Helicopter Tours in Hawaii

Ed209

That is so kool, sounds like you had a blast. I'm glad that you had such a great time there. I have noticed that we have a lot of musicians in here. It's such a shame that some of us had to have up playing because of tinnitus. Not much that we can do about it. I miss recording more then playing out.


Take care


Louie

Quietatnight

 

Good to hear it wasn't an issue. I've done the "doors off" helicopter tour of Kauai, unbelievably beautiful. lived on Maui for 7years and Oahu for one. I believe being a dive master and underwater videographer, exacerbated my tinnitus, btw. Not sure if science can back that up, but equalizing every day and pressure at depth made for many sleepless nights listening to my "cicadas"

 

Hey @Ed209,

I just wanted to ask... as I may have to go in a helicopter for work, what type of ear plugs did you have as a back up just in case you needed them (musician ones, foam plugs, or the custom solid plugs)?

I'm amazed that the helicopter was only 85 decibels, I thought it would be louder than that!

Great to hear that all you needed was the intercom headphones. It's amazing how technology can block out sound like that and allow you to have a conversation within the helicopter.

 

Yea, it was a total non-issue in the end. They were louder on the outside than on the inside, so I wore foam earplugs whilst waiting. The inside measurement was circa 87 dBA but the noise cancelling headset made it very quiet and comfortable. Helicopters are nothing like MRI’s, for example.

Obviously, all helicopters will vary in noise but I wouldn’t worry about it. Take some foam earplugs with you and insert them deeply, or you could use some earmuffs if you wanted. You won’t look out of place with them if you did.

I went on two helicopter flights and they were both amazing experiences.

 

Some more pics from the chopper:




This is the waterfall where they land in Jurassic Park.




Except for this one . This little guy was waiting for us after we got off the chopper

 

I just saw this older thread @Ed209!! My husband and I used to basically live on the Big Island off and on for a few years. It is a beautiful world there.

What a great experience for you and your now wife!!

I love the last photo above and remember the geikos always being a part of the dining experience as they climbed the walls around us.

We drove around the entire Island a few times. It was quite the experience seeing the volcanic activity first hand.

@kmohoruk the louder issue was boarding the helicopter and I found that using my Bose headset worked just fine.

 

Yea same for me. Like I said above I found the noise outside to be a lot louder than when you’re actually in it. Once you’re inside with the noise cancelling headset, it’s really relaxed.

That’s awesome. I really loved our time there and found every island to be completely unique and different. We did everything imaginable: hiked some of the most beautiful spots, went to the peaks of Haleakala and Mauna Kea, parasailed, went to luaus, trekked in total darkness to see lava crawling across the floor (a sight to behold), flew two helicopters over Big Island and Kauai, and so much more. Some of the luaus got a bit loud but my foam earplugs were perfect.

In a 3 week period, I went on 6 flights (two 12 hour ones, two 6 hour ones, and the others were like 40-minute hops). My tinnitus didn’t budge and I had the most amazing time. If I let my tinnitus dictate to me and let it rule my life, I wouldn’t have any of those memories now, and ultimately, when we look back on our lives it’s our memories that we treasure most. You can’t make new ones when your life is coming to an end.

 

Thank you very much for your reply @Ed209 ! Like you said, it will depend on the type of helicopter. But I have a pair of custom molded ear plugs (they are the custom solid type) that I have never used that much. So if I were to go in a helicopter, I would probably just wear those and they should do the trick.

Technology is amazing eh? That's very neat that noise canceling headphones in the chopper were that effective.

Your photos are absolutely breath taking. I especially like the one of the little gecko at the end!

Thank you very much @Starthrower for confirmation regarding your experience with being in a helicopter. Hahah now....all I need to make sure is that I won't lose my cookies if I go up in one haha.

Wonderful words Ed! I can't think of anything more true.