Wow...these guys fly close to the mountains...so close I inadverantly found myself leaning away from the mountains!!

Our pilot, John, has been doing this for a very long time and thus you get up close and personal with the island. I have flown in helicopters before, but I was actually a bit nervous as we seemingly came soooo close!

Will Squyres is now part of Sunshine Helicopter tours, if that makes much of a difference.

Personally I thought we were a bit overcharged (things tacked on late, etc) for our flight, but the flight itself and the views were so wonderful and something I'll never forget that I have to stay it took a it of the sting out of the price.

A helicopter flight in Kauai is definitely a must!

We booked online direct with this company about a month ahead; they don't charge your credit card until you check in the day of your flight. You are shuttled from their office to nearby Lihue airport where most of the heli tour operators are located; there are at least six different companies here and WS has two aircraft which leave in succession. Our reservation was moved earlier in the day to 8:40 a.m. at their request due to a "weight distribution issue". You are given a safety briefing and strap on your life vest in the shuttle bus, then are escorted to a holding area. After some photography you are brought to the aircraft in pairs (the helicopter seats six paying passengers plus the pilot) then buckled in by ground crew. Our pilot (John) spoke to us through noise cancelling headsets in a soothing, slightly accented voice. Liftoff was smooth and graceful; you circle the island in a clockwise direction. There is no other way to see Kauai like this and I highly recommend it! The only problem we had was with our "personalized" DVD which features you boarding the aircraft, followed by stock footage of the flight interspersed with selected ground footage of points of interest. After arriving home we discovered our DVD was personalized for another party on the other aircraft (they must have received ours), and there was no audio. A call to Ali'i Video was made; they will burn a new copy and mail it to us. REMEMBER THE NAME OF YOUR PILOT in case this happens to you.

I just returned from my first visit to Kauai. My husband had been before and really wanted me to experience the helicopter trip. We booked with Island Helicopter and had trouble getting a flight - first trip scheduled was cancelled due to mechanical problems, second due to the weather.
The day we were leaving Kauai was a beautiful morning and I started calling around to find a flight. Will Squyres had one opening but I would have to get there immediately. We scrambled and they helpfully took my credit card and other info on the phone as we were driving there. Made a special effort to fit me in.
The pilot, NIck, was fantastic! He was very sensitive to three young children on the flight and made the experience gentle and fun. I loved it. He was extremely knowledgeable and obviously loved the island. The helicpoter had wonderful views and I was lucky to have a very clear day. I thought I'd be a bit scared but the pilot's demeanor and the beauty of the island made it very special and wonderful.
I highly recommend this service. A very professional company.

I flew on one of Will's helicopter tours in October, 2005.

I selected Will's business for two reasons: 1] he has a perfect safety record. 2] Will spent 2 tours flying medivac helicopters during the Viet nam war. Having been a part of that era, I realize what skill and courage is required to land anywhere under the worst conditions and successfully extract the wounded service personnel.

One cannot put a price on safety.

My flight was excellent. I had already seen the Wiamea canyon on a previous visit, but from the ground. From the air, it was a wonderful sight. The best part of the tour was when we flew over the Na Pali coast. The pilot flew out over the beatufil blue Pacific, and turned the craft to face the magnificient Na Pali. I was awestruck. One cannot imagine the pure beauty, and I could not help but think that surley this is the place where the earth and ocean meet the heavens.

The noise cancelling headphones were excellent and very comfortable. The passengers were shown a pre flight video of what to expect, and were given safety instructions that were very clear and concise.

When we arrived by van at the Lihue heli pad, we were given life jackets, and shown the proper way to wear them, and how to use them. Please take thewse instructions seriously.

You will get plenty of photo ops, so bring lots of film or video.

if you've nver flown in a helicopeter[I have flown several times], don't stress out. the experience can be compared to floating in a bubble.

For the experience of a life time, take this trip! Please don't travel all the way to Kauai [the most beautiful place i have ever visited] without taking Will's flight!

Sincerely
Chris L.

ChrisisOne2@aol.com