Helicopter Charter & Hire - Not just an A-B Travel Alternative

Sept. 17, 2009 - PRLog -- Although helicopter charter and helicopter hire is widely recognised as being a fast and efficient travel alternative for the busy executive and persons wishing to maximise their day at a sporting or social event, you may be surprised at some of the more bizarre requests that sometimes pass through our helicopter charter department.

1.   Raining ‘ready-made meals’???
Recently received was an enquiry to drop 1,000 ready-made meals from a helicopter over a beach on the South Coast. The particular product is a well known dried snack brand and the packages would be dropped by parachutes. The shot would then break to each of the new flavoured meals lowering gently onto waiting sunbeds.
Having trialled the said item to ascertain it could fly successfully, we proved the fact that the item would descend perfectly well by parachute, however the main problem still existed.........how do you fit 1,000 ready-made meals suspended by parachutes into a helicopter and drop them to the ground without getting tangled together?
Answers on a postcard please!!

2.   Big Brother
Atlas Helicopters was approached a few years ago to fly two models over the Big Brother house, then in Bow in East London. We would then hover over the house whilst the models removed their tops to reveal their breasts to the Big Brother contestants.
The flight unfortunately did not go ahead as the lowest height we can fly over a congested is 750 feet above ground level. It was pointed out to this particular PR Firm that unless the models had enormous’ frontages’ they were not going to get the desired effect from this height........the duty pilot that day was gutted!!

3.   Money from Heaven
Why would someone ask you to drop money from a helicopter over Battersea Park? We do not know, but we were asked to do just that!
The main problem was, how do you stop the money from getting re-circulated back into the engines? Add weight to the money of course! What about the hazards to the persons on the ground?
It all proved too difficult in the end for the client and the flight did not take place.

4.   Mile High Club
A pornographic shoot in the rear of a helicopter? I will leave this to your imagination as to whether this flight actually took place or not!!

Some more less weird requests.......

5.   Ashes to Ashes
Atlas Helicopters has been asked to scatter a deceased’s ashes.
6.   Gentlemen have chartered our helicopters to ‘pop the question’.

7.   A particular lady celebrated her 100th birthday by realising a life’s ambition by flying in one of our helicopter fleet.


8.   School Proms are always a source of amusement to our operations team. Young Kids wishing to arrive in style at their Prom and in the same instant outdo their friends whom have probably arrived by limousine or horse-drawn carriage.

One request however did stand out from the rest........’Can you paint the helicopter pink for the night as pink is my favourite colour’?

We refused of course as I do not think any of our pilots could handle the stigma of flying a pink helicopter!!

Life is never dull in the day of a helicopter charter firm. You never know what charter request is next and this is why we love what we do!!

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Atlas Helicopters was established in 2001 to provide the ever-increasing Helicopter Charter market within the UK and near Continent.