Helicopters came into their own during the early 1950’s, when the true impact of helicopter use for forestry and wildlife became clear. Helicopters have enjoyed their massive success due to their ability to be incredibly versatile and their ability to avoid many of the obstacles that encumber ground based methods, including site sensitivity, ability to rapidly to remove or deliver the product, lack of access, and slope of the terrain. For over 70 years, the use of helicopters in forestry continues to expand.

Advantages of helicopters in the forestry and wildlife industry are:

The number of miles of roads may be reduced.
They can be used on any type of terrain.
Helicopters significantly reduce the impact to the environment because the payloads are lifted vertically.
It is able to move large amounts of equipment and crew members quickly.

Helicopters have always had the advantage over land based vehicles and fixed wing aircraft for rapid response to remote areas. They have been used extensively since World War II for troop and equipment transportation, and have made an incredible impact transporting patients during medical emergencies.

Their ability to put down in the most hostile and remote domain make them invaluable to any forestry and wildlife project. Helicopters are frequently used in inaccessible areas of forests. Additionally, the use of helicopters reduces the level of infrastructure required to log in a specific location, which means this the method also helps to reduce the environmental impact, while simultaneously increasing the productivity in these remote areas.

While their logistical abilities are impressive, helicopters have also solidified their place in the history books for their positive impact on nature.

A helicopter can be used as a non-invasive method to accurately track and count different species of wildlife, survey large pieces of landscape for environmental impact, and also work to prevent natural disasters such as forest fires before they become uncontrollable.

For example, with thanks to modern imaging technology, helicopters are frequently deployed to follow herds of wildlife and track their migration patterns and numbers. Their ability to use heat sensing technology allows them the ability to see through the forest canopy so that they can not only get an accurate count, but also learn more about migration, food supply and how their environment is affecting them.

When these abilities are combined with a helicopter that reaches far beyond the reaches of a land based vehicle, researchers and companies can survey hundreds of miles of landscape and form an accurate portrayal of how industries like forestry, mining and even tourism may be affecting wildlife and the environment.

These photos are from a Hunter Helicopters  family day adventure

Chartering a helicopter is quickly becoming a very cost effective way for people who need an alternative mode of transport and require the ability to jump around to various locations on a short span of time. Not only do helicopters offer a level of flexibility that private jets simply do not, they are also a very versatile way to travel. If you are travelling for business, to a sporting event or thinking about the ski slopes, helicopter charter offers the perfect solution.

The first and perhaps most obvious advantage is that helicopters do not need a landing strip; they just need enough space to land, and can put down almost anywhere there is a large enough footprint. Additionally, with helicopter charter, it makes getting to your destination a piece of cake. You can depart from you own backyard, hotel or field and fly direct to your destination, and since helicopters travel in straight lines as the crow flies, you will always beat the traffic, save time on transfers and arrive in comfort and style.

Since helicopters can often reach up to a speed of 170 miles per hour, they are perfect if your business requires you to visit more than one city in a day then helicopter charter would be the ideal choice. It will eliminate the need for overnight stays which can be costly, time consuming and painfully inconvenient. In a world where time equals money and with a helicopter charter flight will save you both.

You may also require the versatility of a helicopter. For example. In a single day you might find yourself needing to be in three very different locations that are hundreds of miles apart. Your are required to be in the city for a breakfast meeting, then on a project site hundreds of miles away to survey progress, and then make another hop to an event later on in the day. You won’t be able to get to all of those places by car, or fixed wing aircraft all in one day. It would be too costly, and impractical. However a helicopter can deliver you and your team to all three destinations in a short period of time that has a landing area large enough to fit a couple of cars.

It also goes without mentioning, you will always depart and arrive in style. First impressions count and can make or break a business deal, so what better way to make an impression than by arriving to that important business meeting by helicopter? It sends a clear message that your time is valuable and you always get the job done right.

These photos are from a Hunter Helicopters  family day adventure

Helicopters have been used widely throughout the world as emergency ambulances as first responder roles in traumatic care since World War II. They have been instrumental in improving response times and removal times to and from the scene, giving a more appropriate level of response, and providing access to more appropriate hospitals. Research shows that using helicopters to transport patients dramatically improves the patents probability of survival.

Additionally, helicopters are able to bring specialist care to the scene and transport patients to specialist hospitals, especially for major trauma cases. In many remote areas, air medical services can deliver non-emergency healthcare such as routine doctor appointments.

In the case of natural disasters, such as forest fires, helicopters are also the reigning champions.

