Helicopter Tour of the Los Angeles Area

Join me and fellow helicopter pilot Skyler as Skyler pilots my helicopter around his home turf, the Los Angeles area, to give me an aerial tour. We depart Whiteman Airport, pass through Burbank's airspace, and tour several points of interest from the air -- Universal Studios, the Hollywood sign, Griffith Park Observatory, Dodgers Stadium (where the cars were lined up for COVID vaccinations), and downtown Los Angeles -- before landing at Hawthorne Airport (home of SpaceX). I've got in-cockpit audio for most of the flight (after resolving a camera issue while Skyler was flying) so you can hear various airport towers as well as other aircraft making position calls on the Los Angeles helicopter common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF). I've added a few still photos I took along the way, too.
Skyler is a commercial helicopter pilot based in the Los Angeles area. He'll be flying my helicopter until mid May when it returns to Washington state.
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About Me and the Helicopter
- I have been flying for about 20 years. My nearly 4,000 hours of flight time is in Robinson R44, Robinson R22, and Bell 206L (Long Ranger) helicopters.
- The helicopter is a 2005 Robinson R44 Raven II -- the same one that appears in the photo at the beginning of the video. You can learn more about them here: robinsonheli.com/r44-specific... I own this helicopter. It is the third helicopter I've owned since 2000.
- My helicopter has ADS-B Out and is picked up by radar facilities. You can see my track for recent flights on Flightradar24: www.flightradar24.com/data/ai... This is a great site for tracking any almost any flight, including the airlines.
About the Video
- The video was recorded with a pair of GoPro Hero 7 cameras (amzn.to/2Lxyzwl). One camera -- the one that gave me problems -- is connected to the helicopter's intercom system with an NFlightCam audio cable (amzn.to/31syLTm). All cameras record audio, but I dialed down the helicopter sound by 11 decibels from normal volume so it wouldn't be annoying.
- The "cockpit cam" front-facing camera was mounted with my current Instrument Cam set up, which you can learn about in this Behind-the-Scenes video: • Behind the Scenes: Coc... . It's based upon a MyPilotPro Helicopter Mount (mypilotpro.com/product/helico...) modified to get the height I need. The "nosecam" has a proprietary mount.
- The video was edited on a iMac using Davinci Resolve 16 software. Learn more about it here: www.blackmagicdesign.com/prod...
- The intro music is by Bob Levitus, famed "Dr. Mac." You can find him here: www.boblevitus.com/
I TRY (really!) to drop cockpit POV videos on Sunday mornings and "extras" with more info about owning and operating a helicopter midweek. (Some channel members get early access to some of these videos.) I also host occasional livestreams with Q&A chats. SUBSCRIBE and turn on the notification bell so you don't miss anything new! And tell your friends. I'm trying hard to deliver good videos and grow my subscriber base.
Some links on my channel are affiliate links, including all links to Amazon (amzn.to/32PLHTD) and MyPilotPro (mypilotpro.com/shop/?wpam_id=13). If you click one of them and buy something, I get a small referral reward. It doesn't cost you anything so I hope you'll shop with one of those links. Thanks.

[@mog7501]

Los Angeles really had an absolute paradise of a location to build a city on and they turned it into giant parking lot

[@guitarplayer5932]

makes me grateful to live in canada on a large lake, fresh air, no traffic, no pollution , only 7500 people in my town, i have been to LA it was horrible , so busy, so many people, traffic was insane

[@dennisdaniels2992]

Helicopter tour of Los Angeles is very spectacular, Maria!

[@royeaves5180]

best way to see LA is from the air and not on the streets. been there, it's not fun. traffic is horrible.

[@FlyingMAir]

You said it! The next day I Ubered around a bit and can't believe how long it took to get anywhere.

[@brianwright6522]

Maria. Burbank airport dates back before WWII and Lockheed. Flying south from Whitman , at one time,was nothing but orchards. I use to fly out of Van Nuys back in the 70s and 80s. The aviation history of the SFV is huge. Nice flight.

[@robertlafnear4865]

This HOME TURF for me...... 55 years in the basin, 25 yrs. of flyin' ...........Catalina for lunch was THE Run on Saturdays.........Nice ride along. Thank You. p.s. I left L.A.( The jungle for sure ) and never returned but thats O.K. I now fly up and down the Oregon Coast,... low and slow.

