

Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island

Within New York Harbor you will find two small islands – one houses the Statue of Liberty while the second has Ellis Island.

Getting to see the Statue of Liberty from above, with the city skyline out back is surely going to be a special experience to take part of.

For those that want to get up close and personal to these landmarks, be sure to head on a NYC Dinner Cruise !

While the entirety of the NYC skyline will be seen from a variety of angles throughout these helicopter rides, one building stands tall in downtown Manhattan – One World Trade.

This tower is the tallest in the city and its floor to ceiling glass, makes it one of the most sleek buildings out there.

You can also head on up to the top on your own by visiting the One World Observatory .

Perhaps the most well known landmark in NYC is the Empire State Building . Located in midtown Manhattan, the Empire State Building stands tall with its multi level observation deck up top.

Surrounding the Empire State Building will be other landmarks such as The Edge, One Vanderbilt, the Chrysler Building, among others.

In the heart of Manhattan is Times Square. With its bright lights and massive billboards, it is one of the most happening spots in all of NYC.

Getting to see the action from a bird’s eye view is going to be a special experience to take part of.

For those that want to wake up with a view, check out the best hotels in Times Square .

For me, it doesn’t get much better than the 843 acre Central Park located between 59 th Street and 110 th Streets.

The park is full of trees, water features, walking paths, lawns, and plenty more to explore by foot.

But getting to see the park from above with the skyline out back is something only an NYC helicopter tour can offer.

Other Highlights

The highlights just go on and on though. Some other top spots to look out for during a visit include: Madison Square Garden, George Washington Bridge , Yankee Stadium, Flatiron Building, Chelsea Piers, South Street Seaport , and just so much more.

I have a hard time believing you won’t enjoy this one of kind experience when visiting NYC.

NYC Helicopter Tour Questions Answered

To finish up this overview, here are some answers to the most frequently asked questions when it comes to New York helicopter tours.

How Much Does a NYC Helicopter Tour Cost?

This really depends on the type of tour you opt for. However, for the more standard tours out there, expect to pay between $239 and $389 for a ride that lasts anywhere between 15-30 minutes.

If you opt for some other more unique experiences, such as a private flight, then this price can go up.

What Is the Best Time for a Helicopter Tour in Manhattan?

While you can’t go wrong with a helicopter tour, in my opinion, the ideal time for a helicopter tour is around sunset.

Most of the tours allow you to pick a specific time slot that range from early morning to early evening. Some of the later ones (depending on time of year), can overlap with sunset.

Seeing the sun set over NYC with the sky changing colors will just make the experience that much more special.

So, if you are able to work it in, try to opt for that sunset ride!

Where Do NYC Helicopter Tours Leave From?

In general, there are four main helipads that NYC helicopter tours leave from. These include:

• Pier 6 in Downtown Manhattan
• Kearny, New Jersey
• Linden Airport, New Jersey
• Westchester Regional Airport

Be sure to pay close attention to the departure point and leave yourself enough time for travel to the starting point.

Is a NYC Helicopter Worth It?

If seeing the city from above is of interest to you, then there is little doubt that an NYC helicopter tour is worth it.

Getting to see the skyline from 2,000 feet up in the air is something that just cannot be matched. While observation decks get you up there, it is no match for helicopters that take you around the perimeter of NYC.

Having the chance to see just so many landmarks from up close, and getting a variety of skyline views at every moment, will make an NYC helicopter tour one of the best decisions you make during a trip.

That wraps up an overview to the best NYC helicopter tours. If you have any questions or comments, be sure to add them in below.

Also, don’t forget to check out the other New York itineraries and guides up on the site.

Have fun out there and safe travels!

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Our commitment to safety is unwavering. Partners employ experienced pilots and operate top-tier helicopters adhering to local Civil Aviation Authority guidelines. So, relax and savor the awe-inspiring views that USA boasts.

Booking is hassle-free - select your preferred tour, choose a date and time, and prepare for a memorable journey above USA. With TryHelicopter.com, see USA like never before.

FAQs about Helicopter Rides in USA

Detroit Skyline

Mon – Tues Wed – Thurs Fri Sat Sun

Closed 3 – 8:30 pm 3 – 9:30 pm 12 – 9:30 pm 12 – 8:30 pm

4 interest-free payments $37.50/rider

The Detroit Skyline ride is a captivating helicopter ride providing views of Downtown Detroit, Canada, the Ambassador Bridge, Campus Martius, and the picturesque Belle Isle. The ride begins with a thrilling 360-degree turn around Detroit’s iconic Little Caesars Arena, Ford Field, and Comerica Park, providing a unique glimpse into the heart of the city’s sports culture. The highlight of the ride, however, is the awe-inspiring flyby of the GM Renaissance Center, a symbol of Detroit’s resilience and triumph.

Throughout the flight, you’ll enjoy unrivaled panoramic views of Detroit and its Canadian neighbor, Windsor, including a stunning view of the Ambassador Bridge.

The experience is further elevated by the inclusion of complimentary cups of champagne before or after your flight, all for an accessible price of $150 per person. With no evening surcharge, this adventure is not to be missed. The Detroit Skyline Ride promises an unforgettable journey into the heart and soul of the Motor City.

What to expect on your flight.

• Full 360 Around Detroit Sports Stadiums
• Full 360 Around GM RenCen
• The Detroit River
• Windsor and Detroit Skyline
• The Ambassador Bridge
• Complimentary Champagne
• 35 miles total flight distance
• 500 - 1,000 feet in the air
• 100+ MPH travel speed

Detroit Skyline Path

The general route your helicopter will follow.

All flight paths are subject to change due to FAA Regulations, weather, or other reasons deemed necessary by My Flight Tours. Please be aware that “GAME DAY ROUTES” will be in effect during all Detroit Tigers and Detroit Lions home games.

ICONIC SIGHTS ON THIS FLIGHT

All sports stadiums.

Enjoy a 360° view of Detroit’s iconic sports stadiums: Ford Field, Comerica Park, Little Caesars Arena, and the historic Tiger Stadium. This panoramic tribute captures the city’s enduring sports spirit.

The Ambassador Bridge​

Behold the Ambassador Bridge, an engineering marvel linking the US and Canada. Its towering steel cables symbolize unity and trade between two nations. From above, witness this iconic connection in all its grandeur.

The G.M. RenCen.

The GM Renaissance Center , an icon of modern design, dominates the skyline along the Detroit River. Reflecting the city’s vitality and innovation, it offers a captivating 360-degree view from above.

Belle Isle, a 982-acre island park in Detroit. A lush haven with scenic drives, lagoons, and meadows. From the helicopter, you’ll see the Detroit River framing this natural beauty giving you a unique bird’s-eye view of this national park.

FROM THE PILOT’S SEAT

Get the pilots’ take on the Skyline Tour

Jake Kendall "Cowboy"

No doubt about it, the Skyline Tour is my top pick to fly. It’s a thrill from lift-off to touch down, especially with those two full 360’s. There’s simply nothing like it…

WEATHER INSURANCE

Flight refund.

• Refund guaranteed due to weather

With weather insurance, you’re entitled to a ticket refund if MyFlight Tours cancels the flight due to bad weather.

Flight Packages

Customize your flight experience.

CELEBRATION

• Professional photos
• Unlimited champagne

Enjoy professional photography and champagne before or after your flight. Ideal for a romantic evening or special occasion, this package will spice up your flight experience.

• 2 x MyFlight shirts
• 2 x MyFlight drawstrings

Included are professional photos, two stylish MyFlight t-shirts, and two MyFlight drawstring bags. These keepsakes are the perfect way to remember your thrilling flight.

• 4ft tall “HBD” marquee letters
• Personal birthday card
• Commemorative champagne bottle

Personalize your landing with 4-foot-tall “HBD” marquee letters waiting for you on the ramp. Receive a personalized birthday card, a commemorative bottle of champagne, and professional photos to capture all the special moments.

• 4ft tall “I♡U” marquee letters
• Faux floral display near letters

Treat your significant other to champagne before your flight and 4-foot-tall illuminated “I Love You” marquee letters upon landing. Enjoy a commemorative bottle of champagne while our photographers capture every detail, making this romantic flight unforgettable.

FLIGHT ADDONS

Give your flight a unique lift.

DOZEN ROSES

• Dozen longstem roses
• Suprise on helicopter

Surprise your loved one with a dozen long-stemmed roses waiting inside the helicopter. It’s the perfect way to add extra romance to your flight.

GO-PRO VIDEO

• In-Flight mounted Go-Pro

Capture stunning aerial footage of your experience or reactions from inside the helicopter, offering a unique opportunity to relive your tour and share your adventure with friends and family.

General details before you lift off.

Please note that photos are not included in the listed price unless you purchase our Celebration Package or Souvenir Package. However, rest assured that you can always purchase photos at the end of your flight, regardless of the tour or package you choose.

Taxes and fees are not included in the listed tour price.

If you need to cancel your flight please contact [email protected] and provide the first and last name on the booking as well as the reference number.

• Cancellations within 7 days of your scheduled flight are not permitted. Should you choose to cancel within the 7 days of your original booking, no refunds will be issued. This includes bookings made within the 7-day cancellation window.
• Refunds will not be given for weather unless you purchase weather insurance.
• If you do not purchase weather insurance we will either reschedule your flight or issue a flight credit to be used at a later date and time.
• No-shows will be charged in full, with no refund or flight credit.

If you need to reschedule your flight please contact [email protected] and provide the first and last name on the booking, the reference number, and the date and time you would like to be rebooked for.

• If you choose to reschedule more than 24 hours before your scheduled departure, it is free.
• If you chose to reschedule within 24 hours from your scheduled departure, we charge a flat rate of $50 per reschedule.
• No rescheduling changes may be made to your flight within 2-hours prior to take off. If you are unable to make your flight, it will be considered a no-show with no refund.

All flight paths are subject to change due to FAA Regulations, weather, or other reasons deemed necessary by MyFlight Tours. Please be aware that “GAME DAY ROUTES” will be in effect during all Detroit Tigers and Detroit Lions home games.

By purchasing weather insurance, you are entitled to a refund on the cost of your ticket if MyFlight Tours was to cancel the flight due to inclement weather. This is ideal if you’re in town for a short stay and do not have the flexibility to reschedule your flight with us at a later date. Weather Insurance is $50 per flight.

If you do not purchase weather insurance, you will only be able to reschedule your flight for a later date and time OR receive a flight credit for the value of your flight to be used when you are ready to rebook at any date, time, and location.

There can be times when incremental weather makes it unsafe to fly (poor visibility, strong winds, heavy rain, etc).

• If any modifications need to be made to your flight, we will contact you.

If you purchased weather insurance at the time of your booking and we need to cancel your flight due to weather, you will be eligible for a refund of your tickets.

If you did not purchase weather insurance, you may reschedule for another date and time or receive a flight credit. A flight credit is a voucher for the full amount of your tour that can be used any time to rebook. It does not expire.

Before You Book

Here are a few guidelines all flights follow.

• No age minimum
• Children under 24 months ride on lap
• 2 person minimum
• Individual passenger weight cannot exceed 300 lbs
• Groups of 3 riders may be split due to weight restrictions
• $25/rider additional evening flight surcharge
• Booking credit card and ID required*

See what our Detroit flyers typically ask.

All flights depart and return to Detroit City Airport (11499 Conner St. Detroit, MI) . Upon parking, you will enter through the main door that says MyFlight Tours above it. Once inside, our friendly staff members will be able to assist you. 

Parking is completely free! We are located at 11499 Conner St Detroit, MI 48213 , inside the Detroit City Airport.

When you pull into the main entrance of the airport, you can park to the left in the parking lot with MyFlight Tours parking signs or you can park right out front under the overhang.

Upon parking, please enter the main building through the doors to the far right (towards the tower) with the MyFlight Tours logo above the door.

To ensure a smooth and timely departure for your helicopter tour, we ask that you arrive 15 minutes prior to the scheduled flight time. This will allow us to complete our check-in process, which includes going over all of the safety rules and regulations prior to boarding the flight.

Please note that if you are more than 20 minutes late for your scheduled flight, we will charge a $25 late fee. We understand that unforeseen circumstances can arise, but to keep our tours running on schedule and to respect the time of our other customers, we kindly ask that you arrive on time.

We require that you bring the credit card that was used to make the booking, as well as a valid ID that matches the name on the booking and credit card. These items are required for verification purposes before boarding the flight.

Please note that failure to provide these documents will result in the denial of your flight.

Additionally, we encourage you to bring a phone or camera to capture your experience and take photos or videos of the stunning aerial views. Our helicopter tours offer an amazing opportunity to see the world from a unique perspective, and we want you to be able to remember and share these memories for years to come.

For safety reasons, we strictly enforce a weight limit of 300 lbs per passenger as specified by the aircraft manufacturer. Please note that passengers exceeding this weight limit will not be able to fly. To ensure compliance, we will conduct a brief weighing process before the flight.

All passengers (excluding the pilot) must not exceed 600 lbs.

We require a minimum of two passengers to fly . Per trip, we can take up to three passengers. If you are a party of more than 3 we can divide your party into equal groups.

We believe that our flights make a fantastic way to celebrate a birthday. Our flights are exciting, unique, and provide an unforgettable experience that your loved one will remember for years to come.

If you’re looking to make your loved one’s birthday even more memorable, we offer a $200 birthday package that includes several special touches. The package includes 3-foot-tall marquee letters that spell out “HBD” as a surprise for your loved one after landing in the helicopter. Our photography team will also capture the moment, so you can have beautiful photos to remember the experience. Finally, we will provide a commemorative bottle of champagne, so you can toast to your loved one’s special day.

Our flights are already a fantastic gift, but the birthday package adds an extra special touch that is sure to make your loved one feel appreciated and celebrated. 

