Sam,
The $325 each amount was based on an "instructor" flight with Mauna Loa Helicopters. That is the company I flew with the two times I went up in a Robinson 22 on the Big Island. Because of my trying to fly a helicopter in flight simulation, I wanted to try to fly a real helicopter, and MLH lets the "student pilot" fly the helicopter -- well, sort of. The instructor pilot does the take-offs and landings, of course, but once you are up in the air, he will turn the controls over to you, if you can handle it. I did miserably the first time I tried, but the second time, I flew the helicopter for about 30 minutes "by myself." He has the throttle set but I was in control of the stick and the pedals. The pilot, who was this really CUTE young guy, so sweet, said I did really well maintaining a constant altitude while we were flying (which seems to be a big deal, I didn't have a problem with that). (I could never really take a complete helicopter licensing course because my vision is too bad -- no depth perception -- makes landings difficult, ya know? I could never pass the vision test to get a real license, even if I could afford the $35,000 cost.)
Anyway, with just the two people in a Robinson 22 (which holds only two), it's like $315-25 an hour (don't know if fuel prices have affected their rates), BUT if we rent the Robinson 44, which can carry five people (two front, three rear) so Larry can come along, we both have to pay the roughly $300/hour rate. And I think a lot of that higher cost is because the "co-pilot"/passenger is also allowed to try to fly the heli. This is really like a personal charter of the aircraft. The smaller heli is for just one, so it's cheaper. If a second person comes along on the charter on a larger aircraft, you pay double the amount. The regular tourist helicopters don't have dual controls so a passenger can't take over (and insurance might have something to do with this too). Plus the cost of an instructor pilot might be higher than just a pilot to fly the aircraft.
So - and I add ANOTHER anyway -- as it turns out, WE AREN'T GOING. Bummer. I haven't gotten any responses to my emails to MLH, and from what I can tell on the internet (Larry said they may be out of business because of fuel prices), it seems that, where they used to allow "fly your own helicopter" on the Big Island, Oahu, and Kauai, it seems they now do that only on Kauai.
Check here and go down to the third option "Ultimate Instructional Tour" -- this option seems to no longer exist on Oahu and the Big Island. Their flight schools at Kona and Oahu may still operate --
Flight Schools -- but it seems they don't do the tourist thing there. Now because they "know" me, and Drew, my instructor from the Big Island last October is now on Oahu, they might have made an exception for me -- but since my email was not answered, I don't want to press the issue. I'll just wait and see if we can do it in September when it's not a "rush" mission.
So we're going to St. Croix, where, some of you may recall, Magnum GI went in March when we went to St. Thomas. I found a deal that is for the three days we will be there, accommodations at a beach-side resort, rental car for three days, and golf at the two courses there for a total of $644 (not per person but total). We figured accommodations (at a decent place) and rental car by themselves would run close to $600, so to have two days of golf at great courses included . . . we can snorkel in the morning and golf in the afternoon. Okay, so no Robin's Nest, but we can do a snorkel shot -- it just won't have Rabbit Island in the background (maybe St. Thomas . . . .)
So we're on "Mission Beach Breach" -- just not in Hawaii. I still hold out hope for September . . . .
golf
