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| - Maybe one day you'll find a golden ticket from Willy Wonka, then during the chocolate factory tour ingratiate yourself with the eccentric onfectionaire and be offered a ride in his Great Glass Elevator. But if that doesn't work out, or you can't wait, $200 buys you second best: a 35 minute sunset helicopter tour of Las Vegas and the Hoover Damm by Sundance Helicopters.
The feeling of helicopter flight is as delicious as anything Willy Wonka could cook up. The desert and Hoover Dam lit by the setting sun are gorgeous, and the the Las Vegas strip viewed at night from the air no less spectacular than an ever-lasting gobstopper. Sonny, our pilot, was knowledgeable, skillful, and as patient with the unending stream of questions from my five year old nephew as any of Wonka's Oompa-Loopas could be. He even pumped our music through the copter PA.
The A-Star helicopter we rode in was smooth as silk, completely stable, nearly free of vibration and quiet enough to talk without using the provided headsets. They also offer an upgrade to their slightly larger Eurocopter 130 for an extra $35/person.
Niggles
Willy Wonka had his flaws, and I'm afraid that Sundance is also not without its imperfections
* The safety video describes what to do in case of an "unplanned preventive landing in water." Sorry, guys, there's no prize for Best Attempted Euphemism. And it's OK - you can say "emergency landing" or even "ditch." We get this is an aircraft.
* When we arrived at the terminal the front desk staff was focused on some tempest-in-a-teapot booking drama and treated our presence as an interruption. They did better later, but for the $600 our party was spending they could have been a little more welcoming.
* There was a bit of confusion with flight length. Their online reservations people had told me it was a 50 minute flight. The limo driver who picked us up said 30 minutes. In fact its 35 minutes, which was fine.
Hints
* There isn't a bad seat in the house, but the back left (behind the pilot) is the best place to sit - it offers an extra view of Las Vegas on the outbound leg of the trip.
* if you are hosting your favorite sumo wrestler, be prepared to pay extra. They ask for your weight when taking the reservation, and then weigh everyone at check-in. On the A-Star helicopter you bust weight at 275 pounds, on the EC 130 its 300 pounds. In either case, the extra charge is $30.
* With Sundance you should reserve 4-5 days in advance. However, you can cancel up to 24 hours before flight with no penalty.
* If you want a longer flight, or are hankering to go to the Grand Canyon, Sundance offers a variety of packages in the $400-$500/person range, all some variation on fly to the canyon by helicopter, land inside the rim, and do an activity -picnic, rafting, hiking, and then take the helicopter back. See http://www.sundancehelicopters.com/tours.aspx for details.
* Don't forget to tip your pilot.
Quick summary of Las Vegas air tour options
Note: There are other operators that only do longer tours (mostly to the Grand Canyon), but I think the below are it for shorter 'Las Vegas from the air' tours.
* Sundance - $200/35 minute tour, includes roundtrip transportation between hotel and hanger. They suggest reservations four or more days in advance. These can be cancelled up to 24 hours before flight time without penalty.
* Stars and Stripes Air Tours http://starsandstripesair.com/ currently offering a $99 for a 15 minute ride special (normally $120), includes roundtrip ground transport to and from hotel. Their website also mentions a 90 minute $600 'pilot training' that looks like a blast. They say same day reservations are usually OK. Confusingly, they also do business under the name Las Vegas Helicopter.
* Maverick http://www.maverickhelicopter.com/vegasnites.php $99 for 10 minutes, ground transport not included. Same day reservations usually OK.
What happens in Vegas is supposed to stay in Vegas, but I'm bring my Sundance memories with me - I want to treasure them for a long time.
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