During home games for the Detroit Tigers or Detroit Lions, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) imposes a temporary flight restriction over the stadium area. This means that we are not permitted to fly within 3 miles of the stadium during the game.

However, we do offer special “Game Day Routes” for our customers. These routes are altered paths that allow us to still fly during the game, but in a way that avoids the restricted airspace. The flights on these routes are the same length and distance as our regular routes, but they take a slightly different path to avoid the restricted area.

Our “Game Day Routes” are in effect for one hour before, during, and one hour after the game. This ensures that our customers can still enjoy their flights, even on game days, while also adhering to FAA regulations and safety protocols.

We are staffed at The Detroit City Airport Wednesday – Sunday. During the week our staff is available from 2PM – 8PM and on the weekends they are available from 11AM – 9PM.

Should you need to stop by outside of our normal hours, please give us a call and we can arrange for a staff member to meet you at the specific date and time of your choosing.

Please note that the Birthday and Love Packages can only be added on to The Ambassador Bridge Tour and tours above that level. Unfortunately, these packages are not currently offered for The Detroit Quick Hop.

The Quick Hop tour does not allow our staff enough time to set up the packages.

We offer a variety of custom event options, including rose petal drops, gender reveals, proposals, photoshoots, and more. Each event is custom priced based on the specific details and requirements.

To book a custom event, please visit the Helicopter Services section on our website and fill out the contact form with your desired event, date, location, and any other necessary information. A staff member will review your request and get back to you as soon as possible with pricing and availability.

We do not expect our customers to tip the pilot, but tips are always appreciated as a way to show gratitude for a job well done. While our pilots do receive a salary, tips can be an important part of their income and are a way for customers to recognize exceptional service.

We will never fly in unsafe conditions. Safety is our top priority which is why our pilots closely monitor the weather at all times. There can be times when incremental weather makes it unsafe to fly (poor visibility, strong winds, heavy rain, etc). If the weather impacts your flight, we will contact you. We do not make any weather decisions until the day of as the weather is constantly changing.

Our team will work with you to find a convenient date and time for your rescheduled flight that works with your schedule.

If you do not have a specific date and time in mind for your rescheduled flight, we will issue a flight credit for the full value of your flight. This credit can be used to rebook your flight at any time and date that is convenient for you.

Other Popular Tours

Detroit quick hop, detroit ambassador bridge, detroit gordie howe tour, need assistance.

Contact our team to receive guidance or answer any questions you have.

• 844-644-3541
• [email protected]
• Tour Locations
• Gender Reveals
• Petal Drops
• Photoshoots
• Custom Tour

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Valentines Day

Fly now. pay later..

Select Klarna, Afterpay, or Affirm as your payment method at checkout to pay in installments.

4 payments of $37.50

every 2 weeks, interest-free

1st payment

2 weeks later

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Total: $150.00

The overall price remains the same.

4 payments of $24.75

Total: $99.00

The beauty of Oahu like you’ve never seen before!

You may think you know Hawaii, but we promise you that we can show you a new side of Hawaii that’s beautiful beyond your wildest dreams. A full 1hr flight will take you completely around the island. We’ll show you famous landmarks, we’ll show you valleys and mountains and waterfalls. Your experience will be something you’ll never forget, we guarantee that. Private flights. Doors optional. Two to three seats available per flight. Book online or give us a call for a concierge like booking experience. Shorter flights are also available at lower cost.

*Please call or e-mail for last minute availability (within 12 hours)

808-201-0660

We’re Not Just Different, We’re Better !

18 Min Tour

Starting at $179 /person*

Start in world famous Honolulu International Airport, glide over Diamond Head volcanic tuff ring and Waikiki. See Waikiki Beach and the shoreline from high above! Get a bird’s eye view of the century-old Diamond Head Lighthouse built in 1899. Return back over urban Honolulu and Downtown. Be one with the City.

And as if this helicopter flight over Waikiki wasn’t an easy enough sell, know that this trip also gives you the option to fly with the doors off at no additional charge!

30 Min Tour

Starting at $239 /person*

Honolulu’s most famous stretch marks the first leg of your 30-minute Oahu helicopter journey. The flight takes you over the shoreline and up to the otherworldly Diamond Head Crater!

But that’s not all—after exploring the volcanic cone, you’ll travel to Oahu’s south shore for even more epic scenery. Fly above Koko Head and see other notable landmarks.

See Waikiki Beach and the shoreline from high above! Get a bird’s eye view of the century-old Makapu Lighthouse.

60 Min Tour

Starting at $339 /person*

Complete Island Tour. See almost all of Oahu on this exciting helicopter flight!

You’ll fly over Waikiki Beach, explore a number of volcanic craters, traverse historic sites including Pearl Harbor and that’s just the start of it! More beaches, bays and hidden waterfalls mark your passage from North to South. 

See Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial. Explore Kaneohe Bay and the hidden gems of Ka’a’awa (Jurassic) Valley and Sacred Falls!

*Prices shown reflect the price per seat when booking 3 people per flight DIRECTLY (call us at 808-201-0660). PRIVATE flights of 1-2 people are subject to an additional fee equal to 50% price of the unoccupied seat. Website fees and Taxes will be added at checkout when booking online. **When booking a shared flight, the party’s total weight cannot exceed 380 pounds for party of 2 or 500 pounds for party of 3. This weight restriction is in addition to weight restrictions shown at checkout. Any questions? Call us at 808-201-0660.

Common Questions About Honolulu Helicopter Tours

How much does it cost.

The price of the tour is calculated based on how many people are on the tour. Book for 3 people and get the best rate per person!

I am booking a flight for 2 labelled, “Private Flight”, but there is a box asking “Would you like to book the whole aircraft?” for a fee. Why?

The private option charges 1/2 a standard seat price in addition to the initial two seats to keep the third seat empty and guarantee a private flight. Without this option, there is a chance the third seat will be filled with a single occupant from another party. We provide this option to make the flight less expensive for a party of two that wishes for a cheaper flight and do not mind the extra company.

I’m traveling alone. Your website says $XXX per person, can I pay you that and go by myself?

This is possible, but not guaranteed. Please call us to book for 1 person – we will check the schedule and see if we have a tour with an open seat. We will combine you with two other travelers who chose not to pay extra for the PRIVATE option.

What do I wear on helicopter ride?

Make sure you have sunglasses or regular glasses to protect your eyes from the wind! Keep long hair pulled back. We also recommend you to wear a light jacket if you get cold easily.

What can I expect on my tour?

You can expect to see the most beautiful sights on Oahu, guided by a knowledgeable and courteous pilot. It will be an unforgettable experience! Our tours accommodate 1-3 passengers and we offer doors on or doors off options.

Is flying with the doors off safe?

Yes. The helicopter model we operate is specifically approved by FAA for any door on/door off configuration. You will also required to wear a seat belt all the time. Our staff will instruct you about in-flight safety measures before your flight. Your safety is our first priority!

What will I see on the tour?

Each tour offers a different set of a locations that you will see. For example, 18 min tour is centered around Waikiki and Urban Honolulu, but 60 min flight will take you around the whole island where you will see mountains, waterfalls, and historic Pearl Harbor!

Are helicopter tours safe?

Helicopters can be especially safe forms of transportation if you do your research. As is the case with any other form of transportation, it all comes down to how well the vehicle is maintained and the skill of the pilot. We have 100% safety record for over 11 years in the helicopter business.

Get in touch.

Please contact us if you have any questions. You can call us directly or email us by using the form below and we’ll try to get back to you within 24hrs. Mahalo

Located in Oahu

Call 808-201-0660.

• Name * First Last
• What Is Your Weight (lbs) * Please enter a number from 50 to 400 . FAA requires us to weigh everyone for the aircraft's weight and balance restrictions. Your safety is our first priority. (This weight cannot exceed 500lbs total of all passengers combined)
• How Many Guests? * Please enter a number from 1 to 3 . Total of 3 guests allowed
• How Did You Hear About Us? * Google YELP TripAdvisor FaceBook Instagram Twitter Friend
• Your Message
• Consent * I agree to receive SMS messages from Honolulu Helicopter Tours at the phone number provided above. I understand data rates may apply, reply STOP to opt out. *

The 10 Best Mind-Blowing Las Vegas Helicopter Tours In 2024

Do you want to take a helicopter tour in Las Vegas but have no idea where to start? Well, I’ve taken some of the best Las Vegas helicopter tours available and can tell you exactly which ones you should take for an epic Las Vegas experience.

LOOKING FOR THE BEST HELICOPTER TOUR FROM LAS VEGAS?

You’ve come to the right place! All the best Las Vegas helicopter tours are featured right here, so you are sure to find the one that fits your particular needs. Every single one of these tours comes very highly rated, and I’ve even highlighted user reviews to help guide you in making your choice.

My husband and I have been to Las Vegas many times over the years, both as a couple  and with big groups, and have experienced epic helicopter rides firsthand. To experience it yourself, all you have to do is book a tour, and enjoy the thrill of a helicopter ride in Las Vegas!

Don’t have time to read this entire article? Book this Deluxe Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam Helicopter Tour now. It has a perfect ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating!

Las Vegas has something for everyone – epic shows , thrilling casinos, world-famous nightlife, endless shopping – you name it, it’s here. It hosts incredible Cirque du Soleil shows , the famous Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas Sign , and some of the best free shows and attractions around.

Whether you’re seeking adrenaline-pumping experiences or a leisurely ride along the Strip, I’ve handpicked the best of the best helicopter tours for you to experience.

You can even couple an incredible helicopter tour with an adventurous ATV tour for the ultimate Las Vegas thrill!

My Top 3 Picks: Best Las Vegas Helicopter Tours

Deluxe grand canyon & hoover dam helicopter tour.

Grand Canyon Sunset Helicopter Tour

Las Vegas Strip Nighttime Helicopter Ride & Dinner

Note: Don’t forget to tip your pilot! Use my ultimate guide to tipping in Vegas to assist you, and be sure to read these other tips for Las Vegas first timers to ensure you have the best time possible! I’ve also created a Las Vegas packing guide to help you prepare for your trip.

Top 10 Las Vegas Helicopter Tours

#1. deluxe grand canyon & hoover dam helicopter tour.

Rating: 5 Stars | Tour Length: 4 hours | Flight Time: 45 min | Check Rates And Availability

Number one on my list definitely is this 5-star helicopter tour . You get picked up from your hotel and taken to the heliport, where you meet your pilot and board your helicopter. Pop on your personal headphones and listen to a recorded commentary about everything you’re seeing throughout the flight.

You see amazing sights like Lake Las Vegas, Lake Mead, and even get a bird’s-eye view of the impressive Hoover Dam. Once you reach the Grand Canyon, get ready for a jaw-dropping experience as you land on a private bluff overlooking the mighty Colorado River, more than 3,000 feet below the Canyon rim.

Amazing tour! Highly recommend! Once in a lifetime experience! Fly by Hoover dam, land INSIDE the Grand Canyon, fly by Joshua Tree, AND end the tour with a fly by of the Vegas Strip. It’s a no-brainer! Liphan ( see more reviews )

Relax under an authentic Native American ramada shelter while your pilot answers any questions you have about the canyon or your helicopter flight. You even toast to this incredible experience with a glass of champagne.

On your 45 minute flight back to Las Vegas, you soar over the Strip, and then your ride will be waiting to take you back to your hotel. It’s the ultimate Grand Canyon helicopter adventure you don’t want to miss!

#2. Grand Canyon Helicopter Tour With Sunset Upgrade

Rating: 4 and 1/2 Stars | Tour Length: 4 and 1/2 hours | Flight Time: 70 min | Check Rates And Availability

Do you want to experience the Grand Canyon like a VIP? Then you need to take this awe-inspiring round-trip helicopter ride that will blow your mind. You get to choose the perfect time for your flight—whether it’s early morning, late morning, afternoon, or sunset. (PICK THE SUNSET TOUR, TRUST ME!)

They pick you up from your hotel and head to the heliport where you board your helicopter. You then get treated to breathtaking views of Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, Grapevine Mesa, Joshua Tree, and the Grand Wash Cliffs Wilderness. Your pilot keeps you entertained with commentary and music that adds a whole new dimension to your adventure.

This was a WONDERFUL experience! Worth every penny and I would absolutely do it again! The pilot, Alex, was knowledgeable, friendly, and was a very experienced pilot. Incredible views of the canyon, river/lake, sunset, and of Vegas and the surrounding areas. Highly recommended! You won’t regret it! Hilary ( see more reviews )

But the real highlight comes next. You land 4,000 feet below the West Rim, right on the canyon floor! It’s really a once-in-a-lifetime moment as you enjoy a Champagne picnic surrounded by the majestic canyon walls. It’s the perfect Las Vegas to Grand Canyon helicopter tour to choose in order to soak in the sheer beauty of this natural wonder.

#3. Las Vegas Strip Nighttime Helicopter Ride With Dinner Upgrade

Rating: 4 and 1/2 Stars | Tour Length: 2 hours | Flight Time: 10 min | Check Rates And Availability

This incredible nighttime helicopter tour of the Las Vegas strip is the perfect choice for anyone wanting to experience a helicopter ride but wants to keep it within the city limits. This exclusive helicopter flight offers a spectacular sightseeing tour of Sin City’s iconic landmarks, including the famous Bellagio, the Mirage, and the vibrant Fremont Street Experience, among others.

I’ve got to tell you, the lights and sights of the Strip are truly incredible from this view. You cover approximately 20 miles (32 kilometers) during your flight. With a variety of departure times available throughout the evening, you can easily find a slot that fits your schedule. It’s the perfect opportunity to see the bright neon lights of Sin City from above!