[@kevincollins8014]

What an amazing tour and you always do a great job explaining things to us. Thank you for bringing is along with you.

[@ChrisB257]

That was epic Maria - thank you, what a great flight. The LA basin is beyond HUGE!! :)

[@DChamp56]

Wonderful flight and commentary Maria! Thank you once again!

[@smithcon]

Ooh, my old stomping grounds. Used to hang at Griffith Park and have lived and worked all over SoCal. Great vid!

[@mikehill23]

Bloody ripper, Maria. I show my students these videos as part of our high school Aviation Program, here in Perth, Western Australia.

[@FlyingMAir]

Cool! I'll try to remember give you folks a shout out in a future video.

[@mikehill23]

@@FlyingMAir No worries, mate. I have girls in my program. I want to encourage them as much as I can, but I don't want to push them either. Perhaps we could do a video conference call with you and my students. Because of the time zone difference, it would be night time for you, though.

[@FlyingMAir]

I might be up for that. What time at night? I’m in pacific daylight time here. Zulu -7, I think.

[@mikehill23]

@@FlyingMAir Hey mate. We're west coast of Australia. UTC+8. A 15-hour time difference is impressive!

[@rexkiner1612]

Great video. It reminded me of what I saw when I was learning to fly at Santa Monica Airport in the late 1960's. However it also reminded me of what I dislike about Southern California and how much I appreciate Central Washington (Wenatchee area and the Grand Coulee area.)

[@CabezaCM]

Thanks for the ride!!!

[@recasper55]

Wow ! Awesome ! Great visability for the LA basin ... Thank you for the video...

[@EviMlcak]

That was so nice! I also liked when you landed, you can see the shadow of the helicopter! Back in (hard to believe) 1977, I took a short 7 or 8 min. ride in a helicopter circling Long Beach. We stayed one night on the Queen Mary. I still have that photo of the helicopter in my photo album.

[@markaoslo5653]

For a short time, many years ago - I lived in West Hollywood; it's an interesting place to visit... Nice flight video @Maria - and, thank you! Cheers-

[@rafaelginer279]

Excelente trabajo profesional, cuando puedas hacer más videos así .❤

[@frankmcelhill9379]

Cool video. Wow, L.A. is just a sprawl!

[@FlyingMAir]

Sure is!

[@karhukivi]

Really enjoyed that, thank you!

[@bcktndr]

GREAT tour!! Wouldn't live there in a million years!! Enjoyed Hawthorne landing too - - BIG SpaceX fan!! Thanks - GREAT work!!

[@barryg41]

Nice video Maria. Skyler knows his way around LA. I used to live in the Lompoc area back in the late sixties. I was able to watch most of your flights from flightradar24. 👍

[@longstreet2740]

Traveled frequently to LA in the 1990s... Loved the city... Traffic wasn't as bad as I thought. Wash DC is much worse

[@tonylin1780]

Awesome to have this experience.

[@stabbb1299]

I bet flying over those packed in buildings it made you appreciate the country area you live in...

[@FlyingMAir]

LOL. I don't need to see LA's sprawl to appreciate where I live, but I know what you mean.

[@oscarmedina1303]

This was a VERY enjoyable video. You were flying in my old stomping grounds. I even saw my bank as you flew through downtown. Cool ! Thank you Maria and Skyler. I remember doing a similar flight from Burbank past the Hollywood sign on the way back to San Diego with our TV station's brand new NewsChopper. Brings back all those good memories.

[@livapininfarina2164]

So hip it hurts! Hugs from Hamburg and thank you :D

[@sandrasusky7835]

I just started watching and I love it! Would you be able to do a tour of more of Los Angeles county? It would be great if you could somehow indicate distances you're covering in miles. Los Angeles county is seriously sprawling!

[@05645ci]

It would be nice if you told us what roads you were flying over; great job!

[@ndungurobert9917]

I'm in Kenya-Africa but I fell like I just landed from Los Ageles after touring it all. Good video there.

