Helicopter Tour of the Los Angeles Area
At a glance
- Length
- 23 min
- Channel
- FlyingMAir
- Video from
- Apr 2021
- Rating
- ⭐⭐ Great video · 2/2
- Best for
- Pilots, aviation enthusiasts, and anyone considering a Los Angeles helicopter tour.
What to Expect from This Los Angeles Aerial Tour
This video offers an unscripted helicopter tour of the Los Angeles area flown by commercial pilot Skyler, who shares the controls and local knowledge from the cockpit. Rather than a polished narration, you get real-time radio traffic, pilot communication, and honest conversation between two aviators as the Robinson R44 Raven II climbs from Whiteman Airport and traces a route through some of Southern California's most recognizable landmarks. The experience captures both the visual grandeur and the technical side of helicopter flight in an urban airspace.
This tour suits anyone curious about how Los Angeles looks from 1,000 feet up, whether you're considering booking your own helicopter tour or simply want to experience the city from a perspective you'll never get from the ground. If you enjoy aviation, behind-the-scenes footage, or seeing familiar landmarks in context, you'll find genuine value here. The in-cockpit audio and pilot perspective make it feel less like a sightseeing video and more like you're sitting in the right seat.
Landmarks and Views During the Flight
- Universal Studios – seen clearly from altitude, showing the scale and layout of the theme park
- The Hollywood Sign – the iconic hilltop landmark viewed from the air
- Griffith Park Observatory – a historic vantage point visible from the helicopter's altitude
- Dodgers Stadium – including footage from when the parking lot was used for COVID vaccination distribution
- Downtown Los Angeles skyline – the urban core seen in perspective from the flight path
- Burbank airspace and final approach to Hawthorne Airport – home of SpaceX
Important Details Before Watching
- The video includes in-cockpit audio for most of the flight, with real radio tower communications and other aircraft traffic on the Los Angeles helicopter frequency – don't expect quiet background music
- Audio levels have been reduced by 11 decibels from normal helicopter sound so the radio traffic remains intelligible
- Early in the video there is a brief camera issue resolved while Skyler was flying; the cockpit perspective resumes shortly after
- Still photos taken during the flight are interspersed with video footage
- The helicopter is based at Whiteman Airport and operates under ADS-B Out radar tracking, visible on live flight-tracking websites
- The flight departs and lands at commercial/busy airspace airports, so you'll hear professional pilot procedure throughout
Common Questions About This Los Angeles Helicopter Flight
How long is the actual flight?
The video does not specify exact flight duration, but based on the route covering Burbank, Hollywood, Griffith Park, downtown, and Hawthorne, expect a tour of roughly 45 minutes to an hour in the air.
What kind of helicopter is used?
The aircraft is a 2005 Robinson R44 Raven II, a four-seat piston helicopter commonly used for private and charter flights. It's equipped with GoPro cameras mounted for both exterior and cockpit views.
Is this a real tour you can book, or just a video of a private flight?
This is a pilot's personal flight documented for educational and entertainment purposes. The video shows how a private helicopter tour of Los Angeles might unfold, but it is not a booking link for a commercial tour operator. However, it gives realistic insight into what such a tour would entail.
Why is there so much radio chatter?
That's authentic Los Angeles helicopter traffic on the common traffic advisory frequency. The pilot has intentionally kept the radio audio audible so viewers can hear how busy the airspace is and how pilots communicate position, altitude, and heading to avoid each other.
Can I see this flight tracked in real time?
Yes – the helicopter has ADS-B Out equipment and is tracked by radar facilities. You can follow its flight track on Flightradar24 using the tail number, which gives you a real-time or historical view of any future flights the pilot makes.
Gear & products featured here
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Key Terms
- Robinson R44 Raven II
- A four-seat helicopter with piston engines, commonly used for private and charter flights.
- ADS-B Out
- A system that broadcasts a helicopter's location, altitude, and heading so it can be tracked by radar facilities and flight-tracking websites.
- CTAF (Common Traffic Advisory Frequency)
- A radio frequency used by pilots in an area to announce their position and intentions to each other for safety.
- Whiteman Airport
- A public-use airport in the Los Angeles area where the helicopter departs from in this video.
- Hawthorne Airport
- A public-use airport south of Los Angeles where the flight lands; it is also home to SpaceX facilities.
Sources: Robinson R44 Raven II · ADS-B Out · CTAF (Common Traffic Advisory Frequency) · Whiteman Airport · Hawthorne Airport — definitions cross-referenced with Wikipedia
Video by FlyingMAir on YouTube. If you enjoyed it, please subscribe to their channel and show your support for the great video.
Description
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: https://robinsonheli.com/r44-specifications/ 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: https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n7534D 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 (https://amzn.to/2Lxyzwl). One camera -- the one that gave me problems -- is connected to the helicopter's intercom system with an NFlightCam audio cable (https://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: https://youtu.be/nff_QBDbPxc. It's based upon a MyPilotPro Helicopter Mount (https://mypilotpro.com/product/helicopter-gopro-mount/?wpam_id=13) 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: https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/
- The intro music is by Bob Levitus, famed "Dr. Mac." You can find him here: http://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 (https://amzn.to/32PLHTD) and MyPilotPro (https://mypilotpro.com/shop/?wpam_id=13). If you click one of them and buy something, I get a small referral reward. It doesn't
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