Thank you guys, that was such an amazing experience ! My daughter and my husband loved it!🤩 We would totally recommend this tour to anyone! Sergii ( see more reviews )

Want to make it extra special? Upgrade your Las Vegas nighttime helicopter flight to include a delicious dinner at a local restaurant. Don’t miss the chance to witness the mesmerizing beauty of the Las Vegas Strip from a whole new perspective.

#4. Grand Canyon Helicopter Flight With Colorado River Float Or Kayak Trip

Rating: 4 and 1/2 Stars | Tour Length: 11 hours | Flight Time: 1 hr 10 min | Check Rates And Availability

This incredible full-day helicopter and Colorado River tour is perfect for anyone looking for a true adventure. You start off with an epic 1-hour helicopter ride from Las Vegas to the magnificent West Rim of the Grand Canyon. Along the way, you see the iconic Hoover Dam and the stunning beauty of Lake Mead along with many other natural wonders.

Now comes the exciting part: it’s your choice between a relaxing float trip down the Colorado River through Black Canyon, where you can enjoy a boxed picnic lunch and even take a refreshing swim at a secluded beach, or opt for a thrilling kayak trip starting from Willow Beach.

Highly recommend. Our raft guide Russ was absolutely amazing. This an adventure you must do when visiting Vegas. The views were amazing and the river raft was absolutely breathtaking. The water was so refreshing after being out in the heat. Rosanne ( see more reviews )

Whichever option you choose, bottled water and all transportation are included. This helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon and exploration of the Colorado River is sure to give you memories to last a lifetime.

#5. Small-Group Grand Canyon West Rim SUV Tour with Optional Helicopter Landing

Rating: 4 and 1/2 Stars | Tour Length: 11 hours | Flight Time: 25 min | Check Rates And Availability

This action-packed small group SUV and helicopter tour picks you up from your Las Vegas hotel and takes you to multiple stops over the course of the day. You start at the Hoover Dam, where you can learn all about the engineering and architecture that went into this iconic US landmark. Then, you travel through the Arizona desert past an extinct volcano and the incredible 900-year old Joshua Tree Forest.

Once you get to the Grand Canyon West Rim, you have about 4 hours to wander and explore the tribal lands of the native Hualapai people and learn about their culture and rich history. You definitely should opt to walk on the glass floor of the SkyWalk for one of the most surreal experiences ever , if you’re feeling extra adventurous.

We had a fantastic day and the helicopter ride was amazing! Highly recommend for anyone wanting a great way to see the area attractions in a day. Staci ( see more reviews )

This is where the tour gets even more exciting: your helicopter upgrade. Fly over the rim of the Grand Canyon and land deep within where you then can explore and take epic photos before you fly back up to the top. This full day SUV and Helicopter Tour from Las Vegas is an absolute must for those seeking natural wonders, cultural immersion, and thrilling helicopter adventures.

#6. Grand Canyon Helicopter Flight with Optional Upgrades: ATV, Horseback, Shooting

Rating: 5 Stars | Tour Length: 6 hours | Flight Time: 20 min | Check Rates And Availability

This unbelievable tour from Las Vegas gives you the opportunity to experience multiple adventures all in one day. You can choose to include any or all of the following options with your 20 minute helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon : a 60 minute shooting experience, a 60 minute horseback riding tour, and a 60 minute ATV tour.

Regardless of the options you choose, your helicopter flight will give you incredible views of the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam. You also get to experience riding in the world’s largest monster truck for a truly epic experience.

Absolutely brilliant experience our guide Dustin was absolutely fantastic full of knowledge and kept the whole tour bus entertained. Would definitely highly recommend this tour . Was worried as I have never been on a helicopter before but couldn’t have been a smoother trip and the view was beyond spectacular. Cathy ( see more reviews )

Included in your Las Vegas Helicopter Tour with ATV, Horseback, and Shooting Options , round trip transportation is included. They also provide either breakfast or lunch depending on the time of your tour.

#7. Grand Canyon Sunset Helicopter Tour from Las Vegas

Rating: 5 Stars | Tour Length: 4 and 1/2 hours | Flight Time: 45 min | Check Rates And Availability

This 5-star rated sunset helicopter tour will leave you breathless. You get picked up from your hotel and taken to the heliport. During the flight to the canyon, you get to enjoy mesmerizing views of Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam. If you want to learn more, simply put on your provided headphones and listen to fascinating facts about the Grand Canyon.

Once inside the canyon, your pilot will make a special landing on a private bluff, situated 3,500 feet below the rim. Here, you get to take a break and savor a Champagne toast and light snack under a Native American Ramada shelter, while admiring the breathtaking vistas of the Colorado River.

It is almost impossible to put this experience in words, all I can say that it’s an experience of a lifetime! These guys are the best! It’s a must must do if you are in Vegas. Nisarg ( see more reviews )

Afterward, hop back into the helicopter and enjoy the return flight to Las Vegas. As you soar above the city, witness the dazzling lights of the Vegas Strip and Downtown Las Vegas. Upon landing, you’ll be given a convenient ride back to your hotel.

Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to experience the beauty of the Grand Canyon at sunset. Book your sunset helicopter tour now and create memories that will last a lifetime!

#8. Extended Grand Canyon West Rim Air-Only Helicopter Tour

Rating: 4 and 1/2 Stars | Tour Length: 4 hours | Flight Time: 1 hr 10 min | Check Rates And Availability

Start your Grand Canyon air-only helicopter adventure with a hotel pickup and VIP terminal transfer. Board a helicopter for a 70-minute flight over the stunning West Rim. Take in breathtaking views of the Hoover Dam, Bypass Bridge, Black Canyon, and an extinct volcano called Fortification Hill.

Soar over Lake Mead and prepare to be amazed by the grandeur of the Grand Canyon, covering 30 miles above and below the rim. Marvel at the colors, rock formations, and millions of years of history. I’m telling you, there’s nothing like seeing this all from the seat of a helicopter.

I had been wanting to do this tour for a long time and let me tell you, the wait was worth it. Seeing the canyon from above is a must! … The views are spectacular! I share only a couple of the many pictures I took. Coming back in we saw the Last Vegas strip up close. Highly recommend this tour ! Gus ( see more reviews )

End your journey with a flyover of the iconic Las Vegas Strip, including Downtown, Caesars Palace, the Bellagio, City Center, Mandalay Bay, and the Raiders Stadium. Don’t miss this mind-blowing VIP helicopter tour from Las Vegas . It’s truly an unforgettable experience.

#9. Grand Canyon West Rim Luxury Helicopter Tour

Rating: 4 and 1/2 Stars | Tour Length: 3 hours | Flight Time: 1 hr 30 min | Check Rates And Availability

For folks with only a short time to spare, this 3 hour luxury helicopter tour from Las Vegas is the perfect option. You get picked up at your hotel or you can choose to meet at a designated spot.

This tour provides incredible aerial views of the biggest landmarks in the area, including the Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, and of course the breathtaking Grand Canyon and Colorado River.

What a fantastic experience! Our pilot and guide Bethany was wonderful – such an amazing day. I would definitely recommend this to anyone. Michael ( see more reviews )

If you only have a few hours available, this Las Vegas helicopter tour to the Grand Canyon is exactly what you’re looking for. You can marvel at the incredible scenery below from a perspective most folks never get to experience.

#10. Grand Canyon Helicopter and Eagle Point Rim Landing Tour

Rating: 4 and 1/2 Stars | Tour Length: 4 and 1/2 hours | Flight Time: 1 hr 30 min | Check Rates And Availability

This half day helicopter tour from Las Vegas is the perfect way to soak in the grandeur of the canyon within a limited time frame. It starts like any of the other tours, with complimentary pickup from the hotel of your choice and then whisks you away to begin an incredible helicopter adventure.

You get breathtaking views of the historic Hoover Dam, the impressive Bypass Bridge, extinct volcanoes, and the stunning Mojave desert as you head towards the Grand Canyon. Soar over Fortification Hill, an extinct volcano, and just enjoy the sheer beauty of the vast Mojave desert. You’ll fly below the Canyon’s Rim, and then transport into a vehicle for a ride to Eagle Point.

Purely outstanding, the trip was totally beyond our expectations and without doubt worth every penny. Our tour guide / pilot Ray was genuinely amazing… the experience was simply fantastic and will likely never be repeated as I can’t imagine anywhere in the world will be as mind blowing as seeing the Grand Canyon from a helicopter! Karla ( See more reviews )

At Eagle Point, situated on the Grand Canyon Rim, don’t miss the chance to visit the renowned Grand Canyon Skywalk! It really adds a whole new level to your adventure. As your Las Vegas and Grand Canyon helicopter tour concludes, savor one last treat—a flight over the iconic Las Vegas Strip. Take in panoramic views of Downtown Las Vegas, Caesars Palace, Bellagio, City Center, Mandalay Bay Resort, and the legendary Raiders Stadium.

Frequently Asked Questions About Las Vegas Helicopter Tours

Got some questions? Don’t worry, we’ve got the answers to the most frequently asked questions about helicopter rides to the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas.

Is a Las Vegas helicopter tour worth it?

YES. Las Vegas helicopter tours may come with a hefty price tag depending on the particular tour and upgrades you choose, but without a doubt it is worth the expense. Most people say their helicopter tour was the highlight of their entire trip to Las Vegas.

Is there an age requirement for Las Vegas helicopter tours?

Generally speaking, any age is welcome on a helicopter tour from Las Vegas. Children under the age of 2 are considered a lap infant and do not need their own seat. Check your specific tour for their specifications.

Are there weight restrictions on Las Vegas helicopter tours?

Yes. Most helicopter tours have a per-person weight limit of about 250-275 lbs. In some cases, they will allow passengers who exceed these weight limits to purchase a full price second seat. Helicopter tours weigh each person before boarding so the weight can be evenly distributed in the helicopter. Check your specific tour for their guidelines.

How long is a helicopter ride from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon?

The flight from the Las Vegas heliport and the West Rim of the Grand Canyon is approximately 40 minutes, each way.

Do I need an ID for a Las Vegas helicopter tour?

Yes, all persons age 18 and older need to show government-issued ID in order to participate in a helicopter tour, such as a passport or driver’s license.

Final Thoughts On a Las Vegas Helicopter Tour

A helicopter ride is a popular bucket list item for a good reason, and I truly believe everyone should be able to experience it at least once in their lifetime. It could be the highlight of your entire trip to Las Vegas!

We featured the 10 best Las Vegas Helicopter Tours in this article, but if you still can’t decide, let me help you make that choice!

Still unsure about the best Las Vegas helicopter tour? I suggest this Deluxe Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam Helicopter Tour. It has a perfect ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating!

There’s a plethora of ways to knock a helicopter tour in Las Vegas off your bucket list, and it depends on your own preferences. You can choose to experience it during the day, at night, or even make multiple stops with a customized itinerary.

The tours range in length from short flights up and down the Las Vegas Strip, to full-day itineraries. You can stay in Vegas, explore the incredible Grand Canyon or Red Rock Canyon, and see all kinds of incredible sights. No matter which tour you pick, you get to see breathtaking natural wonders, gorgeous views, and experience all the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas!!

Book one of these tours as a  present for the special Dad in your life , or  give Mom a gift she’ll cherish forever : an unforgettable bucket list experience. You can even take your kids to the Grand Canyon with one of these experiences. Regardless of which of these Las Vegas helicopter tours you choose, you can be sure you won’t be making a mistake on your trip to Las Vegas !

Additional Helpful Las Vegas Articles

I love Las Vegas! My husband and I have been there what feels like a million times, and there’s always more to experience. Here are some more Las Vegas articles that you might find useful in planning your own epic trip to Sin City.

Is A Grand Canyon Helicopter Tour Really Worth It?

• The Best Hoover Dam Tours From Las Vegas
• The 10 Best Las Vegas ATV Tours
• Top 15 Best Shows In Las Vegas
• The Best Extreme Activities In Las Vegas
• What To Pack For Las Vegas
• Las Vegas Tips For First Timers – What You Need To Know
• The Complete Review of Cirque du Soleil Mystere in Las Vegas

The 15 Biggest Mistakes In Las Vegas To Avoid

• The 15 Best Free Things To Do In Las Vegas
• Ultimate Guide To Tipping In Las Vegas
• How To Visit The Welcome To Las Vegas Sign
• How To Prepare For Las Vegas Weather in November

Hi there! My name is Rachel, and I'm a travel enthusiast, writer, and lifelong learner. With over 16 years of marriage and two amazing kids, I've learned that traveling is one of the best ways to bond and create lasting memories with loved ones. I'll share everything I learn, from tips and tricks to specific product and business reviews, so you can make memories around the world too!

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London Helicopter Tour for 3

£ 569.00 Original price was: £569.00. £ 525.00 Current price is: £525.00.

This is an exclusive 50 minute London tour for up to 3 people to take to the skies in an exciting VIP  50 minute London helicopter flight over famous London landmarks from our unique London base near the M25 and M40. Enjoy the helicopter all to yourselves as you view the breath-taking sights over London.

Contact: 01494 769 976

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This exclusive extended 50 minute London helicopter flight for up to 3 passengers takes you right to the heart of London, giving everyone the opportunity to see many of the world’s greatest landmarks. You can choose to fly from our exclusive London helicopter facility near the M40 and M25 and take this famous tour. You can have a greater choice of flight dates, and exclusive use of the helicopter whether you want to have 1, 2 or 3 people on the flight.