[@hanifbashir745]

Beautiful....but never saw any scryscrapers....million thanks 4 sharing this clip

[@chrismate2805]

Excellent, really enjoyed the video. Your red (ML) mark is brilliant.

[@rogeriolopes6297]

That's cool!

[@mylindacasbarro777]

Nice view.

[@seashoreut]

At 13:18, it's the US Bank Tower (née First Interstate Bank World Center), not the Bank of America building.

[@sanfranciscobay]

Does Flight Time for Overhaul Expenses begin the moment you Start the Helicopter and End when you turn off the Engine or does it begin when the Helicopter is Flying?

[@TheVirtualAirlinePilot]

Very nice! I'm in the UK, but have flown into Los Angeles many times, before driving up to Las Vegas with the family for a summer vacation. Really enjoy the 5-hour drive along I-10 and I-15 into the sunrise! Watching this tour brought back memories of exploring LA with my ex-wife (she worked for the Airlines so we travelled a lot to the US) and I remember the Japanese tourists at the Observatory! Your text captions are great, but can I suggest you place them at the top of the footage in the clear sky - makes them easier to read? Just a thought. As I am learning to fly Helicopters for the first time in my desktop Flight Simulator, videos like this are a great help! Keep 'em coming! Regards from the UK - Lee

[@ckjams1961]

Cool video. I grew up in LA/Orange county but have lived up in Washington state for the last 35 years. It's funny, I subscribe to another Helo pilot on KZbin (Micah Muzio) he used to fly around LA and the beaches. I found him after subscribing to your channel. I mentioned your channel to him in the comments and linked one of your cherry drying vids. It's just funny to me because now I see you down in Cali too. He sold his helicopter and is looking to buy another last I heard. So, he just does car reviews right now. Anyway, keep up the cool videos!

[@kamerbilgin2290]

camera has a problem , not clear on right sides mostly but thanks

[@FlyingMAir]

I think you're right about that camera. Not sure if it's the lens or settings. The Hero 8 that used to occupy that spot had died the previous day. A shame because it had a better picture.

[@kamerbilgin2290]

@@FlyingMAir i think its a lens problem because the left side are clear and perfect recorded.The other side has some noise

[@en3trace251]

nice

[@ninettemurk7492]

So many pools!

[@kimeddy4743]

l.a really is beautiful! im talking the views, i love living here!

[@impumagirl]

I was born in that big blue Scientology building that used to be called Cedars of Lebanon and then it moved to Beverly Hills changing the name to Cedar Sinai me and Tracy Ross (Diana Ross's) daughter were the last 2 children born there in 1972.

[@ronaldbose9645]

I think the cities were built around the airports.

[@bp30656]

You're a great narrator either way

[@FlyingMAir]

Thanks!

[@davec9244]

Clear day , NO SMOG ! I love LA

[@FlyingMAir]

I know! We really lucked out on the weather.

[@jareddyer3142]

Just waking up in the morning, gotta thank God, I don't know but today seems kinda odd. No barkin' from the dog, NO SMOG!

[@irfanimp]

Can you tell me? Why are small buildings in America so exaggeratedly small? Is there an earthquake risk?

[@janetbailey6727]

Very awesome I live in the valley so more videos of that would be amazing if possible, especially the glendale rossmoyne area if you can

[@FlyingMAir]

Sorry! I'm based in Washington state and the helicopter is down there on a short term lease. I'm not sure if Skyler is making videos while he has it. He sure did a great flight the other day. If he does, I'll let you know.

[@janetbailey6727]

@@FlyingMAir Awesome thanks I've subbed to you hopefully he does if he gets a chance.

[@hondo500e]

Nice video! I saw you land at Palomar Airport in SanDiego a couple of weeks ago.

[@FlyingMAir]

Same N-Number? Must have been Skyler. He's got it down there until mid-May. I'm back home in Washington.

[@sanfranciscobay]

18:55 When flying parallel to Freeways, do Helicopters typically fly on the same side as the Traffic below is moving?

[@seashoreut]

Yes, normally. But that is just a convention, not an FAA regulation.

