If you’re a regular visitor to Las Vegas, always wanted to ride in a helicopter and have yet to cross that experience off your bucket list, Maverick Helicopters can correct that disconnect. For the past 25 years, if you’ve seen a helicopter flying over the Strip, circling the STRAT or heading into the horizon for parts unknown, there’s a good chance you were looking at a Maverick helicopter.
Maverick’s fleet of EC-130 “Eco-Star” airbus helicopters just completed their annual mission of flying Burning Man faithful to and from their annual bohemia in the Black Rock Desert. The Eco-Stars have since been fine-tuned in preparation for shuttling racing fans from the Strip to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway during NASCAR’s South Point 400 weekend (Sept. 13-15), but Maverick’s helicopters fly passengers year-round, whether they want to sip champagne at the Grand Canyon, dance during Electric Daisy Carnival or do yoga on a remote rock at Valley of Fire.
September marks the beginning of the season for Heliyoga Limitless, in which up to six passengers take a 45-minute trip to a sandstone outcrop at Valley of Fire State Park only accessible by helicopter. Wireless headphones allow for 75-minute guided yoga sessions, designed by Vegas-based yoga experience experts Silent Savasana, in a pristine wilderness environment where rams roam on red rock formations.
Sessions end with a scenic flight over the Strip, as is the case with the Wind Dancer Grand Canyon Landing tour. That trip flies over Lake Mead, Hoover Dam and over miles of undisturbed terrain before arriving in Hualapai Indian territory and descending 3,500 feet into the Grand Canyon. Lunch, breathtaking views and photo ops are accompanied by a champagne toast before the trip back. A daylong Grand Canyon landing tour with additional attractions is also available, as is an express ride to Grand Canyon West and its Skywalk.
For EDC commuters and NASCAR devotees, Maverick provides an opportunity to bypass hours of traffic that await drivers on I-15. VIP service is provided for both, with a DJ creating preparty atmosphere in the terminal lounge for passengers heading to EDC. In addition to providing the service during NASCAR’s biggest races at the Speedway, Maverick formed a relationship with Exotics Racing that enables racing spectators to become participants. Within a half-hour of leaving Maverick’s terminal at the south end of the Strip, visitors can get behind the wheels of Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches or Corvettes as they prepare to drive the supercars around a 1.2-mile track.
Maverick Airlines was added in 2008, and fly Burners part of the way to Black Rock as well as several destinations in Hawaii. The Eco-Stars are at the heart of the Maverick experience, though. They currently lay claim to the honor of being the quietest helicopters designed for the market, the importance of which becomes clear when flying over mountainous landscapes between Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon or taking in the luminosity of Las Vegas Boulevard from a high altitude to cap off a memorable evening. The memories of the experience should be about what you see, after all, not the noise you hear.
Maverick Helicopters, 6075 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 702.261.0007 or 866.644.8687