The Exclusive London Helicopter Flight:

• Exclusive use of the helicopter
• Exciting extended helicopter flight of 50 minutes over iconic London sights
• Over  60 minute experience including 50 minutes flight time in the helicopter
• Covers approximately 77 miles
• Departs from Heli Air London – High Wycombe (Buckinghamshire, London)
• R44 helicopter or similar
• Price is for up to 3 people on the same exclusive flight
• Voucher will be emailed to you after purchase for quick delivery

Our friendly staff at our exclusive London helicopter location will welcome you upon your arrival, and offer you a fresh tea or coffee whilst you prepare for your London Helicopter Tour. After your pre flight safety brief you will be taken to the exclusive helicopter, given the opportunity to take some amazing photographs, then taken onto the helicopter for the flight experience of a lifetime. If you enjoy the flight, why not learn to fly a helicopter with one of our introductory lessons?

London Helicopter Flight Voucher Also Includes:

• Free parking
• 7 days per week booking facility subject to availability
• Photo opportunities
• Ability to rebook at no extra cost  if poor weather causes flight to be cancelled
• 48 month validity
• Relaxed meet and greet with the pilot at our London helicopter base prior to the helicopter flight

London Helicopter Tour Location

The helicopter flight departs from our exclusive Heli Air base at Wycombe Air Park, Buckinghamshire, right on the edge of London with good rail links and near the M25 and M40. It is an easy journey either from the centre of London, or any of the surrounding areas such as Isleworth, Watford, Sunbury to name but a few There is free parking available during your flight, and a café at the airfield for a relaxing lunch before or after your London helicopter sightseeing tour.

Further information:

Must be 4 or over, under 16’s must be accompanied by an adult.

Valid at Heli Air London – High Wycombe (SL7 3DP).

18 stone weight limit per person.

Flight depends on visibility, operational and weather conditions, but will be rebooked at no extra cost if the Helicopter Flight is cancelled due to any of these reasons.

Once booked, the customer must give 2 weeks’ notice to Heli Air to reschedule their booking, otherwise the voucher will be counted as redeemed. This does not apply if Heli Air reschedules the booking due to unsuitable weather or operational reasons.

Flight time based on average for tours, can vary slightly due to factors such as air traffic control and wind speed.

These introductory / air experience flights are not required to conform to the same safety regulations as those conducting Commercial Air Transport (CAT) / Public Transport (PT) operations.

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London Helicopter Tour for 2

Premium london helicopter tour for 5.

R22 Introductory Day – 60-minutes

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Heli Air Main Switchboard: 01789 470476 | Heli Air Engineering: 01494 451111 | Email Enquiry

Head Office Address, Heli Air Limited, Wellesbourne Airfield, Warwickshire, CV35 9EU

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Three Sisters Peaks Tour

The Three Sisters Peaks Tour is an adventure flight that will take you between the Three Sisters Peaks named Hope, Charity and Faith. As you enter the spectacular Spray Valley Provincial Park, you will see the magnificent Sundance Range, where you can observe the Spray Lakes and the rugged peaks of the Canadian Rockies.  Your return flight will provide wonderful views as it meanders back towards the Town of Canmore along the Bow River.

We’re excited to announce our Green Initiative program, dedicated to minimizing our environmental footprint and contributing to a sustainable future. Beginning January 1, 2024, guests will have the opportunity to make a $2.00 donation (per person) at the checkout page when completing an online booking. This donation will plant one tree in collaboration with One Tree Planted, and the remaining funds will be invested in Gold Standard-certified carbon offsets with PlanetAir . Your participation is key to creating a greener future. Explore more about our Green Initiative by following the link.

All tours are exclusive of the Goods and Services Tax (5%) and require a minimum of 2 passengers.

Where is Alpine Helicopters located and how to get there?

Heading to our Canmore Sightseeing Tours Base?

Our Address is 91 Bow Valley Trail, Canmore, AB T1W 1N8.

• For Alpine Helicopters shuttle bus services from Banff to Canmore please email  [email protected]  for more information.
• Driving Directions from Banff National Park: Approximately 20-25 minutes via Trans-Canada Highway heading East
• Driving Directions from Calgary, AB: Roughly a one-hour drive via Trans Canada Highway heading West, exit at 91.
• From Banff –  Roam Transit  – Route 3 from Banff to Canmore, getting off at stop “Benchlands Trail Overpass” and a short 15 minute walk to our base.
• Within Canmore – closest stop is Kananaskis Way south (500m) from our base on route 5C. Further details including bus routes and schedule please head to the Roam Transit website.
• For Bus Options from Calgary to Canmore: Visit  On It  Transit Services.

Heading to our Stoney Nakoda Sightseeing Tours Base?

Our Address is 888 Nakoda Way, Morley, AB T0L 1N0 (Located at the back end of the Stoney Nakoda Resort & Casino parking lot, identifiable by a log building with a red roof).

• For Alpine Helicopters shuttle bus services from Banff/Canmore to Stoney Nakoda, please email  [email protected]  for more information.
• Driving Directions from Calgary: Approximately 40 minutes via Trans-Canada Highway West.
• Driving Directions from Canmore and Banff National Park: About 20-40 minutes via Trans Canada Highway East.

HOW DO I PREPARE FOR A TOUR?

• Reserve your tour ahead of time to secure your preferred date and time slot.
• REMEMBER: Payment has  NOT   been processed at the time of booking and this will take place upon check-in. Please bring a method of payment with you.
• Please plan to arrive 20 minutes prior to your scheduled flight time . This will ensure adequate time for payment, ticket processing and a safety briefing. Late arrivals may have to be rescheduled. If you know you are running late, please give us a call and we will accommodate you as best we can.
• For your convenience, we recommend leaving bags and important documents in your vehicle as they cannot be brought along during the tour. Alternatively, we provide lockers for safely storing all personal belongings.
• To capture the stunning landscapes ensure your camera or smartphone is fully charged and ready to go!

Take in the scenery and capture memories that will last a lifetime! By following these tips, you’ll be well-prepared for your helicopter sightseeing tour and can fully enjoy the experience.

WHAT IS THE CANCELLATION POLICY?

In the event that you must cancel your reservation, a minimum notice for any reservation is required:

• A minimum of 3 hours prior to any sightseeing flight
• A minimum of 24 hours prior to any other flight (private charters)

Any cancellations inside of these time frames will result in a 50% non-refundable charge to the credit card used to secure your booking.

In the event of inclement weather, we will make every effort to notify you an hour before your tour to cancel or reschedule your flight. If you feel the weather may be a factor or are traveling more than an hour to our base, please call before leaving.

We do not charge for tours that are canceled due to weather.

Important Notice: Alpine reserves the right to cancel at any time before or during a flight for weather, maintenance or emergency. In these cases, your reservation will be arranged for another time that day, or another day that may work for you.

ARE THE TOURS ACCESSIBLE?

At Alpine Helicopters, we strive to accommodate all guests to the best of our ability. However, it’s important to note that helicopter tours have certain limitations regarding accessibility due to the nature of the aircraft and operational constraints. Here’s what you need to know:

• Mobility Restrictions: Our helicopters require passengers to climb in and out of the aircraft with assistance from our ground crew. Due to space constraints and safety regulations, individuals with mobility impairments may find it challenging to board and disembark from the helicopter. Our ground crew will assist to the best of their ability to accommodate mobility restrictions
• Seating Arrangements: Our helicopters have limited space, and seating is allocated based on weight distribution for safety reasons. While we will do our best to accommodate specific seating requests, we prioritize safety and weight distribution in our seating arrangements.
• Wheelchair Accessibility: Unfortunately, our helicopters are not equipped to accommodate wheelchairs or mobility devices. Passengers must be able to transfer from their wheelchair to the helicopter seat with assistance from our ground crew.
• Service Animals: Service animals are not permitted in the helicopter but are welcome on the base and building.
• Safety Considerations: For safety reasons, passengers must be able to understand and follow safety instructions provided by our crew before and during the flight. This includes wearing appropriate safety restraints and following emergency procedures if necessary.

We understand that every individual’s accessibility needs may vary, and we encourage you to contact us directly to discuss any specific requirements or concerns you may have. Our team will do our utmost to accommodate your needs and ensure you have a safe and enjoyable experience with Alpine Helicopters.

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testimonials

Maria n 2 years ago, nolan chamczuk 3 years ago, dabz g february 2023, doreen s october 2022, jamie l january 2024.

Alpine Helicopters offers the most spectacular sightseeing tours in the heart of the Canadian Rocky Mountains

Base Locations

Canmore & Banff Sightseeing

Tour Mt Assiniboine & Glaciers Tour

Stoney Nakoda Sightseeing

Warrior Lookout Tour

Spirit Water Tour

Sleeping Warrior Tour

Great Divide Tour

Heli Adventures

Commercial Services

Private Charters

certifications

BANFF & CANMORE SIGHTSEEING

• 91 Bow Valley Trail, AB, Canada T1W 1N8
• 403-678-4802

STONEY NAKODA SIGHTSEEING

• 888 Nakoda Way, AB, Canada T0L 1N0
• 403-881-9901

'Flightseeing': Get a helicopter tour right from your cruise

S KJOLJUNGEN FJORD, Greenland – Zodiac rides, kayaks, paddleboards and e-bikes have long been part of the activities on expedition cruise ships.

But passengers on high-end ships are now asking for more expensive toys to play with – namely onboard submarines and helicopters.

Seabourn, Viking and Scenic are three cruise lines that recently added submarines to some of their expedition ships. The latter also has onboard helicopters complete with helipads on its two “ultra-luxury yachts” – Scenic Eclipse I and Eclipse II.

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Watching the scenery in a remote polar region slowly glide by from a ship’s deck can be captivating. Experiencing it at speeds exceeding 100 mph from the skies above is downright exhilarating.   

Indeed, a 30-minute “flightseeing” helicopter ride over a glacier and remote ice sheet in eastern Greenland was one of the highlights of my recent 12-day Arctic cruise on the Scenic Eclipse II, a 220-passenger ship that made its inaugural voyage in April. 

Bring the bikini, leave the kids: 4 things to know about sailing with Virgin Voyages

Here's what it costs to take a helicopter ride on a cruise

The Eclipse II’s sister ship, Scenic Eclipse I, debuted in 2019. It has a sub and two helicopters. The Eclipse II also has two helicopters – a sub will be brought on board in October, in time for its Antarctica sailings that begin in early December. The oceangoing ships are two of the newest additions to the Australia-based cruise line’s fleet, which also includes 15 riverboats.

Scenic bills itself as offering its passengers “all-inclusive luxury.” Sightseeing tours, all specialty restaurants, drinks, gratuities and airport transfers are included in the fare, which can exceed $1,000 per person per day, depending on the itinerary and choice of cabin. 

Submarine and helicopter rides are optional add-ons that cost more. A lot more.    

A half-hour helicopter ride costs $795 per person. Sub rides cost $350-$795, depending on the region and if it’s a 20- or 40-minute dive. 

Despite the hefty price tag, Jason Flesher, Scenic’s director of Discovery Operations, says the helicopters and subs have proven to be “extremely popular” with passengers.

“We have many guests fly and dive multiple times during their voyage,” he says, adding that the excursions “give our guests the full perspective of their surroundings.” 

Over half of the ship’s 140 passengers signed up for helicopter rides on my sailing. Our pilot, Pascal Fischer, told me that on Antarctic sailings, the percentage of passengers taking helicopter rides usually hovers around 80%.

“You can go 20 miles from the ship, and the world looks totally different, especially in places we go like the Arctic and Antarctica,” says Fischer. “You may even see places that no human ever saw before because we are in such remote areas.”

Exploring Greenland by cruise ship and helicopter

Greenland, the world’s largest island, is a semiautonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. It’s three times the size of Texas, yet its population is only 56,000, making it the least densely populated territory in the world.   

You can’t get much more remote than eastern Greenland, where few cruise ships go, and there are only a handful of tiny fishing settlements. We saw no other signs of human civilization during our four days exploring that region.  However, we did see plenty of blue and humpback whales, seals and other marine life. 

On the gloriously sunny 50-degree day of my helicopter ride, the Eclipse II was anchored in the Skjoljungen Fjord in southeastern Greenland. I walked up to the ship’s helipad at the stern on Deck 8 – one floor above where I had eaten breakfast that morning in the Yacht Club restaurant – for a 10-minute safety briefing.  

Three fellow passengers and I were fitted with lifejackets and given noise-canceling headphones so we could hear Fischer’s descriptions of what we would be seeing during the flight. We were then escorted to one of the Eclipse II’s two $3.5 million Airbus H130 helicopters. Each helicopter can carry a maximum of six passengers and a pilot. I was in the middle seat but still enjoyed unobstructed views of the remote landscape.

We flew over the magnificent Thrym Glacier and then banked west between jagged peaks for a look at Greenland’s pristine ice sheet, which covers about 80 percent of the territory. With the noise-canceling headphones, the 40-mile trip was surprisingly tranquil and smooth. Never have 30 minutes passed by so quickly. 

As we landed back on the ship’s helipad, I wondered why the Eclipse II needs two helicopters instead of just one.  Fischer explained it’s primarily for safety reasons.

53 days at sea: You can spend two months exploring Japan, more for $8K on this cruise

“It could be you get a warning light that tells you you have to land now. And then you land. So we have a second helicopter that can pick up the passengers and bring them back to the ship,” says Fischer, who has been flying helicopters for 25 years, including seven years as an air ambulance pilot in Arizona. 

Additionally, the second helicopter helps ensure that every passenger who wants to fly has the opportunity. On a busy day – when the weather conditions are ideal for flying – Fischer says the two choppers can carry up to 96 people.  

“Normally, we are able to fly everyone who wants to go, unless we have a cruise that lasts 10 days, and we just have 10 days of bad weather,” says Fischer. “It’s not often that we aren’t able to fly everyone who wants to fly.”

As helicopters are so new on ships, the cruise lines are still figuring out how best to integrate them with on-land activities. For instance, Scenic recently started offering excursions that take passengers on helicopter rides to go skiing, hiking, fishing, or – in Mediterranean ports – play a round of golf. 

