[RESCHEDULED] Helicopter Ride! – 30s & 40s Going Out Group

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*** It’s a great day for a helicopter ride. See you there! ***

UPDATE #9: There are still 5 spots left, so you may claim a spot by arriving early with exact cash. Also, there are usually 4 no-shows for this event, so you just might be able to join us. Make sure to come early with exact cash. Tickets are $50 each at the event.

UPDATE #8: It’s completely optional, but please consider tipping the pilot (suggested $5 per person). It’s a lot of flying he’ll be doing for our group, and I’m sure he will welcome the show of appreciation. Also, don’t forget to account for traffic delays. Please arrive on time! Lastly, please clean up after yourselves, and throw away all trash in the trash can.

UPDATE #7: Weather.com is currently forecasting temperatures in the mid to upper 70s with a 95% chance of no rain (or from a glass half-empty perspective, a 5% chance of light rain [no lightning) for our location’s zip code. Per the “Rain Policy” section of the full event description, this event is a “go.” Please dress appropriately for the weather. See you there!

UPDATE #6: Despite the promising weather forecast, due to thunderstorms that came through on the original date of our event (Sun. Aug. 12th), this event has been rescheduled to Sun. Sept. 16th. The event on the rescheduled date is also open to new signups. Since those that signed up on our original date already consumed food and drinks, please note food and drinks will be available again for an additional nominal cost of $3 for those that attended on the original date (free for new signups). Payable with exact cash on the date of the event. I look forward to seeing you there!

UPDATE #5: There are still 3 spots left, so you may claim a spot by arriving early with exact cash. Also, there are usually 4 no-shows for this event, so you just might be able to join us. Make sure to come early with exact cash. Tickets are $50 each at the event.

UPDATE #4: It’s completely optional, but please consider tipping the pilot (suggested $5 per person). It’s a lot of flying he’ll be doing for our group, and I’m sure he will welcome the show of appreciation. Also, don’t forget to account for traffic delays. Please arrive on time! Lastly, please clean up after yourselves, and throw away all trash in the trash can.

UPDATE #3: Weather.com is currently forecasting temperatures in the upper 70s with an 85% chance of no rain (or from a glass half-empty perspective, a 15% chance of rain) for our location’s zip code. Per the “Rain Policy” section of the full event description, this event is a “go.” Please dress appropriately for the weather. See you there!

UPDATE #2: The early-bird price has ended and the ticket price is now $47. I look forward to seeing you there!

UPDATE #1: There are fewer than 10 early bird spots left and the price will increase from $40 to $47 when the early bird spots are gone or by Sun. Aug. 5th (whichever comes first). To be fair to those who want to join in and are ready to make payment, I’ll be removing those that haven’t paid by Sun. July 29th. Make payment to lock in the early bird price and your spot (see the “Payment” section of the event posting). If you’ve already made payment, the PayPal email you received is confirmation that we’ve received your payment (no need to message me asking for ticket confirmation). This UPDATE has been emailed to the yes RSVPs. I hope to see you there!

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Let’s go for a helicopter ride!

I’ve reserved a Robinson R44 helicopter for us, and made special arrangements with an FAA Certified Flight Instructor, who has 1200+ pilot hours under his belt, to take us up for a 5 – 7 minute ride that:

Flies 750 feet above ground level, directly over the NSA (even their employees are surprised it’s permitted) and the Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge
The Casino at Arundel Mills, downtown Baltimore, and other landmarks will also be within eyeshot!
It’s not just the view we’ll come for, it’s the experience of hovering, taking off & landing, making banking turns, and the photo ops that we’ll get to enjoy
It’s a thrill ride, an experience, and although 5 – 7 minutes sounds short, I climbed out using words like “amazing” and “wow” when I first did it!
We’ll each get a $20 discount towards the purchase of a longer tour

(Waiting our turn in the hangar)

We are privileged to have Seth Clute as our pilot. An Annapolis resident, Seth has a year of service flying Blackhawk helicopters with the Army National Guard in Kosovo. He is a Distinguished Honor Graduate from the Army Aviation School of Excellence. In addition to flying tours and photography flights, he is a Certified Flight Instructor and has 1200+ pilot hours. Seth is one of the rare ‘rotor-heads’ who went straight through his flight training in helicopters, and in addition to Blackhawks, flies the Robinson 22 and Robinson 44. (The helicopter company reserves the right to substitute the pilot with another well qualified pilot if need be.)

(Our ride!)

We’ll go up 3 at a time, so it’ll take us a couple of hours to get through everyone. While we’re waiting and getting excited, we’ll hang out and mingle in the hangar and their picnic table area (which sits directly on the tarmac next to the planes) and watch planes come and go. We’ll take off and land about 50 yards away! FOOD AND DRINKS WILL BE PROVIDED. We’ll have turkey, roast beef, and ham sandwich platter and wraps to eat (veggie sandwich can be substituted upon request, please message me through my Meetup profile… see “Special Needs” section of the event posting for full details)… and beer, wine, water, soda, diet soda to drink!

