Flying high in Omaha with Heartland Helicopter Services

Ever do something you never really thought you would? I created an adventure bucket list for 2016 in February. Some of the items were pretty tame in nature. Some, like this one – taking a helicopter ride – were a little more unnerving. It was almost as if I was daring myself to do some of these items on the list. Making it a mental challenge makes it exhilarating and pushes me to go forward with it, even if it scares me.

I used to think I would never get an opportunity to ride in a helicopter. I saw that there were helicopter rides being offered at the Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum during their Helicopter Days in may. They were offering rides for about $60. I’m not sure how long the rides were or where they went. We were out of town that weekend anyway. Then, A few weeks ago, I saw a Facebook post from Heartland Helicopter Services offering rides, as they’ve done for the past several years during the College World Series. It was $35 per person for a short ride from Tom Hanafan’s River Edge Park to TD Ameritrade Park and then back. Tim volunteered to fly with me, so we would meet the two-person minimum.

We arrived at the park on the Iowa side of the Missouri River about 7 p.m. on a Friday night. The last flight was scheduled at 8 p.m. I was worried we would miss out this time. There were a few people  ahead of us, but since the flights are only about 5 minutes long, we had plenty of time. As we drove up, I was starting to wonder if I was really going to have the nerve to go through with it. I started to have further doubts as I saw that the helicopter had no doors on it. I learned the pilots have many, many hours of flying experience under their belt, and my nerves started to calm slightly. I was still nervous as we signed the waiver and handed one of the owners our money.

The last couple to fly had just landed and it was our turn to climb on board. We buckled into our seats in the back of the helicopter. We made sure we had our cameras securely around our necks and hands ready to snap some photos. We then started slowly lifting up into the air. Tim and I were on opposite sides of the helicopter so we both got to see different views. We felt the wind in our faces and had to make sure that we didn’t stick the cameras and hands too far out of the doorway. I was so busy taking in the views to concentrate on any fear that may have initially have come over me before taking off.

I wasn’t sure how some of the pictures would turn out since we were traveling about 100 mph, with the wind hitting us. We first flew over Heartland of America Park fountain area. We then turned our way toward TD Ameritrade Park. I took a few shots all along the flight.

We saw so many great angles of the downtown area. Can you pick out a well known icon in Omaha’s downtown from this aerial photo?

Or what about a view of the fans in the stands at the CWS game at TD Ameritrade Park?

It seemed as almost as soon as the flight started we were coming back in to land. It was a great experience and I’m glad we did it.

I had read one comment on the Heartland Helicopter Services Facebook page that it wasn’t worth the money. To me, it was definitely a reasonable price to pay for an experience I can’t easily find or do myself. Another one marked off of my adventure bucket list. Not only are they a little adventurous, but all of these things are things that we can practically find in our own backyard in the Midwest.

Interested in finding out when they might be flying again for regular folks like us? Follow them on Facebook at Heartland Helicopter Services on Facebook