A helicopter excursion in Antarctica takes passengers to see 5,000 breeding pairs of emperor penguins on Snow Hill Island – a spot only accessible by helicopter. 

Some cruises also offer submarine rides

Scenic’s two submarines, named Neptune I and Neptune II, carry six to eight passengers plus a pilot. The U-Boat Worx sub on the Eclipse I is capable of submerging 984 feet, although it typically dives only about one-third of that depth for safety reasons and a better viewing experience. 

The Eclipse II will have a Triton sub, capable of submerging 600 feet. The cruise line says the battery-powered subs don’t emit hazardous substances and pose no danger to aquatic life.

Fittingly, the Eclipse II was christened in June by Kathy Sullivan, a geologist and oceanographer who was the first American woman to complete a spacewalk for NASA. She’s also traveled to the deepest depths of the ocean, earning her the title “World’s Most Vertical Person.”

We started the cruise in Reykjavik, Iceland, the world’s northernmost capital city, before sailing across the Denmark Strait to the southeastern coast of Greenland.  

Four days were spent exploring the region’s many fjords, glaciers and icebergs up close on eight-passenger Zodiacs driven by members of the ship’s 17-person expedition team, consisting of naturalists, botanists, marine biologists and a historian. The Eclipse II then transited the Prince Christian Sound in southern Greenland before cruising along the territory’s west coast. There, we visited Nuuk, Greenland’s largest town (population 20,000). 

All told, we covered 2,600 miles during the voyage.

It’s not easy to get to Greenland as there are no direct flights to/from North America. To get home at the end of the cruise, we took a four-hour Air Greenland flight from Kangerlussuaq Airport to Copenhagen for an overnight hotel stay before flying home to the U.S. the following day.

Needless to say, while the jets that took us home flew much higher and faster, they couldn’t come close to matching the thrill and excitement of a helicopter ride over one of the most remote places on the planet.  

Cruising Greenland and Iceland

Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours:   www.scenicusa.com .

Visit Greenland: www.visitgreenland.com .

Dan Fellner of Scottsdale is a freelance travel writer. Contact him at  [email protected]  or visit his website at  DanFellner.com .   

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Flightseeing': Get a helicopter tour right from your cruise

Election Highlights: Harris and Walz Rally in Las Vegas to End Their Introductory Tour

Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota were in Nevada for the final rally of their tour of battleground states. Former President Donald J. Trump tested a new attack at an event in Montana.

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Chris Cameron Michael Gold and Simon J. Levien

Here’s the latest on the presidential race.

Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, campaigned in Las Vegas on Saturday night, the final stop on their introductory tour of battleground states that began in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Earlier on Saturday, new polls by The New York Times and Siena College showed Ms. Harris ahead of former President Donald J. Trump by four percentage points in the critical battlegrounds of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. The surveys of likely voters in each state were conducted from Aug. 5 to 9.

The polls were the latest sign of Ms. Harris’s political momentum since she announced that she had chosen Mr. Walz to be her vice-presidential candidate. The new ticket has been drawing large crowds, including at a rally in Glendale, Ariz. , on Friday that the Harris campaign claimed had more than 15,000 people in attendance, which would have been its biggest rally yet.

Mr. Trump was scheduled to attend fund-raisers in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Aspen, Colo., on Saturday. On Friday, he unveiled fresh attacks against Ms. Harris during a campaign event in Bozeman, Mont., twice interrupting his speech to play compilations of some of her past remarks that his campaign hopes will portray her as overly liberal and inept.

Mr. Trump’s running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, rallied near Las Vegas last week , denouncing the vice president’s role in the Biden administration’s border policies. At her Arizona rally, Ms. Harris said she supported “strong border security and an earned pathway to citizenship.”

Here’s what else to know:

A twist on that helicopter tale: Mr. Trump spent Friday doubling down on his story of nearly crashing during a helicopter ride with Willie Brown, the notable Black politician from California. Another Black politician from California, Nate Holden, said in an interview with The New York Times that he had been on a helicopter ride with Mr. Trump around 1990 when the aircraft experienced mechanical trouble and was forced to make an emergency landing in New Jersey.

A first-time endorsement: A Latino rights group backed Ms. Harris , breaking with its 95-year history of abstaining from formal presidential endorsements. The League of United Latin American Citizens, known as LULAC, said its members were stirred to action by concerns over the potential negative impact on Latinos if Mr. Trump were elected again.

Not an endorsement: Joe Rogan, the world’s most popular podcaster, backpedaled on comments he made on Thursday that seemed to throw his support behind the independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. After backlash from Mr. Trump’s supporters, Mr. Rogan, the podcaster with a large, devoted following that leans young and male, posted on X that what he said was not “ an endorsement. ” Another podcaster, Tim Pool, also expressed his support for Mr. Kennedy before quickly switching his support to Mr. Trump in the face of withering criticism from Trump supporters.

A tale of two very different bank accounts: Mr. Vance and Mr. Walz both came from modest backgrounds in the Midwest, but their personal fortunes have wildly diverged since then. Mr. Vance is a multimillionaire. Mr. Walz has much less than that, and is already emphasizing that contrast on the campaign trail .

Generating buzz: A high school class lesson that Mr. Walz gave 31 years ago is getting new attention online . As a geography teacher in Nebraska in 1993, Mr. Walz asked his students to take what they had learned about the Holocaust to predict which nation was most at risk for genocide. “They came up with Rwanda,” Mr. Walz said, talking about the project at a conference last month . “Twelve months later, the world witnessed the horrific genocide in Rwanda.”

David E. Sanger and Michael Gold

David E. Sanger reported from Wellington, New Zealand. Michael Gold reported from Bozeman, Mont.

The hacking of presidential campaigns begins, with the usual fog of motives.

For the third presidential election in a row, the foreign hacking of the campaigns has begun in earnest. But this time, it’s the Iranians, not the Russians, making the first significant move.

On Friday, Microsoft released a report declaring that a hacking group run by the intelligence unit of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had successfully breached the account of a “former senior adviser” to a presidential campaign. From that account, Microsoft said, the group sent fake email messages, known as “spear phishing,” to “a high-ranking official of a presidential campaign” in an effort to break into the campaign’s own accounts and databases.

By Saturday night, former President Donald J. Trump was declaring that Microsoft had informed his campaign “that one of our many websites was hacked by the Iranian Government — Never a nice thing to do!” but that the hackers had obtained only “publicly available information.” He attributed it all to what he called, in his signature selective capitalization, a “Weak and Ineffective” Biden administration.

The facts were murkier, and it is unclear what, if anything, the Iranian group, which Microsoft called Mint Sandstorm, was able to achieve.

Mr. Trump’s campaign was already blaming “foreign sources hostile to the United States” for a leak of internal documents that Politico reported on Saturday that it had received, though it is unclear whether those documents indeed emerged from the Iranian efforts or were part of an unrelated leak from inside the campaign.

The New York Times received what appears to be a similar if not identical trove of data from an anonymous tipster purporting to be the same person who emailed the documents to Politico.

Either way, the events of the past few days may well portend a more intense period of foreign interference in a race whose sudden turns, and changes of candidates, could have thrown the hackers off their plans.

Russia has so far played a relatively minor role, investigators and cybersecurity experts say, focusing instead on seeking to undermine both the Olympics, from which it was barred from fielding its own team, and support for Ukraine. And while American intelligence officials say they have little doubt that Russia wants to see Mr. Trump return to office, Chinese hackers, they say, seem uncertain how to play the election; they have reason to dislike both Mr. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

There is little doubt, investigators say, that the Iranians want to see Mr. Trump defeated. As president, he withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal, reimposed economic sanctions on Iran and then, in January 2020, ordered the killing in Iraq of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani , the commander of the Quds Force, a clandestine wing of the Revolutionary Guards responsible for foreign operations.

Four years later, the Revolutionary Guard Corps appears still determined to avenge Suleimani’s death, and just last week the Justice Department announced it had charged a Pakistani man who had recently visited Iran, accusing him of trying to hire a hit man to assassinate political figures in the U.S. , most likely including Mr. Trump. (There is no evidence that Iran was involved in the July 13 attempt on Mr. Trump’s life in Butler, Pa.)

Mr. Trump often casts his actions against Iran as evidence of his strength, despite the fact that his exit from the Iran deal gave Tehran an opening to rebuild a nuclear program that had been hobbled by the 2015 agreement. Still, the combination of the hack and the hit men looking for Mr. Trump and his former aides gave the former president an obvious foil, and he was using it over the weekend to make the case that the Iranians would prefer a continuation of the Biden-Harris administration.

Microsoft stopped short of saying that the hacking effort it detected was focused on Mr. Trump’s campaign, though the campaign itself said that was the case. In an interview, Tom Burt, the head of the company’s customer security and trust team, said that in June, “the Iranian team associated with Iranian intelligence” operations of the Revolutionary Guards successfully breached the email account of a former campaign adviser, whom the company did not name. From that account, he said, the Iranians sent a spear phishing email to an official of a presidential campaign.

While it would have appeared to the recipient to have come from the former campaign adviser, Mr. Burt refused to say whether the targeted campaign was also Mr. Trump’s. By long-established practice, Microsoft says, it can reveal such details only with the permission of the victim of an attack.

In many ways, the effort was similar in technique to what Iran attempted when it sought to interfere in the 2020 presidential campaign . This time, however, the Iranian effort looks to have been more sophisticated — namely, through the hacking of a trusted intermediary — suggesting the hackers learned something from what the Russians accomplished in past campaigns, notably in 2016.

But Mr. Burt said the company could not determine if the effort was successful in penetrating the campaign it targeted.

The documents sent to Politico, as it described them, and to The Times included research about and assessments of potential vice-presidential nominees, including Senator JD Vance, whom Mr. Trump ultimately selected. Like many such vetting documents, they contained past statements with the potential to be embarrassing or damaging, such as Mr. Vance’s remarks casting aspersions on Mr. Trump.

In a statement on Saturday, Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, preemptively chastised outlets that reported on any information that was improperly obtained.

“Any media or news outlet reprinting documents or internal communications are doing the bidding of America’s enemies and doing exactly what they want,” he wrote.

The 2016 election that Mr. Trump won was marked by similar “hack and leak” efforts after Russian hackers broke into the email accounts of top Democratic officials. Leaked emails showed the internal workings of the party and of Hillary Clinton’s campaign, and also revealed criticisms of Mrs. Clinton by aides, and a trove of them was published by WikiLeaks in the final weeks of the presidential race.

Seeking an edge then, Mr. Trump’s campaign seized on the emails — many of them from Mrs. Clinton’s campaign chair, John Podesta. “We love WikiLeaks,” Mr. Trump declared at the time.

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Nicholas Nehamas Reid J. Epstein and Kellen Browning

Nicholas Nehamas reported from Las Vegas, Reid J. Epstein from Washington and Kellen Browning from Phoenix.

Rallying in Las Vegas, Harris pledges to end federal taxes on tips.

Vice President Kamala Harris said on Saturday that she would seek to end federal income taxes on tips if she were elected president, mirroring a policy proposal that former President Donald J. Trump made earlier this year.

The proposal from Ms. Harris — which she announced in Las Vegas, where thousands of casino employees depend on tipped wages — is a priority of Nevada’s influential Culinary Workers Union. Both Ms. Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, recognized the union in their remarks to a packed basketball arena on Saturday night.

“When I am president,” Ms. Harris told the Las Vegas crowd, “we will continue our fight for working families of America, including to raise the minimum wage and eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers.”

The “no tax on tips” pitch has garnered bipartisan support since Mr. Trump first floated it in June , including from Senator Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican, and both of Nevada’s Democratic senators, Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen. Mr. Trump also announced his support for the policy in Las Vegas.

The former president responded immediately to Ms. Harris’s proposal on Saturday night, posting on his social media website, Truth Social, that she had “copied” his own. “This was a TRUMP idea,” he wrote. “She has no ideas, she can only steal them from me.”

The Las Vegas stop was the last public event of a five-city introduction of the Harris-Walz ticket. As with the other rallies, Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz drew a crowd many times larger than any that had shown up for President Biden while he was seeking re-election.

By Saturday, there were signs that some of the Democrats’ good vibes may have an expiration date. The Harris campaign said Mr. Walz “misspoke” when he said he had carried weapons of war “in war” in a video articulating his views on gun control. And Ms. Harris, before her event in Las Vegas, answered several questions from reporters for the first time since becoming the Democratic nominee — a development that took place after pressure from Mr. Trump and his campaign.

But overall, the week’s rollout was widely viewed as a success. Ms. Harris has engendered more enthusiasm than any Democratic nominee since Barack Obama in 2008. The appointment of Mr. Walz as her running mate took place without any significant grumbling from the party — a bit of a surprise after a two-week vice-presidential audition that surfaced ideological divisions in the party, particularly over the war in Gaza.

On Saturday, Mr. Walz urged the crowd at the arena on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas — which the campaign said included more than 12,000 people — not only to vote for the Democratic ticket but also to work to ensure their friends and neighbors did, too.

“I know very clearly that I am preaching to the choir,” Mr. Walz said. “But here’s my words for you: The choir needs to sing. The choir needs to sing.”

During stops in Philadelphia , Wisconsin , Detroit and Arizona , Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz spoke to capacity crowds. By the end of the week, the high points in their stump speeches had become familiar enough to audiences that people in the crowd shouted them along with the candidates. All told, the new running mates drew more than 64,000 attendees to their rallies, according to estimates from the campaign.

“Aren’t they a breath of fresh air?” Representative Susie Lee, Democrat of Nevada, asked attendees in Las Vegas.

Mr. Biden had trailed Mr. Trump badly in Nevada, where inflation is a top concern for many voters. But Ms. Harris has tightened that gap significantly since Mr. Biden dropped out.