(View from the cockpit)

We’ve got an early bird special for this event of $40! The first 40 paid sign-ups, or those who pay by Sun. Aug. 5th (whichever comes first) get the early bird price! After that it will go up to $47. We have a LIMITED number of spots so make sure to RSVP early AND make payment to secure your spot and get the early bird price! To make payment, please follow the steps in the “Payment” section of the event posting.

So come join us, tell your friends, and let’s experience the thrill of a helicopter ride!

J.T.

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CARPOOLING

If you need a ride, I suggest posting in the comment box below. Likewise, if you can offer a ride, please also post in the comment box with number of people you can accommodate.

WEIGHT LIMIT

To help with the balancing of the aircraft, an extra ticket will need to be purchased for people weighing 245 lbs or greater, and the maximum weight for an individual is 300 lbs.

HELICOPTER SAFETY

The helicopter company is required to follow rigorous FAA regulations and inspections (which include everything from equipment maintenance requirements to pilot drug testing), as well as manufacturer recommendations for maintenance. Every 100 hours, the helicopter gets maintained and ‘signed-off’ by an FAA and manufacturer approved helicopter mechanic, and it’s no small inspection. With pilot pre-flight inspections before flights, the helicopters get quite a bit of maintenance between those 100 hours, and the helicopter company has local mechanics who work on anything they feel is needed or that the pilot feels is necessary.

PAYMENT

PayPal account not required. Please follow the steps below (if payment by smartphone doesn’t work, please try your computer). Your RSVP is not guaranteed without payment, and your email receipt is confirmation that we have received your payment (please check your spam folder and email settings). You can also log into your PayPal or credit card account online to verify payment. Payment at the door will be permitted only should the event not sell out. Our events do sell out, so I recommend you secure your spot online early. If you make payment for less than the current ticketed price displayed without prior correspondence, your RSVP will be removed.

Select “Yes” under “Are you going?” (or select “Change” RSVP to add more guests if you’ve already purchased ticket(s))
Enter the number of guests coming and click “Finish RSVP”
Click “Pay Now” (or “Pay Online Now”) at the top of the event posting near the ticket price per person
Verify correct dollar amount for number of people you’re paying for. Modify if appropriate, click “Pay Now” or “Check Out” button
If you don’t have a PayPal account, click “Pay with a Debit or Credit Card”
If you have a PayPal account, simply log in, and pay as you normally would via PayPal

EVENT CHECK-IN

Please be on time. If you are late (arrive after the start time of 4pm), you risk the possibility of not being able to join us for some or all of the event. I will have a master list of all those that have paid. It’s not required, but I recommend printing out your payment confirmation email as a backup (if you are not on the list, you will be required to show it). When you check-in, your RSVP will be listed under the name of the PayPal or credit card account used to make payment. Typically, this is your LEGAL name as shown on your driver’s license. Sometimes, it may be under a company name if you set up your PayPal or credit card account that way. If you are not sure what it is, please log into your PayPal account (it will say “Welcome, [your account name]” at the top) or your credit card account to find out. If you are RSVP’d under someone else’s payment, please use that name for check-in.

REFUND POLICY

Since this event is paid for in advance, all sales are final unless the event is canceled or rescheduled. If the event is canceled or rescheduled, an UPDATE will be posted at the top of the event posting, and the UPDATE will also be sent as an email to the yes RSVPs. A full refund will be submitted no later than Wednesday of the following week. For rescheduled events, you must let me know within 3 calendar days of the UPDATE email if you are unable to make the new date… no refunds will be given after that time. Thanks for understanding. =)

TICKET RESELL / TRANSFER

Similar to a concert ticket or a football game ticket, you are free to sell / transfer your ticket to someone else if you are unable to attend. I suggest posting in the comment box for the event, that you have a ticket for sale / transfer. Work out any payment between yourselves, and have the seller only send me (the organizer) a message through my Meetup profile (do not comment in the comment box of the event posting) letting me know the first AND last name, and Meetup profile URL (if a member) of the person taking your spot (please also copy them on the message). To obtain their Meetup profile URL, go to their profile from the mobile website or your computer (not the app), and copy & paste the URL from your browser. I host a lot of events and groups, so please let me know the event name and group name the ticket transfer is for. You must let me know by the RSVP close time of 12:30pm on the day of the event.

SPECIAL NEEDS

If you have any special needs (e.g. wheelchair, dietary for events with food included, etc.), let me know in advance (a week or more before the event) and I will do my best to accommodate (message me through my Meetup profile, do NOT comment on the event posting). If you let me know the day of the event, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to help. Thank you for understanding and I appreciate the courtesy of a heads up!

RAIN POLICY

If it’s light rain, we’re still on. If there’s lightning, we’ll need to reschedule or cancel. Hopefully, if there is precipitation, it will just be a quick passing “summer” rain. If it looks like there might be possible rain, I’ll post an update by 1pm the day of the event. If we cancel or reschedule, and you are unable to make the new date, you will get a full refund (please see the “Refund Policy” section of the event posting for full details).

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