Transportation

When You Step off the Plane

We will meet you upon arrival at LAX and drive you directly to your hotel or chosen living accommodation. Once you're settled in, we will bring you to Los Angeles Helicopters and introduce you to the staff, students, and facilities at Los Angeles Helicopters. Your flight instructor will outline your personal training course and issue the necessary training materials.

You will then most likely be off with other students who visit the nightspots at the many beach resorts. There is always something going on, from grad parties to barbecues, the students never run out of things to do.

Location and Training

The Los Angeles Helicopters office is located to the North of the main passenger terminal building at Long Beach Airport. Long Beach Airport has three designated training company helipads. It is a tower controlled airport whose air traffic controllers are very accustomed to working with student pilots. Receiving your helicopter training here will develop your radio communication skills and instill confidence, which will help you deal with any air traffic control situation in the world.

If you are arriving at Los Angeles International (LAX) and prefer to get your car there, it is best that you arrange your airline tickets and car rental together for the best rates. Los Angeles Helicopters is more than happy to provide detailed driving directions for you to reach your lodging destination, and will gladly meet you at your hotel / house to welcome you.

If you prefer that we pick you up at LAX directly, we will do so and drive you directly to your selected quarters in Long Beach, and help you collect a vehicle at our airport after you have had a chance to settle in. If you prefer (and are traveling light) we can pick you up in one of our helicopters on the LAX rooftop helipad, and start you right away on your first flight lesson as we commute back to Long Beach. Inquire directly for luggage restrictions and costs.

As you will quickly become aware, traveling the greater Los Angeles basin will be painful to do without a car. The bus and public transportation systems are not as convenient as most major cities. So if you have hopes of visiting Malibu, Disneyland, Hollywood or any other common tourist spot, do yourself a big service and rent a comfortable vehicle when you need it!

For those on a low budget objective, we can refer you to a local car rental company that rents older, less expensive cars. Maybe you’ve wanted to cruise around in style in a big Cadillac! Just remember the size of the car can blow your budget as some are gas guzzlers! (Distances are much greater between attractions here than you may think.) Those cars typically rent out at a weekly rate of $125 US.

If you wish to further economize, we can also help with locating used bicycles to help you commute back and forth between our school, ride to the local beaches or simply for cruising around for general exercise.