On Friday, the vice president secured the backing of the Culinary Workers Union, an endorsement that will likely add to her campaign’s organizing operation and eventual voter turnout.

The culinary union is a 60,000-member organization that represents casino and hotel workers and has been a key part of the coalition that has helped Democrats win in Nevada.

Mariana Swanson, a culinary union member who worked as a restroom attendant at a Las Vegas nightclub where she depended on tips, said Ms. Harris’s announcement came as a “shock,” though a welcome one.

“It’s more money for taking care of your family,” said Ms. Swanson, 43, a Democrat and one of many attendees wearing a red culinary union T-shirt. “It’s more money for paying your bills.”

With her promises to raise the minimum wage and eliminate taxes on tips, Ms. Harris seemed to preview the planned release of her policy platform next week. She had told reporters earlier on Saturday that the platform would focus on the economy and lowering costs for working families.

In addition to rank-and-file Democrats, wealthy donors are also responding to the new ticket. On Sunday, Ms. Harris was scheduled to attend a fund-raiser in San Francisco that drew more than $12 million in contributions, her campaign said.

Ms. Harris’s crowd in Las Vegas would have been larger than it was, but law enforcement officials closed the doors as people fell ill while waiting outside the arena in temperatures that reached 109 degrees. Roughly 4,000 people were in line at that point and had to be turned away, the Harris campaign said.

“Don’t worry,” a hoarse-voiced Mr. Walz promised those who had made it inside. “We’re going to be back a lot.”

Before the rally began, thousands of attendees stood and danced in their seats waving Harris-Walz signs, as disco remixes, hip-hop and Latin pop blared over the speakers and the arena’s lights flashed in multicolored rhythm.

“We’ve got a party up in here,” D-Nice, a D.J. and the event’s M.C., shouted to roars of approval. “Let’s light this place up.”

Nicholas Nehamas

Harris has wrapped up here in Las Vegas. She made news by endorsing a “no tax on tips” proposal that has wide bipartisan appeal and had previously been proposed by Trump.

Vice President Harris just said that as president she would support making tipped income tax-free, a major issue in Nevada, where much of the economy is service-based. It’s a proposal that has already been floated by her Republican opponent, former President Donald J. Trump.

Harris also expressed support for raising the federal minimum wage. She told reporters earlier today that she would release her policy platform next week, with a focus on the economy and on lowering costs for working families.

Michael Gold

Donald Trump accused Harris of copying his “no taxes on tips” policy. In a post on his social media site, Truth Social, he wrote that Harris “has no ideas, she can only steal from me” and insisted that she would not follow through on the pledge. “This was a TRUMP idea,” he wrote.

Harris is now joining Walz onstage to deafening cheers from the crowd.

Walz is telling the story of his decision to join the National Guard at 17. Republicans have raised questions about his decision to retire from the Guard more than two decades later when it was rumored his unit would be deployed to Iraq.

Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota has taken the stage, his first visit to the crucial swing state of Nevada as Harris’s running mate. “I’m melting like a snowman outside,” the Minnesotan says of the Las Vegas heat.

Tilly Torres, a Las Vegas teacher, is introducing Harris. She said she had $87,000 in student debt forgiven through the Biden administration’s actions, one of its more popular initiatives. “For the first time,” Torres said, “I have financial freedom.”

Torres also has kind words for Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, Harris’s running mate, saying that if he can “handle a high school lunch room,” then the vice presidency will be a piece of cake.

Beyonce’s song “Freedom” is blasting through this packed college basketball arena in Las Vegas, meaning Harris will soon appear.

Vice President Kamala Harris is 35 minutes and counting behind schedule for her remarks in Las Vegas tonight.

Reid J. Epstein

The Harris campaign said it was set to raise $12 million at a San Francisco fund-raiser on Sunday. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to speak to some 700 people.

Theodore Schleifer

Fun fact — that $12 million is precisely the amount that former President Donald J. Trump raised in San Francisco at an event this summer. But Trump raised it from only about 100 people.

The Harris campaign says that more than 12,000 people are attending her rally in Las Vegas tonight. But law enforcement officials closed the doors as people fell ill while waiting outside in temperatures that reached 109 degrees. Roughly 4,000 people were in line at that point and had to be turned away, the campaign said.

Don’t expect to hear this later from Vice President Kamala Harris, but one of her warm-up speakers, Representative Dina Titus, a Nevada Democrat, just made a joke about a false rumor circulating on the internet about Senator JD Vance of Ohio, former President Donald J. Trump’s running mate. “You better hide behind that sofa because we’re coming for you,” Titus said to laughter from a crowd of thousands.

The crowd here quickly joined Representative Steven Horsford, Democrat of Nevada, in a chant of “We’re not going back,” a rallying cry in Harris’s stump speech. The easy recognition shows how familiar Democrats are growing with her applause lines.

Nicholas Nehamas Jazmine Ulloa and Shane Goldmacher

Nicholas Nehamas reported from Las Vegas, Jazmine Ulloa from Washington and Shane Goldmacher from Phoenix.

Harris hopes a new playbook will neutralize G.O.P. attacks on immigration.

For weeks, Republicans have pummeled Vice President Kamala Harris on immigration, blaming her for President Biden’s policies at the border.

Now, Ms. Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, is seeking to neutralize that line of attack, one of her biggest weaknesses with voters, running a playbook that Democrats say has worked for them in recent elections and staking out her clearest position yet as a tough-on-crime prosecutor focused on securing the border.

This week, she has hit back by promising to heighten border security if elected and slamming her Republican opponent, former President Donald J. Trump, for helping kill a bipartisan border deal in Congress. And her campaign has walked back some of the more progressive positions she took during her bid for the Democratic nomination in 2019, including her stance that migrants crossing the U.S. border without authorization should not face criminal penalties.

“I was attorney general of a border state,” Ms. Harris, who was once California’s top prosecutor, said on Friday at a rally in Arizona, a swing state where immigration is a top concern for voters. “I went after the transnational gangs, the drug cartels and human traffickers. I prosecuted them in case after case, and I won.”

A day earlier, the Harris campaign released a television advertisement highlighting her pivot. The ad, targeted to voters in the battleground states, promised that Ms. Harris would “hire thousands more border agents and crack down on fentanyl and human trafficking.” It made no mention of undocumented immigrants already in the United States — a top priority for many progressives and immigration activists — although in her Arizona speech Ms. Harris stressed the importance of “comprehensive reform” that includes “an earned pathway to citizenship.”

No other Democratic nominee has taken a position this tough on border security since Bill Clinton. Her stance reflects a change in public opinion since Mr. Trump left the White House in 2021. More Americans, including many Democrats and Latino voters, have expressed support for hard-line immigration measures.

The shift in public opinion comes as Republicans have escalated their rhetoric against migrants. Border crossings skyrocketed during the Biden administration, though more recently they have sharply declined since a Biden executive order designed to clamp down on the border. The question for Ms. Harris is whether her new message as the party’s standard-bearer will come too late for voters who have already formed opinions of her record.

Senior Trump campaign officials have ranked immigration as among Ms. Harris’s deepest vulnerabilities and sought to pin responsibility for the Biden administration’s policies on her, calling her the “border czar.” The title far exceeds the actual policy portfolio given to her by Mr. Biden, who asked her to address the root causes of migration from Latin America.

Democratic polling has raised similar concerns about Ms. Harris’s immigration record. Blueprint, a Democratic group, recently tested six potential Republican lines of attack on Ms. Harris — including labeling her the “border czar” — and found that those involving immigration were the most effective, even more so than attacks related to the economy and inflation.

Other polls have shown that voters place more trust in Mr. Trump’s ability to handle border issues than in Ms. Harris’s. But if Ms. Harris can at least counter Republican arguments on immigration, she may be able to sway voters on issues more friendly to Democrats, such as abortion, her allies say.

The decision for the Harris campaign to frame her record as California attorney general as a “border-state prosecutor” stands in contrast to how she ran in the 2020 Democratic primary.

Then, during a debate, she raised her hand in response to a question about whether people who are here illegally should be eligible for public health care.

For his part, Mr. Trump has attacked Ms. Harris over the border in dark terms, engaging in fear-mongering about migrants and using dehumanizing language to falsely paint them as a threat to Americans .

“Every day, Kamala is letting migrant criminals roam free to assault, rape, mutilate and kill our citizens,” the former president said at a rally in Montana on Friday.

Chris DeRose, a Republican who served as a clerk of courts in Arizona’s Maricopa County, said many swing voters would be dubious of Ms. Harris’s rhetoric.

“She’s part of the Biden-Harris administration,” Mr. DeRose said. “There’s going to be some skepticism.”

But Ms. Harris and her allies have tried to make Mr. Trump’s immigration record into its own campaign issue. This year, Mr. Trump successfully convinced Senate Republicans to kill a bill supported by Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris that would have effectively mandated that the border be shut down to migrants when numbers reached certain levels and that vastly expanded detentions and deportations.

“Donald Trump tanked the deal,” Ms. Harris said in Arizona as a crowd of more than 15,000 supporters booed. “Because he thought by doing that it would help him win an election.”

Jen Cox, a senior adviser for the Harris campaign in Arizona, said Democrats in that state, including Senator Mark Kelly, had won elections with tougher messages on immigration.

“Voters want to see folks be serious about actually fixing the broken immigration system and securing the border,” Ms. Cox said in an interview. “They don’t want to see folks play politics with it.”

In a closely watched special election in New York this year, Tom Suozzi, a Democrat, won a competitive House race after slamming Mr. Trump over the scuttled border deal and taking unusually hard-line stances for a member of his party, including calls to temporarily shut down the border and deport migrants who assault the police.

“The most effective politician is the one that says what the people are thinking already,” Mr. Suozzi said. “And people are talking about this issue. They are very much concerned about it. And the vice president can continue to emphasize that, yes, we recognize this is a problem and we are willing to compromise to solve the problem, unlike the other side.”

Harris campaign aides say her move to the center since the 2020 primary had been shaped by her time as vice president.

Mike Madrid, a longtime G.O.P. consultant focused on Latino voters, said Ms. Harris’s pledge to sign the border security bill, which did not include protections for undocumented immigrants already in the United States, and the security-focused message of her new television ad reflected wider changes among Democrats.

Since the Obama years, Democrats had sought to fuse efforts to increase border security with calls to establish permanent paths to legal residency and citizenship for the roughly 10 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, many of whom have lived in the country for years, holding jobs, paying taxes and starting families.

But the Latino electorate, the fastest-growing slice of the voter bloc, now tends to be third- and fourth-generation voters more removed from the immigration experience, Mr. Madrid said.

“This doesn’t mean you have to go all Donald Trump on immigration,” he said. “It means you have to lead with border security and then weave in the elements of immigration reform later.”

Michael Gold contributed reporting from Bozeman, Mont., and Reid J. Epstein contributed reporting from Washington.

Hundreds of people are waiting outside to get into a Harris campaign rally at a basketball arena in Las Vegas, where the temperature is 107 degrees.

Inside, it’s a full celebration, with thousands of people standing and dancing in their seats to disco remixes. “We’ve got a party up in here,” the D.J. D-Nice, the event’s M.C., says over the speakers. It cannot be said enough how different the energy at Harris’s rallies has been from that at President Biden’s.

Vice President Kamala Harris took five questions from the traveling press pool on Saturday. It was the first time since she became the Democratic presidential nominee that she engaged with journalists even to that degree. She said she planned to deliver a policy platform next week.

Harris has faced criticism — including from former President Donald J. Trump — for not holding a news conference or sitting for interviews with journalists.

The singer Celine Dion, in a statement on social media, said she and her management team did not authorize or endorse the playing of “My Heart Will Go On,” her hit song from the movie “Titanic,” at a Trump rally in Montana on Friday. The Trump campaign has played the song at multiple rallies recently, and Trump has over the years received several requests from artists asking him not to use their music at his political events.

Neil Vigdor

The Harris campaign says Walz “misspoke” in a comment about his military service.

Officials for Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign are trying to clean up remarks made in 2018 by her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, that gave the impression that he had served in combat, just days after the campaign had inadvertently drawn attention to them to illustrate Mr. Walz’s views about responsible gun ownership.

In a clip from a political event in 2018, when he represented Minnesota in the House, Mr. Walz referenced his 24 years in the Army National Guard and background as a hunter while discussing his views on gun control. He spoke of supporting common-sense gun legislation that also protects Second Amendment rights, including background checks and restrictions on high-powered firearms.

“We can make sure that those weapons of war that I carried in war is the only place where those weapons are at,” Mr. Walz said in the clip, which the campaign had shared Tuesday on social media, just hours after Ms. Harris named him as her running mate.

Mr. Walz deployed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, but not in a combat zone.

Lauren Hitt, a spokeswoman for the Harris-Walz campaign, said in a statement on Saturday that Mr. Walz’s remarks had been a misstatement and that he had not tried to mislead anyone about his military service.

“In making the case for why weapons of war should never be on our streets or in our classrooms, the governor misspoke,” Ms. Hitt said.

Mr. Walz, who is in his second term as Minnesota’s governor, has come under intense scrutiny from Republicans over his military record . They have accused him of exaggerating his record and also of quitting the Army National Guard two decades ago to avoid being deployed to Iraq, rekindling claims made by two retired command sergeant majors during Mr. Walz’s first campaign for governor in 2018.

Leading that criticism is Senator JD Vance of Ohio, former President Donald J. Trump’s running mate, who has accused Mr. Walz of “stolen valor.”

Mr. Vance served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2003 to 2007 during the Iraq war. He was deployed to Iraq in 2005 and 2006 with the aircraft wing but was not a frontline combatant. His official military occupation, known as a combat correspondent, meant he was tasked with basic communication roles such as writing articles about the happenings in his unit.

