We have been answering calls about helicopter charter in the Boston area for a long time, and now we’re able to do more than just answer questions – we can now take your party in our helicopter almost anywhere in the New England area!
What’s most important to understand, as a prospective customer, are the differences between operations and what can and cannot be done if an operator is not “Part 135 Approved”, (I will talk about what boston helicopter charter can provide shortly).
First, let’s take a look at the operators and equipment. When an operator becomes certified under Part 135, that operator, the pilots, the helicopter, and the mechanics are closely scrutinized by the Federal Aviation Administration. Similar to the differences between Part 61 and Part 141 helicopter schools (or those that have a complete Part 141 curriculum versus those that do not).
Since Part 135 operators in the helicopter world deal with many variables – heliports, other off-airport sites, carrying passengers to and from various locations, and just about any type of helicopter flight you can think of, the requirements are very comprehensive.
Many helicopter operators offer tours. This is allowable under another set of rules governed by the FAA – rules called Part 91. Some helicopter operators offer services such as “Photography Flights”, “Search and Rescue”, “News”, and “Power Line Patrol”. While these operations may be legal under Part 91, as soon as the helicopter lands at a location other than from where it departed with passengers, the flight must fall under the unscheduled Air-Taxi (or helicopter charter). Kestrel Aviation is the only helicopter charter operator in the Boston area which has a multi-aircraft, multi-pilot charter certificate.
Just as there are different levels of flight schools, there are different levels of helicopter charter companies. Some charter companies are what is called “single pilot” operators. This is a corporate structure consisting of one person, one helicopter. It is the simplest form of charter company. Once a company decides to employ multiple pilots with multiple aircraft, the structure changes dramatically. Company manuals must be developed, training manuals for all pilots and aircraft, ground and flight training for all pilots, and a corporate structure.
What we offer as a multiple pilot and multiple aircraft charter service is flexibility and reliability. Many customers ask what happens to them if they get to their destination and we are unable to pick them up when the weather becomes too troublesome to fly the helicopter. Well with Kestrel Aviation, that’s easy! We pick you up in the airplane! An all-weather aircraft with a highly trained and experienced crew will get you when the helicopter can’t. There is no other charter company in New England that offers all of the convenience of a helicopter and the reliability of an all-weather capable twin engine airplane and crew.
So, what does this mean to you, the customer?
Let’s say you want to use our Boston helicopter charter company to get to the Mt Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, NH. We can pick you up at your house (if the area is acceptable for the helicopter), and bring you to hotel. We will fly you through the Franconia Notch, up past Twin Mountain airport, and land right at the hotel. Now that’s arriving in style!
You stay the weekend at the hotel, and when the time comes to depart the hotel and head back to Boston, the weather is too bad for the helicopter to make it! Where the strength of Kestrel Aviation shows is the ability to pick you up in the twin engine airplane – no matter what the weather. A ride to one of the nearby airports in the Bretton Woods area (Berlin, Whitefield) and you will be on your way back to the Boston area! This is something no other charter operator in the Boston or New England area could offer in-house!
As you can see, the helicopter charter has much to offer that an airplane cannot - TRUE power line patrol and crew ferrying, air taxi all around the Boston and New York area, wildlife spotting, aerial survey, aerial search, wide area photography, and much more. Imagine the disappointment when you use a helicopter for photography and find out your helicopter pilot cannot land and let you leave the helicopter at another airport other than the one you departed from…make sure you know the company and pilot you’re flying with in the Boston area!
As a Part 135 Air Taxi company, we can depart from your lot, heliport, or almost any space and bring you where you would like to go – almost anywhere around Boston or New England!
The possibilities are endless. We can fly the bride and groom into their wedding reception, we can fly you to any heliport in New York City, bring you to/from any metropolitan airport, or accomplish any task with our helicopter and airplane combination!
Call us at Kestrel Aviation or North Andover Flight Academy for more information on how we can meet your Boston helicopter charter needs!
