What advice do you usually give first time flyers.
(upbeat music)
I tell 'em that they'll love it.
It's obviously, it's for me it's fantastic,
but people are nervous
if they've never felt it the first time.
So I tell 'em it might be a little different feel,
it's definitely a lot different than flying in an airplane.
But you got much, much better visibility.
It's kinda more of a surreal experience.
People, once the get in there,
and you've got this, nothing but glass to look through,
it's almost like you're in this other world.
And people are just kinda wowed by it.
It's kind of a calming experience almost for some.
So enveloped in the scenery and what's going on.
Do you ever get tired of the views?
You know everything becomes very routine
and we get used to the views,
but with the Grand Canyon it's ever-changing
and so it's always a new view everyday.
Yeah, I've actually heard that you can't get the same
exact view of the Grand Canyon twice.
No, you can't.
And what is that all dependent on?
A lot of it actually depends on lighting here.
So it depends on what time of day it is
and where the sun is in the sky.
And the Grand Canyon actually changes colors
as the day goes on.
Wow, so what's your favorite time in the day to fly?
Real early morning, when there's still fog in the canyon
and it's a little hazy,
and later on in the evening as well,
like right around sunset time. Right around sunset, yeah that sunset flight is gorgeous.
Something you can upgrade too (laughs) that is an upgrade,
and rightfully so.
What speed are you going at when you're flying?
Well, we usually go in knots for aviation,
but if you were to convert it,
we'd be doing about 150 miles per hour, on average,
is what we're doing. - Nice, nice, nice.
So it doesn't look it,
most people say that when we're flying along,
"I can't believe we're going that fast!"
And yeah, you just don't have the reference
'cause we're flying usually around 1,000 feet or more.
Have you ever been to the Grand Canyon
before you started flying there.
I actually have not.
So, training - Wow!
was the first time that I'd ever been to the Grand Canyon.
No way, that's crazy!
What was it like seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time
and seeing it from a helicopter.
Pretty awesome, I can't lie.
It's pretty great view, can't get any better view than that.
Is it worth the hype?
Yeah, it's definitely worth the hype.
It lives up to it?
Oh yeah
definitely lives up to the hype.
Did you ever go to the Grand Canyon
before you started flying over it.
Believe it or not, no, I had never been.
So, when I flew to the Grand Canyon was the first time
that I'd seen it.
Oh my goodness, I can't even imagine,
that would be so cool.
How did you feel seeing the Grand Canyon
for the first time in a helicopter, that you were flying?
You know, it's definitely the best way
to see the canyon, by far.
It gives you that great wow factor.
You know you come up over the rim, you see it
and it's a really impressive moment
to see the canyon from the air.
So Jared, a little tidbit I personally know about you,
is you have a photography background, right?
Just a little bit, little bit. - Amateur, little hobby.
Yeah, I enjoy it.
Do you have any advice that you would give
to anyone flying in a helicopter
for getting good pictures of the canyon
if they ever go out to the Grand Canyon.
I would say a wide angle lens would be probably
your best bet when you're landing,
like in the canyon and walking around.
Cell phones are even amazing these days.
GoPro's are ridiculously good these days.
Even the point-and-shoots are getting better,
but I would not use a disposable.
I don't even know if
you can buy those anymore. (both laughing)
Polarizer filter, you know you don't have
to go buy a $5,000 camera to get good photos of the canyon.
It is a beautiful thing just by itself.
So it's fairly easy to capture, really.
But definitely get pictures, right?
Well, yeah, here's the thing,
a lot of people, you either go to far
and you focus on just taking photos
and you miss the real thing. Yeah
So my advice would be, live through the lens,
but spend more time enjoying it and the memory.
So you wanna have the memories of the photos,
but you also want to live the moment.
A lot of people get wrapped up in the picture taking
and they miss what their actually doing.
So that, I would say is a big regret.
That's good advice.
So you mentioned that you just got back,
or you're finished with your day today, right?
Yep.
Tell us about your day.
How was your day, what ya do?
It was a good day, just flew out to the Grand Canyon,
landed, had some drinks, some snacks.
- What? - Yeah.
So can you tell us a little bit more about that.
The experience that you would get if we were
to fly with you.
So you get to go out to the Grand Canyon,
to the West Rim, right? - Sure.
And then when you land, there are drinks?
Absolutely, so yeah, as we go out to the canyon,
we see lots of interesting stuff, the Hoover Dam,
and some cool things on the way out there.
So it's not just a boring flight out to the canyon,
you get to see some cool stuff there too.
And then when we land, give you time to take pictures,
and then we have snacks for ya, soda, water,
Champagne. - Oh, Champagne.
We treat ya right, give ya that red-carpet experience.
Oh yeah, Vegas style,
yeah (laughs). - Oh yeah.
(upbeat music)