The Republican broadsides against Mr. Walz resembled the “Swift Boat” attacks in the 2004 presidential election that created a cloud of uncertainty over the military record of Senator John F. Kerry, then the Democratic presidential nominee. Chris LaCivita, who is a senior strategist for the Trump campaign, was an architect of those attacks, which were highly effective.

The conservative-leaning editorial board of The Wall Street Journal spurned comparisons this week between Mr. Kerry’s situation and Mr. Walz’s military service, which it wrote was “far different.” It said that there were plenty of reasons to criticize Mr. Walz, but that his military record was not one of them. It quoted a New York Sun editorial that described the attacks as “thin gruel.”

On a number of occasions, Mr. Walz has emphasized that he did not serve in combat. During a CNN interview last month, when the anchor Jake Tapper said that Mr. Walz had deployed to Afghanistan, Mr. Walz corrected him and said that he had served in Europe in support of that war.

In an interview with Minnesota Public Radio in 2018, when he was running for governor, Mr. Walz said of his military career: “I know that there are certainly folks that did far more than I did.”

And when Mr. Walz was running for re-election as governor in 2022, The Minneapolis Star Tribune wrote that he had shied away from dramatic accounts of his time in the National Guard, framing himself instead as a former high school teacher and football coach.

The 2018 clip of Mr. Walz saying that “those weapons of war that I carried in war is the only place where those weapons are at,” was not the only one that Mr. Trump’s allies seized on this week.

They also pounced on a 2007 C-SPAN clip from a Capitol Hill news conference when Representative Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker at the time, thanked Mr. Walz for his service “on the battlefield.” Mr. Walz was identified by C-SPAN as an “Afghanistan war veteran” at the time.

Reid J. Epstein , Michael C. Bender , Thomas Gibbons-Neff and John Ismay contributed reporting.

In a memo, Tony Fabrizio, the Trump campaign’s chief pollster, argued that new polls by The New York Times and Siena College “dramatically understated President Trump’s support.” Fabrizio cited polls conducted in the days before the 2020 election that accurately predicted President Biden’s victory but overestimated the margin.

Donald Trump will attend two fund-raisers today in mountain resort towns favored by the wealthy. First, he’ll attend a lunch event in Jackson Hole, Wyo., then he will travel to a dinner fund-raiser in Aspen, Colo.

A former Trump administration official and climate change denier, appearing in a leaked training video for Project 2025, emphasized that the next Republican president must be focused on reversing the federal government’s current environmental policies. “If the American people elect a conservative president, his administration will have to eradicate climate change references from absolutely everywhere,” said Bethany Kozma, a former deputy chief of staff at the United States Agency for International Development. The video is one of several that were obtained by ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom, and the journalism project Documented.

Former President Donald J. Trump has tried to extricate himself from the negative attention surrounding Project 2025, the right-wing policy playbook prepared for the next Republican president that Democrats have used as a political cudgel.

Adam Nagourney

As a rule, candidates who think they are ahead do not challenge their opponent to three debates, as Donald Trump did with Kamala Harris the other day. So it’s a pretty good bet that Trump’s own polling — or at the least, his political gut — had picked up on what Times/Siena college poll reports this weekend: that Harris could be a much tougher opponent than Biden.

Michael Gold and Simon J. Levien

Reporting from Bozeman, Mont.

Fine-tuning his attacks on Harris, Trump tries using her words against her.

As former President Donald J. Trump continues to reach for attacks on his new opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, that might halt her political momentum, he unveiled a new tactic at a rally in Bozeman, Mont., on Friday night, aiming to use Ms. Harris’s own words against her.

Interrupting his typical pattern of a digressive and lengthy speech, Mr. Trump played two video compilations of past remarks by Ms. Harris that his campaign hopes will portray her as overly liberal and inept.

The first video drew on statements that Ms. Harris made during the 2020 presidential campaign, when she tacked to the left and backed progressive ideas on criminal justice reform. The second was a montage of interviews and speeches that Mr. Trump’s campaign used to mock her speaking style and insult her intelligence.

The videos did little to alter the message that the Trump campaign has deployed against Ms. Harris for weeks and that Mr. Trump summed up during his speech on Friday.

“America cannot survive for four more years of this bumbling communist lunatic,” Mr. Trump told thousands gathered in the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse at Montana State University. “We cannot let her win this election.”

Mr. Trump and his allies have repeatedly tried to portray Ms. Harris as more liberal than President Biden in the three weeks since he ended his campaign and cleared the way for her to be the Democratic presidential nominee.

The video compiling her past positions accused her of supporting a ban on fracking, mandatory gun buybacks and a single-payer health insurance system like “Medicare for all.”

Ms. Harris has backed away from those policy positions, which largely stem from her time in the 2020 presidential race. But Mr. Trump — who has been known to flip-flop or equivocate on hot-button issues like abortion — argued that her early statements were the only ones that mattered.

Mr. Trump’s rally on Friday was his first since Ms. Harris chose Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota as her running mate, and he used the selection to bolster his portrait of the Democratic ticket as overly liberal. Effectively likening Mr. Walz to a socialist, he accused the governor of being too lax in his response to protests that turned to riots in Minneapolis after the police murder of George Floyd and for signing a law giving access to menstrual products to transgender children.

Referring to Mr. Walz as “Comrade Walz,” Mr. Trump argued that Ms. Harris tapped him for his progressive bona fides. “This is her ideology,” he said.

Mr. Trump also acknowledged that he has frequently mispronounced Ms. Harris’s given name in recent speeches, though he added that he “couldn’t care less” how it should be pronounced. He admitted that he has in the past “done a lot of bad name-calling” in which he has purposefully mispronounced a person’s name. “They say, ‘Sir, you made a mistake,’” Mr. Trump recounted. “I said, ‘No, I didn’t.’”

Still, Mr. Trump’s speech offered continued evidence of the growing pains he has faced as he tries to shift years of attacks against Mr. Biden toward Ms. Harris.

Even as he argued that Ms. Harris was more extreme than Mr. Biden, he tied her to the president’s policies on immigration and the economy.

At one point, he said she was the one running the country the past four years, even as he repeatedly argued that she was too unintelligent or incompetent to do so effectively. Mr. Trump has long made the same argument about Mr. Biden.

Mr. Trump's rally is part of a western swing that includes fund-raisers in mountain resort towns favored by the wealthy. Before he took the stage in Bozeman, he attended an event in Big Sky, Mont., and on Saturday he will travel to fund-raisers in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Aspen, Colo.

Montana is not an obvious site for a presidential campaign rally. Mr. Trump won the state handily in both 2016 and 2020, and he is expected to do so again in November. But with Republicans keen on flipping Democrats’ narrow edge in the Senate, Mr. Trump traveled to Montana to support his party’s Senate candidate there, Tim Sheehy, who is looking to unseat the Democratic incumbent, Senator Jon Tester.

At one point, Mr. Trump, whose flight to Bozeman was diverted to another city after his plane suffered a mechanical issue, reflected on how long it takes to travel to Montana.

“I’ve got to like Tim Sheehy a lot to be here,” he said.

Shawn Hubler Maggie Haberman and Heather Knight

Yes, Trump was in a scary helicopter ride, but not with that politician.

Donald J. Trump was doubling down on Friday about his story of nearly crashing during a helicopter ride once with Willie Brown, the notable Black California politician.

He was so adamant that it had happened that he threatened to sue The New York Times for reporting that the story was untrue , then posted on his social media site that there were “‘Logs,’ Maintenance Records, and Witnesses” to back up his account.

“It was Willie Brown,” Mr. Trump, who spent much of the last year hoping to make gains with Black voters, posted. “But now Willie doesn’t remember?”

Mr. Brown, 90, who was mayor of San Francisco and speaker of the California Assembly, gave several interviews on Thursday and Friday saying such a trip never occurred.

Turns out, however, that there was a Black politician from California who once made an emergency landing in a helicopter with Mr. Trump. It just wasn’t Mr. Brown.

Nate Holden, 95, a former Los Angeles city councilman and state senator, said in an interview with The Times that he had been on a helicopter ride with Mr. Trump around 1990 when the aircraft experienced mechanical trouble and was forced to make an emergency landing in New Jersey.

Recounting an episode that he had described earlier on Friday to Politico, Mr. Holden said Mr. Trump had been seeking to develop the site of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles when it was part of Mr. Holden’s district. Mr. Trump wanted him to see his Taj Mahal casino, Mr. Holden said, so on a visit to Manhattan, he rode with Mr. Trump from his Midtown skyscraper to a helipad, where the two took off for Atlantic City, accompanied by Mr. Trump’s brother Robert and by his executive vice president of construction and development, Barbara Res.

“He was trying to impress me,” Mr. Holden said. “We start flying to New Jersey. He said, ‘Look at the skyline! Look at how beautiful it is! And I’m part of it!’”

Mr. Holden said he wasn’t impressed. “I grew up in New Jersey,” he said. “It ain’t nothing new to me.”

“Anyway,” he continued, “we start flying to Atlantic City. He’s talking about how great things are. And about 15, 20 minutes in, the pilot yells, ‘Shut up! Shut up!’”

The hydraulic system had failed, he said. “Donald turned white as snow,” Mr. Holden recalled. “He was shaking.”

Mr. Holden said that as the helicopter’s crew worked frantically to set the aircraft down safely, his own thoughts ran to a helicopter crash in 1989 that had killed three senior executives of Mr. Trump’s casinos over Forked River, N.J.

“I just thought, how the hell do you let your staff not maintain your aircraft after you just had a crash that killed some of your staff? How could you let this happen again? I thought, if we go down, this is your fault.”

The helicopter ultimately landed safely in Linden, N.J., Mr. Holden said.

Ms. Res wrote about the episode in a memoir and corroborated Mr. Holden’s account in a brief interview late Friday. Ms. Res, who also spoke to Politico, recalled that Mr. Trump liked to say that Mr. Holden had “turned white” from fear, but that it was actually Mr. Trump whose face was ashen.

A spokesman for Mr. Trump did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Mr. Holden said he was in his living room watching Mr. Trump’s news conference on TV on Thursday when the former president told of experiencing a brush with death on a helicopter ride with Mr. Brown.

“I said, ‘What the hell is this?’” Mr. Holden said. “‘Was he in two near-fatal helicopter crashes? He didn’t fix those damn helicopters yet?’”

Mr. Holden said that he called Mr. Brown to compare notes. Mr. Brown told him he had never been in a helicopter with Mr. Trump.

“I said, ‘Willie, you know what? That’s me!’” Mr. Holden said. “And I told him, ‘You’re a short Black guy and I’m a tall Black guy — but we all look alike, right?’”

Mr. Holden gave his own height as 6-foot-1. “Willie has to be about 5-foot-6. Maybe 5-foot-5. He comes up to about my shoulders. And he’s bald. And I’m not bald.”

Mr. Brown, he said, “just laughed and laughed.”

Mr. Holden, summing up his assessment of Mr. Trump’s recollection, said: “I just think he makes things up. That’s what I think. He never thought anybody’s going to check.”

Mr. Trump told the story about nearly dying in a helicopter crash with Mr. Brown after a reporter at Thursday’s news conference asked him a leading question about Vice President Kamala Harris’s long-ago relationship with Mr. Brown and whether it helped her career trajectory.

The two dated in 1994 and 1995 when she was a prosecutor in Alameda County, which includes Oakland, and Mr. Brown was the Assembly speaker. Mr. Brown appointed Ms. Harris to two state boards before she ended their relationship.

“Well, I know Willie Brown very well,” Mr. Trump responded. “In fact, I went down in a helicopter with him.”

He recounted how the two had a close brush with death — “We thought maybe this was the end” — and that Mr. Brown used the frightening ride to tell him “terrible things” about Ms. Harris. “He was not fan of hers very much, at that point,” Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Trump had previously told the story, saying it was Mr. Brown on a helicopter with him, in his book, “Letters to Trump,” which was published in 2023.

Reached again Friday night, Mr. Brown reiterated that he had never flown in a helicopter with Mr. Trump and that he had not denigrated Ms. Harris to the former president because he admires and respects her.

“Those are the two things I am certain of,” he said. “All the rest of this is amusing.”

Asked if Mr. Trump might have confused the two California politicians because they are both Black, Mr. Brown said, “I wouldn’t want to conclude that he can’t tell Black people apart, because I’d hate for him to think that I’m Beyoncé.”

And then he burst out laughing.

Kellen Browning and Shane Goldmacher

Reporting from Glendale, Ariz.

Harris rides momentum to Arizona, for what her campaign says is largest rally yet.

Vice President Kamala Harris rolled into Arizona on Friday evening with the same political momentum that has infused her first swing across the country this week, drawing a crowd that her campaign estimated at more than 15,000 — her largest yet — in a Western state that not long ago appeared to be falling off the battleground map.

Along with her newly minted running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, Ms. Harris delivered a stump speech that is barely a week old, and yet familiar enough to an impassioned new following that some shouted her lines before she did.

The rally was her fourth in four days with an arena-filling crowd that demonstrated the degree to which her candidacy replacing President Biden’s had remade the 2024 race.

Mr. Walz relished the crowd that filed into the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Ariz., in 100-degree heat as he poked fun at Mr. Trump’s obsession with rally crowds.

“It’s not as if anybody cares about crowd sizes or anything,” Mr. Walz said to knowing cheers.

Despite her momentum, Ms. Harris faces an uphill battle in Arizona , a longtime Republican stronghold that flipped to Mr. Biden in 2020 but, according to polling, had been drifting back to former President Donald J. Trump this year.

To win, she will need to reunite the diverse coalition of voters who delivered the state four years ago, and she made an explicit appeal to one part of that group on Friday: Native American voters.