The ability of helicopters to drop a fire retardant, foam or water to suppress wildfires is the first line of defence and an essential firefighting tool. A helicopters speed, mobility and delivery capability make helicopters an essential tool for firefighters on the ground.

A helicopter’s true value is the capability to rapidly deliver water from nearby sources to the most critical areas as quickly as possible. Traditional fixed-wing aircraft are able to deliver more water or other retardant, however they lack the ability to be precise with their delivery than a helicopter. They also require a runway or airfield to reload. Therefore, if a fire isn’t located near an airfield, time between turns on a fixed-wing can be excessive.

The use of helicopters not only allows teams to reach the scene more quickly, but they also offer absolute precision during an operation, as the helicopter’s speed and position can easily be adapted to the fire at hand.

While known for their ability to deliver water and transporting people to and from fires, helicopters are vital in the support of various aerial work operations. Helicopters are widely used for aerial reconnaissance, reporting fires, mapping fires, directing other aerial firefighting assets to hotspots and fires, delivering equipment to remote areas, and providing hoisting, medevac and situation monitoring capabilities to ensure the safety of people involved in firefighting efforts.

The helicopter’s role in firefighting has become increasingly important over the last three decades and continues to evolve as technology has changed. Helicopters offer a unique point of attack capability and quick turnaround that a fixed wing airplane cannot provide. The helicopters ability to use water sources close to the fire such as ponds, streams allows helicopters quick turns and more on station time than fixed-wing aircraft, as well as the ability to drop very accurately on any hot spot that needs attention in a fire. They have the speed and ability to rise above fire lines and attack the fire at any angle. Trucks often have to fall back due to fire advancement, while helicopters do not have this problem.

These photos are from a Hunter Helicopters  family day adventure

For decades, aerial filming and photography was a niche’ market. Unless you were a filmmaker, a magazine or worked in advertising, you probably didn’t have the need or the budget for any kind of aerial photography. However, if you leap forward to today and our digital age with technology flourishing all around us. One major benefit of technology that many people and businesses are beginning to embrace is aerial photography and videography.

Our modern technology moves quickly and advances each day with many people finding new  and innovative ways to take advantage of these digital creations. One element of today’s technology that many people have begun implementing is aerial photography and videography. A helicopter is able to capture stunning footage from a bird’s eye view.

There are many reasons why a helicopter offers an advantage for capturing aerial footage over a smaller vehicle such as a drone. Drones certainly have their place, but they are very limited in their capabilities.

For example, helicopters offer major benefits over drones including:

Fly Higher and Longer

The most obvious advantage that helicopter photography offers is the ability to fly at much higher altitudes than a drone. Helicopters are perfect when capturing panoramic footage of large areas like cities landscape or even events. Additionally, helicopters fly for hours and miles as opposed to drones that can only for minutes and within a low, small radius.

Shooting Location Flexibility

Another benefit of helicopters is their ability to shoot across a wide variety of different locations. Many projects require multiple aerial shots across different locations. Helicopters can not only take the videos but transport the crew as well which makes multi-location shoots easier to manage, and a more than reasonable cost.

Range

When you compare the range capabilities of both platforms, helicopters win hands down every time. They have the ability to fly farther and longer than any commercial drone. When you calculate the hours of flight time and hundreds of miles distance, drones get about four minutes of flying time before needing a battery change and only fly out to 400 feet above the ground while tethered to a transmitter.

Payload

Helicopters routinely carry the heaviest camera rigs that drones simply cannot lift. If your project requires the highest definition possible, then a helicopter is required to carry the necessary camera gear and the personnel to operate the equipment.

Our technology advances every day, and costs of aerial photography and film production are plummeting. Even the idea of using a helicopter for your business aspirations would have proven to be too cost prohibitive in the early planning stages. Now, with modern digital cameras, and highly trained staff like ours, it is not only possible to engage a helicopter for your next filming and photography session, it often proves more cost effective than using a commercial available drone.

These photos are from a Hunter Helicopters  family day adventure

Helicopters have earned their place in history for many reasons, and one of them is their unique ability to deliver large pieces of machinery, people and resources to remote locations that fixed wing airplanes and even land based vehicles simply cannot reach. Our team is even able to deliver good to areas so remote where the terrain is so inhospitable, that you can’t even reach them safely on foot.

For decades helicopters have been lifting and safely delivering heavy equipment such as drills, fuel, machinery, as well as transporting staff and discovering new grounds. Companies have come to rely upon helicopters because they are versatile and can complete all the work that needs to be done, on time. When time and precision are crucial, aerial lifts are an extremely productive and cost effective solution.

But that is only part of the story.

Helicopters have always been the unsung hero in areas such as British Columbia for their ability to work around the clock in the harshest conditions on every environmental cleanup, or natural disaster.

