As the helicopter descends into the canyon and heads turn to take in the surreal landscape, passengers’ headsets are filled with the unmistakable sounds of John Williams’ “Theme From ‘Jurassic Park.’ ”
The folks at Papillon Helicopters certainly know how to make an entrance.
The King of Canyons tour, which flies customers from just off the Strip to the natural wonder and back in two hours, is the company’s most sought-after Grand Canyon experience.
“It’s been our bread and butter for a long time,” says Matt Mette, Papillon’s vice president of sales and marketing.
Guests depart from the company’s VIP terminal at 5060 Koval Lane for the roughly 45-minute flight that passes over Hoover Dam, Lake Mead and the Colorado River for views that can’t be matched by commercial airliners.
The destination: the Bluff Site in Grand Canyon West.
“It’s one of the only places in the Grand Canyon where you can actually land in the canyon,” Mette says of the exclusive site, 3,200 feet below the rim, that’s owned by the Hualapai Tribe.
After 30 minutes to soak up the stunning scenery with snacks and a Champagne toast, it’s back in the air for the 45-minute return that travels over downtown before giving guests unbeatable views of the Strip.
“A lot of people even say it’s a spiritual experience,” Mette says of the tour that starts at $629 per passenger. “They don’t know what to expect, but it really taps into their emotions.”
Here’s a look at five other aerial adventures in and around the Las Vegas Valley.
Catch a ride
Maverick Helicopters also offers Grand Canyon tours and flights over the Strip. And, for $3,999, they’ll fly you and up to five of your friends to Valley of Fire for a 75-minute private yoga session.
During events at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the company adds direct flights to and from the track. Attendees can skip the traffic surrounding Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 with round-trip transportation starting at $499.
Open fire
For many people, simply riding in a helicopter would be plenty. For everyone else, there’s Gunship Helicopters. The company, which bills itself as “the only place in the world you can shoot full-auto belt-fed from a helicopter as a civilian,” operates a 71-acre private gun range in Sandy Valley.
The Door Gunner package ($550 per person) lets participants fly in an open-door A-Star helicopter while firing 100 rounds from a fully automatic M249 SAW at more than 20 mountain targets. A similar package ($700 per person) includes 100 rounds from an M240, or you can opt for 200 rounds from an M134 Minigun ($5,175 per person).
Do your own stunts
The namesake experience at Sky Combat Ace involves laser tag-style aerial dogfighting. Once your plane is in the combat zone, your instructor will hand you the flight controls — with zero flying experience required — and the fight begins. Look for bursts of airshow smoke to signal a direct hit. The Sky Combat Experience starts at $999 a person.
The company’s Operation Recon ($599) package lets you choose the intensity as an experienced stunt pilot takes you through precision aerobatic maneuvers, while the Afterburner experience ($799) lets you perform some of those same stunts yourself — again, with zero flying experience required.
Take the leap
Southern Nevada has two drop zones affiliated with the United States Parachute Association. GoJump Las Vegas operates out of the Jean Sport Aviation Center, with transportation provided from the Excalibur. Tandem jumps from 8,000 feet start at $169. Fyrosity Skydiving Center, meanwhile, touts views of the Grand Canyon, Valley of Fire, Area 51 and Lake Mead. Its tandem jumps out of Overton’s Perkins Field Airport start at $179.
Drift away
Revisit humans’ first means of flight with Vegas Balloon Rides. The 45-minute Champagne Sunrise Flight ($329 per person) includes transportation to the flying area about an hour west of the Strip, a Champagne toast and a “guaranteed smooth landing” from owner and pilot Jean-François Rigollet, a member of the 2008 Hot Air Balloon World Champion Team.
Contact Christopher Lawrence at [email protected] or 702-380-4567.