Story ID: 347MaverickHelo
See Vegas From a Different Angle
By: Harry Weisberger
Caption: Convention-goers can get an aerial perspective of the Vegas Strip and Grand Canyon on a Maverick Helicopters tour.
Word Count: 317
While in Las Vegas, those attending the NBAA Convention can relax after the hustle and bustle of the show by booking one of Las Vegas-based Maverick Aviation’s helicopter or fixed-wing tour flights over Vegas and the surrounding area.

The Maverick Helicopters division of Maverick Aviation Group conducts aerial excursions with a fleet of Airbus EC130 helicopters, and the company flies more than 250,000 guests annually. Passengers enjoy live narration about the surrounding attractions, voice-activated headsets and wrap-around windows. A multi-camera video system records every flight to preserve passengers’ memories. The Maverick Airlines fixed-wing operation is based at Henderson Executive Airport with three Beechcraft 1900Ds and a trio of Cessna 208 Caravans.

Tour durations and routes vary from a 15-minute “See The Strip From The Air” mini-excursion for $124 per person to a panoramic view of the nearby Grand Canyon, or a 2.5-hour “Vegas Dream Sunset” tour of Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, southeastern Nevada and Las Vegas environs, climaxed by a sunset view of the Strip. Air tour destinations outside the Las Vegas area include the west and south rims of the Grand Canyon and the Grand Canyon Skywalk west of Grand Canyon Village. Maverick also offers charter transport and wedding flights.

Helicopter tours stage from Maverick Helicopters’s new terminal at McCarran International Airport adjacent to Signature Flight Support. The new Maverick terminal features 20-foot-high floor-to-ceiling windows offering a panoramic view of the airport.

Maverick is the world’s largest single user of EC130B4 helicopters, logging well over 60,000 hours on the type. With an external noise level of 8.5 dB below ICAO limits, Maverick Helicopters operates 0.5 dB under the Grand Canyon National Park perceived noise standard (the world’s strictest). The EC130B4 and -T2 achieve that environmentally friendly noise level in large part due to the enclosed multi-blade Fenestron tail rotor first seen on the Aerospatiale SA-341 Gazelle.