Our crew have years of experience working on some of the most challenging projects and we have flown countless environmental support programs, assisting companies in evaluating the impact of land use and providing access to remote locations and a bird’s eye view. We are experts in our field and offer our clients the ability to conduct:

Environmental Cleanup

Environmental Surveys

Camp Moves

GPS Mapping

Landscape Scanning

Sample Collection

Wildlife Tracking & Monitoring

Wildlife Net Capture

Aerial Surveying & Photography

Natural Disaster Inspection & Control

Crew & Camp Transport

Helicopters are a natural fit for this kind of dedicated work for their ability to:

Speed over long distances. Road transit times area unit halved for distances 50–200 km.

Access to remote areas, mountainous areas, over giant water expanses.

Indicated for severely ill/unstable patients

Enable early initiation of management by extremely trained medical workers and with special instrumentation.

Faster mobilization than fixed-wing craft.

Needs smaller landing area and might land nearer to or at hospitals.

While a truck or even a convoy may be able to carry a load of food or some medical supplies to a destination attached to a suitable road, helicopters are able to mobilize immediately and deliver entire kitchens, and set up emergency hospitals. They do need to have a crane or heavy lifting equipment and the job site and can directly deploy the cargo anywhere the client requests. We are also able to cover distances in a fraction of the time of a land based vehicle and often mae the difference in life saving rescues.

We are proud of what we do, and our place in history, and we are thankful for our amazing team of professionals who help us get the job done every time.

These photos are from a Hunter Helicopters  family day adventure

Foy decades the thought of simply riding in a helicopter was a dream that very few people dared to even think about. The very idea that a regular person or family could afford such a luxury was quickly dismissed, and instead families loaded themselves into their cars and went on a road trip. It equally inconceivable that an average family might be able to visit far remote places close to their own home in a helicopter that simply are not accessible by most land based vehicles. For example, if you were a fishing enthusiast you were confined to visiting lakes and streams within reasonable driving distance.

The helicopter industry has made massive leaps since those times, and now just about anyone can enjoy a heli adventure to a multitude of destinations.

From the moment a helicopter lifts off and the ground begins to get smaller, our passengers experience a beautiful sensory overload. The sound of turbine engines howling and the main rotor whipping through the air just a few feet above your head. Our passengers are amazed at the feeling of being safely secured in the cabin and experiencing the wonder of rotary-winged flight while marveling at the spectacular views unique to heli-sightseeing.

A helicopter adventure is only limited by your imagination. You may want to find yourself on a skiing adventure, alone on top of a fresh packed mountain with no roads for miles and the only way home is downhill on your skis or snowboard. Or you may wish to pack your fishing tackle, and visit any one of the remote fishing destinations in British Columbia that cannot be reached by a land based vehicle.

Some of our most popular destinations include:

Scenic Tours

Fishing

Hiking

Camping

Skiing

Glacier Walks

Private Picnics

That isn’t to say those are you only options. You may even want to have a special event like a wedding, or team building exercise for your business in a beautiful remote setting. We are able to shuttle your guests or attendees to the location, but also deliver everything you will need while you are there from large event tents, complete kitchen utilities, seating, wireless communications networks, you name it.

Your next helicopter adventure will be an experience of a lifetime and offers you the freedom to indulge your team vacation or one trip to just about anywhere. Whether you seek solitude or far remote camping, tearing down a mountain, the peaceful tranquility of fishing, exploring a glacier on foot or having a one-of-a-kind event experience, heli adventures are no longer unattainable dreams that only a privileged few can afford.

These photos are from a Hunter Helicopters  family day adventure

Helicopter tours are on the rise and continue to grow in popularity. You simply cannot experience such authentic and amazing thrills from the safety and comfort of a helicopter cabin. This experience allows you and your loved ones to see the world in a whole new way, without the need for expensive equipment or years of lessons.

When you book helicopter a tour, you will enjoy a brand new experience that will stick with you for the rest of your life. People book helicopter tours for a multitude of reasons, and they are only limited by your imagination. Some people have booked a helicopter tour for a marriage proposal, or a fun way to mark anniversaries, enjoying time with children and grandchildren, or simply experiencing a new adventure with friends and loved ones.

A helicopter tour experience is like no other. Passengers are able to experience the stunning British Columbia landscape in a way that you might not have previously enjoyed. In addition, you are also able to not only enjoy the scenery from a birds eye view, but also touch down for a picnic and soak up the surroundings first hand where you are able to take some pictures, stretch your legs and enjoy the company of your family or friends before taking off to the next destination.