[@blucon]

Crisp and clear in tone MARIA you're like a pro ; a breath of fresh air! cruising around ,giving us endless views of vast expanses of sky and earth as if it were close to the real thing sitting right next to you . . Its more like you have all your subscribers viewers brought on board for a grand tour . The bird you hire often, is a piece of work and it adds up to the zing to your videos .Can you upload videos of the years when you were training and did solos after acquiring your pilot license.

[@FlyingMAir]

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@jenniferwhitewolf3784]

So you are leasing out time on your Robinson? What is the big open pit shortly after the video starts? Interesting to see from the air...

[@FlyingMAir]

Yes for the lease, no idea for the pit. Sorry! Try Google Maps. Draw a straight-ish line from Whiteman Airport to just southwest of Burbank Airport and it should be somewhere on/near that line.

[@emrahsinan920]

09:52 Dominic's House - Bob's Market

[@ajjoyner1909]

From the Ferrari 812 on the autobahn to a helicopter in LA.. just like a wealthy person KZbin 😂

[@marymarshall4750]

ROAR!!! ROAR!!! ROAR!!!🦁🦁🦁

[@waynesimpson4081]

I believe L.A. required helipads be installed on highrises after the First Interstate Bank fire.

[@FlyingMAir]

I heard something similar from the pilot I was with, but it still blew me away to see them all.

[@sanfranciscobay]

15:42 Pilot says "One Thousand, Seven Hundred, South East Bound." I assume that is the altitude you are flying at?

[@FlyingMAir]

Yes.

[@tirbomax]

awesome, but i thought your bird was about run-out?

[@FlyingMAir]

Not yet. 80 hours left. I delivered it to Los Angeles last month where a friend will be flying it. It'll be back in May for cherry season. Then overhaul.

[@donvaledon1]

Have you done a flight around San Diego?

[@FlyingMAir]

Not yet.

[@dougf94912]

Excellent video! I'm curious how you would handle an engine failure / auto-rotation in such a densely built-up area. I can see that sports fields and stadiums might be one option. I'm guessing that attempting that onto one of the numerous helipads would be a last resort... For me a rerun of this flight with a commentary that focuses on that aspect would be fascinating! 8-)

[@FlyingMAir]

Roads? Backyards? Parking lots? There are plenty of options. I'm not sure why you'd be so interested in a commentary that focuses on something that's very unlikely to ever happen. Helicopter pilots are more likely to crash after hitting wires or flying into bad weather than to have an engine failure.

[@user-jn2xi6zj7t]

trevor ? is that you

[@Malc664]

Interesting but not as glamorous from the air. It's a big place so wouldn't mind seeing it from an F16.

[@liamwinter4512]

Viewing LA from the air must be similar to a safari

[@FlyingMAir]

It's a jungle, alright, but with buildings instead of trees. What impressed me most: the number of helipads in downtown LA.

[@rafiqirasyadsaputra1157]

Los santos

[@andrewlavey6992]

Hi Maria, what was the big "hole in the ground" at 1:10? LA, a great big sprawling metropolis.

[@FlyingMAir]

No idea. Sorry!

[@leftpastsaturn67]

It's a landfill site.

[@bobpitt1261]

A great video Maria, thanks. It does make me sad though thinking about why 550,000 US citizens have died of COVID so far.

[@FlyingMAir]

Me, too. Many of those deaths could have been avoided if people would just take precautions. Let's hope most folks are smart enough to vaccinate.

[@user-bf9rh8ml9i]

мощная экономика

[@user-cm1rx2tl9j]

🎧👨🏼‍🍼I got stuck in traffic 🚓🚚🚛🚐🚒🚌🚙😫with the baby 😢 crying 😳

[@user-cm1rx2tl9j]

🚙I wished 🎧

[@user-cm1rx2tl9j]

I needed a 🚁

[@blucon]

Rotor blades deafen everything around and most of all your narratives sound subdued . I can barely hear your voice sounding as if you are seated somewhere far. Nonetheless not complaining actually but enjoying every bit .

[@FlyingMAir]

Thanks for the feedback. I really do the best I can. I'll try to dial down the helicopter sound a bit more in future videos.

[@blucon]

@@FlyingMAir sounds great!

[@petel9711]

I’m glad I don’t live there.

[@giuseppinavolpe2873]

Maybe because you cant afford it

[@joniporthole4746]

Doesn't compare to NYC