“As president, I will tell you, I will always honor tribal sovereignty and respect tribal self-determination,” she said. The first speaker at the rally, notably, was Stephen Roe Lewis, the governor of the Gila River Indian Community, south of Phoenix.

In her speech, Ms. Harris zeroed in on two issues that are especially pertinent to Arizonans: immigration and abortion.

Crossings from Mexico into Arizona have remained high this year even as they have dropped elsewhere, and Ms. Harris positioned herself as supporting both an “earned pathway to citizenship” and tougher border restrictions, pointing to her record as California’s attorney general.

“I went after the transnational gangs, the drug cartels and the human traffickers,” Ms. Harris said. “I prosecuted them in case after case, and I won. So I know what I’m talking about.”

By contrast, Ms. Harris said, Mr. Trump was playing politics with the issue. She highlighted his opposition to a bipartisan bill this year that would have beefed up border security.

“He talks a big game about border security,” she said, “but he does not walk the walk.”

The comments come as her campaign began to air a tough-on-immigration ad that labeled her a “border-state prosecutor.” Senior Trump campaign officials see the border and immigration as one of Ms. Harris’s deepest areas of vulnerability, and his campaign has repeatedly labeled her, inaccurately , as Mr. Biden’s failed “border czar.”

Ms. Harris did add a new riff to her speech, responding to Mr. Trump’s muddled comments on Thursday at a news conference in Florida, in which he did not rule out directing the Food and Drug Administration to revoke access to abortion pills.

Ms. Harris said Mr. Trump’s agenda “would ban medication abortion in every state,” adding, “But we are not going to let that happen — because we trust women.”

Mr. Trump has previously supported the Supreme Court’s ruling on the abortion drug mifepristone. Karoline Leavitt, a Trump spokeswoman, said in a statement the former president’s position on mifepristone “remains the same — the Supreme Court unanimously decided on the issue and the matter is settled.”

The abortion rhetoric could prove especially potent in Arizona, where the State Supreme Court reinstated a near-total ban on the procedure this year. The State Legislature eventually repealed it, but abortion is still banned after 15 weeks, and voters will have a chance to enshrine the right to an abortion until fetal viability in the state’s Constitution through a ballot measure in November.

The speakers who preceded Ms. Harris on Friday made a number of appeals to independents and moderate Republicans, another segment she will need to win over.

“I do not recognize my party,” said John Giles, the mayor of Mesa, Ariz., who is a prominent Republican backing Ms. Harris. “We need to elect a ticket who will be the adults in the room.”

Senator Mark Kelly, the Arizona Democrat who is also a Navy veteran and former astronaut, introduced Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz. It was the second time this week that a finalist in Ms. Harris’s running-mate sweepstakes introduced her at a rally. Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania did the same in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Mr. Kelly said Mr. Trump had “zero respect for any of us who have worn the uniform.” Mr. Trump’s allies have raised questions about Mr. Walz’s decision to leave the National Guard in 2005 to run for Congress.

Attendees and speakers said the enormous crowd braving scorching desert temperatures on Friday was a sign that, after months of dreariness among Democrats, momentum in Arizona was finally on their side.

“It may be a little warm outside,” Kate Gallego, the mayor of Phoenix, said, “but based on the energy in this arena, I know it’s Donald Trump who’s feeling the heat.”

Maggie Haberman

Trump claims he has helicopter trip records and threatens to sue.

Former President Donald J. Trump on Friday afternoon vehemently maintained that he had once been in a dangerous helicopter landing with Willie Brown , the former mayor of San Francisco, and insisted he had records to prove it, despite Mr. Brown’s denial.

In an angry phone call to a New York Times reporter as he landed several hours away from his planned rally in Bozeman, Mont., because of a mechanical issue on his plane, Mr. Trump excoriated The Times for its coverage of his meandering news conference on Thursday at Mar-a-Lago, his private club and home, during which he told of an emergency landing during a helicopter trip that he said both he and Mr. Brown had made together.

Mr. Trump was expected to keep his rally schedule on Friday as planned, boarding a smaller plane to complete the journey.

Mr. Brown denied on Thursday that he had ever flown in a helicopter with Mr. Trump.

It appeared Mr. Trump may have confused Willie Brown with Jerry Brown, the former governor of California, with whom Mr. Trump traveled by helicopter in 2018 while surveying wildfire damage in the state. But Jerry Brown, who left office in January 2019, said through a spokesman, “There was no emergency landing and no discussion of Kamala Harris.”

Willie Brown, who was a boyfriend of Vice President Kamala Harris during the 1990s, knew Mr. Trump as a potential business associate during those years, when Mr. Trump, then a New York developer, was working on new projects. A biography of Ms. Harris, “Kamala’s Way: An American Life,” reported that Mr. Trump had sent his private plane for Mr. Brown and Ms. Harris in 1994 to fly them from Boston to New York City.

“We have the flight records of the helicopter,” Mr. Trump insisted Friday, saying the helicopter had landed “in a field,” and indicating that he intended to release the flight records, before shouting that he was “probably going to sue” over the Times article.

When asked to produce the flight records, Mr. Trump responded mockingly, repeating the request in a sing-song voice. As of early Friday evening, he had not provided them.

Mr. Trump has a history of claiming he will provide evidence to back up his claims but ultimately not doing so.

He has also told the helicopter story before, in his 2023 book, “Letters to Trump,” in which he published letters to him from a number of people, including Mr. Brown. In the book, Mr. Trump wrote, “We actually had an emergency landing in a helicopter together. It was a little scary for both of us, but thankfully we made it.”

Two rivals in Michigan’s crucial Senate contest say they were both swatted.

The two leading contenders for Michigan’s open Senate seat disclosed that they had been targeted in separate “swatting” incidents in a span of less than 24 hours, just days after winning primaries in a crucial contest that could determine which party controls the chamber.

The first incident, involving Representative Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat, happened on Thursday night at her home in Oakland County, north of Detroit. The second one occurred on Friday at an address that had been listed on public records under the name of Mike Rogers, the Republican candidate and former House member, in neighboring Livingston County.

Politicians on both sides of the political aisle have increasingly been the target of swatting in recent years. The hoaxes — when false threats are deliberately made to law enforcement to draw a heavily armed response to a person’s home — have added to a climate of intimidation and the harassment of public officials.

Ms. Slotkin was not home at the time of the incident, according to a spokeswoman for her office, Lynsey Mukomel, who said in a statement that Michigan State Police troopers went to the residence after a false threat was emailed to a local official. She did not elaborate on the nature of the false threat. Michigan State Police confirmed they responded.

“Michigan State Police checked the property and confirmed no one was in danger,” Ms. Mukomel said, adding that U.S. Capitol Police would investigate the incident.

Mr. Rogers, a former longtime House member who was endorsed by former President Donald J. Trump, experienced a similar incident around 12:30 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, said Chris Gustafson, a spokesman for his campaign.

A person reported that a man was holding a woman at gunpoint at the property in Livingston County connected with Mr. Rogers, according to Mr. Gustafson, who said that Mr. Rogers currently does not live there but that other members of his family do. (Mr. Rogers now lives in Oakland County, Mich., according to his campaign.)

Shanon Banner, a Michigan State Police spokeswoman, said that a sergeant had responded to a report about a domestic situation at a residence in Livingston County on Friday and determined that it was false. She was not immediately able to confirm whether it was the same property.

Mr. Gustafson, in a statement, said that it was the second time that Mr. Rogers had been targeted in a swatting incident. The first was in 2013, when he was a member of Congress.

“This kind of violence cannot be tolerated, and it is our hope that those responsible will be quickly prosecuted and held accountable,” Mr. Gustafson said.

The rivals are running for a seat that is being vacated by Senator Debbie Stabenow, Michigan’s senior senator and a Democrat, who announced last year that she would not seek a fifth term . Democrats control the Senate by a thin 51-49 seat majority.

Ken Bensinger

Joe Rogan would like to clarify: He did not endorse Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The world’s most popular podcaster has, sort of, but not really, thrown his support to one of the 2024 presidential race’s least popular candidates.

On Thursday, Joe Rogan said he preferred Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as an independent, for president. “He’s the only one that makes sense to me,” Mr. Rogan said, as a guest on a podcast hosted by Lex Fridman, and called Mr. Kennedy a “legitimate guy.”

Mr. Rogan’s devoted following, one that leans young, male and numbers in the tens of millions, is highly coveted. His remarks about Mr. Kennedy, uttered on a show with a far smaller reach than his own, nonetheless set off a frenzied response.

Supporters of former President Donald J. Trump, worried that Mr. Rogan’s stance could carve off voters and hurt his electoral chances come November, quickly turned on the podcaster, standup comic and U.F.C. announcer. They questioned his intelligence and even mocked his height , a spectacle that was greeted with something akin to joy — or, at least, schadenfreude — among Democrats who have long written off Mr. Rogan as helpful to their cause.

By Friday morning, Mr. Rogan was backpedaling. “This isn’t an endorsement,” he posted on the social media platform X, and advised that he is “not the guy to get political information from.”

Mr. Trump himself weighed in on Friday afternoon, pondering “how loudly Joe Rogan gets BOOED the next time he enters the UFC ring” in a post on his social network that seemingly reflected his concerns that the influential podcaster could tip the scales against him.

“This takes straight from the Trump base,” said Mike Madrid, a Republican political consultant. A New York Times/Siena poll in battleground states in May found that 54 percent of respondents who said they planned to vote for the former president had a favorable opinion of Mr. Rogan.

Mr. Kennedy, long before Mr. Rogan’s unwinding act, had already taken credit for the perceived nod, posting on social media: “From one ‘legitimate’ guy to another, thank you.”

Even if it’s not a true endorsement, Mr. Rogan’s praise could come as a huge shot in the arm for Mr. Kennedy, who has seen his polling average drop from as much as 15 percent in early June to somewhere around 6 percent as of late last month.

While Mr. Kennedy drew national attention this week after acknowledging that he dumped a dead bear cub in Central Park a decade ago, such headlines have not helped ease his struggles raising money . He’s also fighting to get his name on the ballots in critical states, or, in the case of New York , keep it there.

“He doesn’t attack people. He attacks actions and ideas, but he’s much more reasonable and intelligent,” Mr. Rogan said of Mr. Kennedy on the “Lex Fridman Podcast,” which has 4.1 million subscribers on YouTube.

Mr. Rogan’s fan base is much bigger. In March, Spotify said that “The Joe Rogan Experience” had 14.5 million followers , almost triple the platform’s second most popular program. He also has 19 million followers on Instagram and 17 million followers on YouTube.

A poll by YouGov last year found that 81 percent of his listeners are male and 56 percent are under 35 years old , feeding the perception that he has a direct line to a cohort that polling suggests tends to support Mr. Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris.

“This is a group Trump needs strong performance with,” Mr. Madrid said.

During his interview with Mr. Fridman, he said that he was “not a Trump supporter in any way, shape or form” and adding that he turned down multiple offers to have him on his show. “I’ve said no every time,” Mr. Rogan said. “I’m not interested in helping him,”

Mr. Kennedy sat for an interview on the “Joe Rogan Experience” in June 2023.

Ruth Igielnik contributed reporting.

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Los Angeles Helicopter Aerial Photography

Nothing boosts the appeal of a photo like a change in perspective. Whether you’re a professional photographer, hobbyist, artist or social media maven looking for a way to boost links, shares and following, taking your photos from a whole new perspective is how you differentiate your work from the masses. And what better way to do that than from a helicopter? Los Angeles covers a large geographical area, whether it’s the City’s iconic landmarks, the beautiful coastline and mountains, or deserts, all are available to fly over.

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The flight is based on 1 to 2 photographers on board with doors removed, the flight is 1 hour duration and if the time is extended the additional time will be charged at 995/hour rate.

Before your flight, you’ll meet with your pilot to go over what you’d like to capture from the helicopter also, your shot list and locations. Your pilot will do everything allowed by FAA regulations and safety practices to help get your shot. However, the pilot is also responsible for assuring your safety and that of the flight, this will be explained as part of the pre-flight preparations.

Hiring a Group 3 Helicopter for your Los Angeles aerial photography shoot means you can bring all your cameras, pick your altitude, pick your shot list and leave the rest to us. The flight is based on 1 to 2 photographers on board with doors removed, the flight is 1 hour duration and if the time is extended the additional time will be charged at 950/hour rate.

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Peter was a great pilot!! He has over 30 years of experience and made us feel extremely safe and comfortable. We choose the Malibu coast line tour and rode around sunset. The views were impeccable and Peter was super knowledgeable of the surrounding areas. We saw hiking trails, beautiful homes, celebrity homes, sunset views, and beaches. We would 11/10 recommend flying with Peter and can’t wait to go again soon!

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Just Amazing, Claudia gives you the warm welcome and super friendly environment and of course professional, she was making my 9 year old son comfortable the moment we arrive since I was worried he will be scared to get in the helicopter, just the great conversation as she makes you feel at home , and our Pilot Mr. Tom , top notch ride and my son decided to sit out front with him and he was so helpful keeping my son calm and just keep him busy with the details of the coast line views and after he turn him in to his Co-pilot ( chatting none stop ). Such a Beautiful experience I had with my son today and bless to seeing my boy enjoy from the moment he sat down inside the helicopter. Thank you again for the amazing service and experience !!

PETER IS AN AMAZING PILOT!

He has many years of experience and loves what he does. You can tell by the smile on his face when he’s flying! We talked a few times over the phone to set up a surprise for my in-laws. He was easy going, very pleasant and his wife Claudia was equally just as wonderful. They will answer all your questions and make sure you have a great time! I 100% recommend Group 3 Helicopters and I absolutely will be returning with my husband.

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