My First Helicopter Ride A Thrill With Celebrity Helicopters In Los Angeles

A Thrill With No Spill High Over L.A.

By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com Blogger

I thought I would be scared.

And then I wanted to be scared.

Instead, we lifted off so smoothly it would have hardly caused another bubble to rise had I been holding a glass of champagne.

I was on my first helicopter ride, courtesy of Celebrity Helicopters, which gives helicopter tours over Los Angeles to celebrities, corporate executives, high-heeled romantic couples and big shots like, well, me. At least I was a big shot on this night. For the 10 minutes of the tour.

We didn’t go anywhere wild and fancy – over the tall buildings of downtown LA, through the letters of the Hollywood sign, swooping over the Santa Monica Pier or anything like that – yet it was an exhilarating experience.

We went over Celebrity’s home base in Compton (yes, home of the Williams tennis sisters), the StubHub center where the LA Chargers NFL and LA Galaxy MLS teams play and within sight of the Pacific Ocean not too far in the distance. Being at night, and with the spread-out layout of Los Angeles, there were lights as far as the eye could see in all directions.

I was surprised at how smooth the ride was, how it felt like we were gliding through the sky like going down a groomed ski slope on a bunny slope.

For some reason, I had expected being in a helicopter to be akin to being on a roller coaster ride at Magic Mountain. Up and down, with the occasional “weeees” offsetted by the more frequent “oh MY gosh,”-es, as I pushed myself up in the seat.

But there was none of that, and while – trust me – I enjoyed the ride, part of me wanted a bit of the “weeeee.”

What I realized is that this was a true joy ride – an experience – one that everyone should do at some point in their life.

And next time, I’m taking that glass of champagne with me.