You might have that one person in your life who just seems to have it all, and no matter what you try, you can never seem to find the perfect original gift. A helicopter tour is the perfect gift solution that will set you apart. Even if they have been on one before, no two tours are the same and they will be able to enjoy a brand new experience, and perhaps even turn it into a regular outing. Many people become addicted to the adventure of helicopter tours, and the potential they have for discovering the beauty of British Columbia at a very reasonable cost. Our ability to take you anywhere from glaciers, fishing villages, to remote areas of forest and mountain tops and deliver you back home in a single day means you can experience a lifetime of adventure in the span of a few hours.

There are many ways and reasons why people love our helicopter tours, and they are as unique as the people who book them. We invite you to share your ideas with us, and book a once in a lifetime tour for you, your friends and family.

These photos are from a Hunter Helicopters  family day adventure

Aerial application has become one of the most widely used crop spraying methods in British Columbia and across Canada. This fact is not surprising when you consider the flexibility and benefits it offers growers. Aerial application has been widely used in Western Canada, where it has been a commonly used spray method for years. It seems that now, the rest of Canada is finally catching on to the idea due to the benefits of helicopters being able to spray large tracts of land with few barriers and a low potential for spray drift.

Helicopters are able to treat more fields on a daily basis, and have the ability to fly closer to the fields and do not have to travel back and forth to an airport for product or refuelling. Helicopters are also able to fly slower than a plane at a rate of 100 km/h compared to a plane which travels at 200 km/h, thereby allowing helicopters to get closer to obstructions because they do not have to pull up as soon. Additionally, they are much more effective than traditional planes where field sizes are smaller and other impediments such as tree lines, buildings, hydro lines and radio towers surround farmland and the pilot requires the agility of a helicopter.

Additionally, it was noted in a recent article that “In the late 1970s and early 1980s, we devoted three to four machines to agricultural applications, but the amount of work slowly decreased as products were replaced with ones that weren’t being registered by the PMRA (Pest Management Regulatory Agency) for aerial application,” “Now we’re seeing crop protection companies developing more products registered for aerial application, giving us the opportunity to get back into the market and giving growers another application option.”

The benefits of aerial application

Aerial application offers a distinct benefit over ground application including fungicides, insecticides and some fall desiccants as well as most painting applications. Rotary aircraft are also able to get to a field quickly and cover large areas in a very short period of time, which is often critical when dealing with disease and insect control. Helicopters are also not limited by wet soil conditions so you don’t have to worry about damage or losses from tracking or compaction. Additionally, because helicopters are not in the field, they don’t spread fungal spores from one field to another.

In a recent article, Dr. Trevor Kraus, supervisor of research and commercial development and technical development for with BASF Canada, these are just some of the many reasons the company included aerial application on its Headline fungicide label. “We have certainly seen an increase in the aerial application over the last few years, and it’s been very advantageous for growers. In particular, as more corn growers protect their crops against disease with Headline fungicide, aerial application is a great option because the fungicide needs to be applied when the crop is at tassel, which is when it is fairly tall.”

If you are currently considering the benefits of aerial application, we invite you to contact us so that we can offer you any advice and answer all of your questions.

These photos are from a Hunter Helicopters  family day adventure

Here in British Columbia many of our crops such as tomatoes, flowers, and cucumbers, are quite sensitive to the heat. Greenhouses are vulnerable to overheating from spring until autumn and without protection from heat, few plants are likely to survive unharmed when subjected to prolonged high levels of heat within a greenhouse. As we head in to the summer of the planets hottest year ever recorded, it’s no wonder that many British Columbians are worried about these above-normal summer temperatures affecting crops; raising temperatures within a greenhouse to unacceptable levels, scorching new cuttings and freshly potted plants, seedings, and a wide variety of plants and flowers. It is essential to achieve a fine balance of shading and humidity to beat this heat.

With sufficient shading many crops can tolerate the high summer temperatures, and leaf temperature rising to tissue damaging levels can be prevented. Hunter Helicopters has found Shade Painting to be an emerging trend in Canada to combat these rising temperatures. Having been tried and tested over the years in Holland’s large greenhouse industry, shade painting is the process of spraying a particular shade of paint on top of a greenhouse to shade crops from 20%-60% depending on the crops requirement. Shade paint is like sunscreen for crops, blocking UV rays creating cooler temperature inside the greenhouse, as well as protecting the interior of the greenhouse from glare, intensity of sunlight, high temperatures and humidity.

These photos are from a Hunter Helicopters aerial application session; applying shade paint to a large greenhouse on a beautiful sunny day in British Columbia in the summer of 2016.