Would you take a 2 1/2 yr old on a 45 min helicopter ride?

maisonette

I'm off to Australia later this year to meet up with my family, we'll be visiting the Great Barrier Reef and I've seen on trip advisor private helicopter flights over the reef where you see the most amazing wildlife and scenes, the reviews are all 5 star 'trip of a lifetime' kind of thing.

It's hideously expensive but I want to treat my family to a flight as a surprise so can't ask the Q about whether the kids would enjoy it beforehand. I know toddlers have very limited attention spans and was wondering whether your toddler would have enjoyed this type of thing at 2 1/2 or whether 45 mins would be too long for them trapped in such a small space with nothing to do but look out of the window?

The FAQ on the website says there's no minimum age limit but I was thinking more in terms of whether a young child would enjoy it or not. Obviously the ideal is that they enjoy it but also thinking in terms of whether the time is too long meaning they might have a tantrum and spoil it for the adults/older child. I would never normally spend such a massive amount of money on a hours experience so if it's something a toddler wouldn't be able to enjoy / tolerate I'll save my money instead!

mountainofdebt

Have you factored in the noise as well - my understanding is that helicopters are quite noisy but I may be wrong on that

I'd save my money personally but my only reservation would be who would look after the 2 1/2yr old?

The only solution to this would be if your relatives could take the child on a special trip whilst you were doing this.

WantToBeSE

It depends on the child I think.


I know that with my oldest, I would never have been able to contain him for 45mins in a small area, but would have had no trouble doing the same with my youngest at that age.


Saying that, I would imagine a helicopter ride would be enough to entertain a child of that age, so long as the adults chat to the child about what they are seeing etc and not just expecting them to remain silent the whole time.

Artytarty

No I would not, and I wouldn't let both parents go on one either.
I know a lady who lost her husband and one son in a crash, my chiropodist and her father in another, I could go on.
Never, never , never.

duchy

No I wouldn't
A fifteen minute one maybe but not one this long.
At that age they are often scared by noise and an upset child means the parents won't enjoy it either - and probably the rest of the group.
If you've never done a helicopter ride then you maybe don't have an understanding of just how noisy they are.

Lovely thought but really not very practical -also a lot of adults are scared of flying too. We once decided not to do a Grand Canyon trip by helicopter as one of our group hated flying- so booked a trip going to the Rim by Hummer. The Hummer got a puncture - and the operator sent a helicopter to pick us up instead. My friend's face was a picture (although she decided she actually preferred a helicopter to a plane and quite enjoyed it )

Spend the money on a boat trip instead

duchy

Artytarty wrote: »

No I would not, and I wouldn't let both parents go on one either.
I know a lady who lost her husband and one son in a crash, my chiropodist and her father in another, I could go on.
Never, never , never.

Yet statistically if you follow that logic - two parents should never travel together in the same car together as the risk of them both been killed together is far higher than on a helicopter ......or plane for that matter.

LilElvis

Having done helicopter flights over the Grand Canyon and Victoria Falls I definitely wouldn't take a small child, and I would be surprised if a company would take a child that young. They are extremely noisy and you wear large, heavy headsets so that you can hear the pilot describe what you are seeing - they would never fit on a child's head. The ride is far from smooth and not for those who don't like things lurching around unpredictably. Husband took his Mum over the Grand Canyon and she puked the whole time - very nice for everyone on board in a confined space.

hunnie

No I wouldn't have taken any of my children at that age.
The child could be afraid and not want to get into the helicopter.
Do those who run these fights even allow a child that young to take part?
Is there any other way you could all view the reef?


regards
Hunnie

Georgiegirl256

My Dad and I have been on numerous helicopter flights and really enjoyed them. But obviously, we are adults and the flights were only about 15 minutes long. 45 minutes is a long time to be stuck up there especially if you've got a screaming toddler!

It is noisy even with the headset on. So that possibly could be very frightening and disorientating for a young child. I guess it all depends on the child, but I'm not sure many of that age would truely enjoy it?

Like I say, our flights were only about 15 minutes and we took lots of photos and enjoyed seeing our home town (and our houses!) from above. But keeping a 2 1/2 year old occupied up there for 45 minutes, I'm not sure? They might absolutely love looking out of the window, but then again they might be terrified.

Also, when you take off it is a fairly weird sensation. So a lot to think about before you even consider it.

Also once, we went through a bank of cloud which was pretty scary as we couldn't see a thing! :eek:

As if on cue, a helicopter has just flown over our house!

Georgiegirl256

LilElvis wrote: »

Husband took his Mum over the Grand Canyon and she puked the whole time - very nice for everyone on board in a confined space.

We did a flight across the Grand Canyon on a plane, a very small plane indeed, and people were puking all the time. I had to concentrate so hard so that I didn't join them. Like you say, it's the sudden lurching of the aircraft so that it feels like it's falling that I think did it!

hawk30

I don't think I could bear a helicopter ride and I'm an adult. I can image a toddler being scared by the noise and the sensation.