It would be nice if modesty prevented me from pointing folks to this Fox TV news story in which I’m on camera flying a sightseeing tour around Boston.
Sadly this story ran on the same day as an airplane-helicopter collision in New York City. The circumstances here in Boston are very different. The Logan Airport control tower owns all of the airspace over downtown Boston, right down to the surface. There is no equivalent of the Hudson River VFR corridor in which pilots are responsible for seeing and avoiding other aircraft. We fly the tours with the assistance of Hanscom Tower and then Boston Tower, both of which watch for conflicting traffic on their radar screens.
[So far I’m surprised by the circumstances of the New York crash. I’ve flown both helicopters and airplanes in that corridor many times and can’t remember hearing a sightseeing helicopter report being higher than 700′ above sea level while on its standard tour of the river and “the Lady”. Airplanes typically fly 900-1100′ above sea level and keep to the right while traveling down the river. The accident is being reported by the New York Times to have occurred at approximately 1100′, a normal altitude for the airplane but seemingly higher than normal for a helicopter tour.]
I agree… I have flown this many times as well, and the usual situ is to fly above 700 for fixed-wings and below 700 for most helicopters. Additionally, there is plenty of chatter on 123.05 about where everyone is, you just have to pay attention. As a pilot, you’re doing more flying than sightseeing in this area, but that’s why you chose to learn to fly, right? If you want to be a tourist, switch to being a passenger.
I’ve started flying this route at 1500-2000, and both Newark and LaGuardia towers are generally very accommodating with access and flight following. I also noticed the 1500 foot altitude works very well for the Manhattan side as you get a much better view “into” the city.