A helicopter ride in Long Island, NY
One sunny but chilly day we woke up, had some coffee with breakfast and went to Farmingdale, the starting point of our helicopter rides. Each of us had 30 minutes in the air above South Oyster Bay with the only difference that German was a pilot and I was a passenger (in two different flights though).
Prior to our flights, we both had an instruction and got to know almost everything about R22 — the most quiet, affordable, reliable, and versatile helicopter.
Good to know: in June of 1973 Frank Robinson founded Robinson Helicopter Company in his Palos Verdes home. The first R22 prototype was built in a tin hangar at the nearby Torrance Airport, and in August of 1975, Robinson flew the R22 on its first flight. In 1979, after 3 1/2 years of testing and technical analysis, the R22 received its FAA Type Certificate. The first R22 was delivered in late 1979 and soon became the world’s top selling civil helicopter. The R22 holds the most world records in its weight class including speed and altitude.
I thought in thirty minutes you can go to Manhattan and back but in fact we could fly to Jonas beach and Fire island only. But we saw a stunning skyline of Manhattan!
Long Island and dozens of tiny islands provide gorgeous views from the helicopter.
It was a totally new experience of Long Island. When you travel by car, you see those houses with white picket fences and nice front yards but from the air you see also swimming pools and hidden backyards, as well as yachts, parked nearby.
I like to travel by plane and though many people find departures and landings to be the most stressful moments, I love them because you can see a lot from your window seat. My favorite cities from the air are Odessa in Ukraine (especially if a pilot makes a circle to show you the stunning Black Sea bay), Munich in Germany (Bavaria looks like a cosy comforter made with love by your granny), and Istanbul in Turkey (Bosphorus strait looks blue and green at the same time and in early Spring you can see the thin layer of ice here and there which looks awesome!). Now, I can add these islands in New York to the list.
As a result of this adventure, German got his pilot book started and I captured these beautiful pictures with #NOFILTER.
