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Anyone remember Island helicopters? NY Helicopter? They flew Dauphins and later S-58's for a while out of JRE and JRB. I found an old brochure and scanned it.. enjoy
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2445/...065311df_b.jpg
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nice find darrel! that S-58 is lovely, but the dauphin is just butt ugly!
Thanks for posting, I always used to go to the heliport by Carle Place as a kid. In an unrelated note, an S-58 ( non turbine ) flew over my house yesterday at low level. Loud suckers they are.
>[quote="DHG750R"]Anyone remember Island helicopters? NY Helicopter?> .
I sure do. Flew with them many times on sightseeing trips. I took my brother up for his birthday and we were in the Dauphin (nice
ride). When my wife and I left Manhattan to JFK to start our honeymoon we flew in a NYH S-58 from East 34st. On a few flights
I was lucky enough to sit in the front seat of the 206L with the pilot. THAT was way cool. And no I didnt knock over any kids or old ladies to get that seat. :lol: Just great positioning by the waiting room door that led to the tarmac.
The Carle Place (they used a Garden City address) HQ of Island/NYH was very cool, an old bowling alley just south of Old Country Road and east of the Meadowbrook. They also had a larger hangar across the way to house the S-58s. Actually a strange location for a heliport FBO but I liked it. :D
After they had to vacate Carle Place/GC just before going out of business(late 90s) they moved to FRG and hangared at what is now the D&K hangar.
Lots of alumni out there around the country and I bet they have some great war stories to tell. One of them actually still hangars at
FRG, Al Cerullo.
I remember the old Dauphin well, (perhaps the only example of the type that was around locally?), but the thing I remember most about Island Helicopter's fleet in the 1970s is they had a couple of S-62s !!! going between Garden City and JRB. At first they had a thick red scheme through the center of the fuselage, and in later years light blue (and even yellow) - if it was still Island that owned them at that point.
Never have found an image of them unfortunately - perhaps one will show up on Helispot someday; I haven't checked in awhile.
Nice find with the maps... When I was first spotting Helicopters, I remember it was either HelAir or DecAir - something like that, that were doing the tourist flights - in Bell 47s. :)
Tom
Did some "research" and found out Island indeed have two S-62s and used them as sort of a scheduled service between Garden City and Manhattan when the LIRR went on strike. They kept them until the late 70s and one went to
Canada and another to California (Briles Rotor & Wing).
Hel-Aire Helicopters operated out of West 30st and did sightseeing in the 60s with a few Hughes 300s and a Brantly 305 that eventually went into the river. A fatal crash with a Bell 47J in 1972 ended the company.
Decair was a flight school that operated out of the old Ramapo Valley Airport in Nyack, NY. They had a few 47s and
possibly a 206 but no sightseeing.
Isnt the internet cool? :D
Here's a few shots of Island/NYH Dauphins.........
http://www.helispot.com/photo/0003333
http://www.helispot.com/photo/0003329
http://www.helispot.com/photo/0003331