With all the technological advancement available today, Helicopters are becoming the closest thing to a flying car. With a wide range of choppers to choose from for both commercial and military use.
How far can a helicopter fly depend on a couple of factors such as the type, the fuel tank size, and how much extra weight is being carried. But in average, A helicopter with no reserve can fly for 955 km straight at 5,000 ft (1524 meters) without having to land for refuel.
How Fast Can A Helicopter Travel
There are so many different types of helicopters in the world, With each one made for a specific mission making it quite unfair for larger aircrafts, Plus wouldn’t tell you very much that is useful.
That being said, The average speed of a civilian helicopter ranges between 150 to 175 mph. The average military helicopter is around 175 to 200 mph.
The military choppers tend to be faster than civilian ones since they tend to have a very large budget to work on making helicopters fly faster. But when you look at the high end choppers, You can see why this rule doesn’t apply to all cases.
As an exemple, The world’s fastest military helicopter is the CH-47F Chinook, With a top speed of 170 knots (196 mph/315 km per hour). On the other hand, The fastest civilian helicopter that exists today is the H155 by Airbus Helicopters has a maximum speed of 174 knots (201 mph/324 km per hour).
There are many reasons for that, The main one being the huge difference in size and weight. While the h155 weight about 5771 lbs (2,618 kg) when empty and has a length of 46 ft 11 inches (14.3 m), The ch-47f chinook weights up to 24,578 lb (11,148 kg) and has a length of 98 ft 10 inches (30.1 m).
Finally, The world fastest chopper of today is the Eurocopter X3, An experimental high-speed compound helicopter designed by “Airbus Helicopters”. It can go up to 293 mph/472 km per hour (255 knots).
How High Can A Helicopter Hover
There are different answers to this question.
In general, Most helicopter tend to hover about 5,000 ft high which gives them plenty room to move around without having to worry about crashing into something, But most of them can easily fly higher than that.
The maximum altitude which can be reached typically depends more on different factors such as the type of the helicopter, how much weight is there, and the ability of the engine to breathe the thinner air than the rotor’s ability to provide lift.
As an exemple, A high performance chopper can reach up to 10,000 easily. However, if the helicopter is hovering close to high ground (ground effects), its maximum hover altitude can rise up to at 14,000 ft which is high enough that the people onboard require an oxygen supply.
Currently, The world record for the highest altitude reached with a helicopter was achieved By Fred North with the AS 350 B2 “Squirrel”, Reaching 42,500 ft (12954 meters) above sea-level. Click Here To Read The Details.
3 Things you didn't know about helicopters
You don't have to be famous/rich
Thanks to the many travel agencies world wide, You can actually get into a tour and even rent a helicopter without having to be neither rich or famous. With most agencies charging less than 300$, You can actually fly across your hometown and experience traveling in a whole new way.
Traveling with a helicopter is affordable
Just like most people, You probably think traveling with a chopper will cost you more than your rent, But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Thanks to all the technological advancement we have today, A big apple helicopter tour in new york will cost you only $170 and you will enjoy a beautiful aerial view of New York City.
Considered the safest way to travel
Not really a shocker, But in the last 20 years car crashes has jumped through the roof which is mainly caused by using the cell phone while driving. An average number of 6 million car accidents in the .U.S. every year.
Helicopters on the other hand have a record of 7 crashes for every 100,000 hours of flight time. This means you are a 10,000 more likely to crash if you decide to travel via a car.
In other words, Using a helicopter as a transportation vehicles is the safest way to travel after commercial airplanes.
FAQ
How far can a helicopter fly in 15 minutes
A single rotor chopper can travel roughly about 40 to 50 miles every 15 mins.
Longest helicopter flight
The world record for the longest chopper flight is 2,213 miles (3,561 kilometers). Read more here
Highest flying helicopter in the world
The world record for highest flying helicopter reached 42,500 ft, By Fred North with the AS 350 B2 “Squirrel”.
How much does a helicopter cost to run
The average cost to run a helicopter ranges between $200 up to $750 which is caused by different reasons such as insurance, maintenance, estimated fuel and oil, gear , pump, operating cost…etc.
How much does it cost to rent a helicopter
Cost will change depending on what you are looking for, A small chopper will cost you about $200 to $250 for people who are already qualified and can fly it by themselves. If you don’t know anything about flying and want to hire a pilot too, The cost will jump up a notch. Click Here For More Details About Renting A Helicopter.
Average helicopter speed
The average speed of a standard chopper can range from 150 mph all the way up to 200 mph (240 km to 320 km per hour).
Conclusion
In the end, Each and every chopper has a very specific list of features and details that makes them unique. The key is finding one that suits your needs and fits in with the lifestyle you have planned.
If you enjoyed our helicopter range and speed article, Make sure to leave a comment down below telling us about your experiences flying with it.
