Jack Harter Helicopters

We did the doors off ride. Breathtaking views, smooth ride, and very knowledgeable pilot. Loved it!

Such a fantastic way to see the island. Ben was our pilot and not only flew us safely (NO doors) but told us SO much about the island. Such an amazing day! Thanks for everything!
Darla McCutcheon
San Clemente, CA

There’s nothing better for photographers than flying in an aircraft with the doors stripped away. I had flown once before in a plane without doors and my shots were much better than if i had to fight the glare from the windows.
Not knowing how quickly these air tours fill up, I booked at least two months before I arrived on Kauai. I chose Jack Harter because the company, which began air tours on Kauai in the early 1960s, is the only company on the island that offers the doors-​off option. It also gets high recommendations from Andrew Doughty, the guidebook author and pilot who lives on Kauai.
I got called the night before the planned trip saying it might not go because the four-​passenger helicopter had not filled up. Luckily, a couple from Minnesota signed up the next morning and we were cleared to take off.
A company representative had recommended flying in the afternoon, saying it was generally the best time to photograph. Our tour took off just after 3 p.m. and lasted an hour.
Our pilot, Ryan, was skilled and knowledgeable. I felt safe the entire time and appreciated both his pilot skills and his understanding of the history and geography of Kauai. He did a good job of turning the copter to make sure everyone had good views of the sights.
One of the men passengers admitted after the flight that he felt queesy a couple of times as Ryan made some tight turns. I, on the otherhand, thought he handled those maneuvers smoothly and I wasn’t bothered at all. Our driver said passengers in the open air helicopters rarely get sick and throw up. He said it’s more likely to happen to those in the closed-​door models.
Doughty in his book said Kauai is the only island that he recommends for an air tour. So much of the island is inaccessible by car that it’s worth the money to see what you couldn’t otherwise get to unless you flew, hiked long distances or took a boat ride.
The temperature was about 80 degrees during our tour and I didn’t feel cold dressed in a black polo shirt and shorts. And even though it rained during a portion of the trip, I didn’t feel any rain come into the back of the helicopter. Black is recommended to cut any glare that might exist. I also shot with a polarizer on my lens to yield better color and to eliminate glare.

If you want to see Kaua’i on a helicopter you need to do it doors off, and nobody does that better than Jack Harter.
Our pilot Myles was great. We were asked to write in the guest book after the flight but I thought it would be better to write it here for all to see. There is no better way to see the Na Pali coast and Myles will take you right up to where the action is. That includes flying up to two mountain goats way up on the mountains where we could make eye contact!
Although they offer a longer and more expensive tour, we chose the shorter 60 – 65 mins tour and frankly I think that is long enough. The highlight of the tour is the Na Pali coast, and that part of the tour did not feel rushed. I felt we spent a lot of time there and had the time to see everything we wanted to see. Myles would make sure to hover and circle every sight so that all passengers get to see them up close regardless of which side of the helicopter you’re on.

Doors off all the way! This was an awesome way to spend our first morning in Kauai and get to know the island– in an exhilarating fashion. I had never been on a helicopter before– my hubs goes on them all the time for work– and I am a horribly anxious flyer so I was interested to see how this excursion was. Turns out– I like flying in a helicopter way more than a plane! I was sat between the pilot and an older woman, so I felt really comfortable. My hubs and another gentleman were behind us– even though I was in the middle and technically the only person without a «window» view I still thought the experience was awesome. Doors off is definitely the way to go as the clarity of the scenery is so much stronger. Kauai is BEAUTIFUL from the air and the entire remaining week we were there I was so happy to know the ins and outs of the canyons, the mountains, and just how many waterfalls are on the island. The night before the island got a lot of rain and the waterfalls were in full throttle mode! Seeing the Na Pali Coast from the air and actually entering into the massive divots between the mountains was unreal. I can’t believe how CLOSE to everything we got– you really feel like you’re going to run right into a mountain but then gracefully glide away no big deal. Very cool.
We took the 9:45am tour and were back to our car around noon. Our tour started a little late due to our pilot needing to take some individuals out to the mountains to work on power lines, so we go into the helicopter around 10:30am (but still got our full 60 minutes). I wouldn’t go any earlier than that tour as things seem to be a little cloud heavy in the mornings on Kauai (or were the week we were there at least) — I asked the pilot, Brad, the best times to go and he recommended any time between 10am-​3pm as the best clarity. Brad was a very informative pilot and with his 26 years of experience I felt very safe and secure.
It’s really pricey, but the memories are worth the extra money for the doors off experience.

Amazing helicopter tour ever. Our pilot, Harry was awesome. We’ll be telling all our friends about them.

On our honeymoon in Kauai, my wife and I definitely wanted to do a doors off helicopter tour. We booked through the concierge at the St Regis. The day we were originally scheduled for was terrible weather, the only downside with the helicopter companies is that they make you show up because the pilots won’t cancel until about 45 minutes before your tour is scheduled. So we drove an hour for nothing as it was promptly cancelled when we arrived.
We rescheduled for the next day, woke up and the weather was bad again. We showed up again 45 minutes before and were told that the weather was good enough to go. I was extremely hesitant because the entire island was blanketed with clouds. We were shuttled to the airport and the group scheduled an hour before us got off the helicopter and said it was awesome and they saw a ton of good stuff. Very admirably, the pilots then told us that the weather had shifted rapidly and we would not be able to get good views of pretty much anything. At this point I was extremely bummed because we had now wasted about four hours driving, waiting, etc, and it looked like we weren’t going to get to go up at all.
At that point the pilots Miles and Spencer offered us a great deal: pay $ 100 each instead of the $ 289 for 20 minutes in the air to see the Waialeale crater and it’s 250+ waterfalls. Miles insisted that because there was so much rainfall that the ride we would get would be what about 1 in 100 tours got to see because of how many waterfalls were coming off the mountain. I knew I wanted to get in the air for at least a little bit so we took them up on their offer.
Miles was our pilot and he was absolutely fantastic. It was a roller coaster ride as we flew in through the clouds and the rain and into the Waialeale crater. Even though it was rainy and cloudy, the views were absolutely breathtaking. I have absolutely no regrets paying $ 100 for only 20 minutes because of how awesome the ride was and how good Miles was as our guide. Thank you Jack Harter for accomdating us, hopefully on our next trip the weather will be clear!
TIPS:
— Wear pants and a jacket because with the doors off it get’s COLD and potentially wet
— If you bring a camera make sure you can attach it to your BODY because it is extremely windy in the helicopter and it will blow whatever is in your hand out very easily
— Request Miles as your pilot
Turned what could have been a no fly situation into an experience my wife and I will never forget. Thanks!

If you want to spend money on excursions on Kauai, there are plenty of businesses that will gladly take your money and I’m sure you’ll have a great time. But the «doors off» helicopter ride is one of the most amazing, memorable, exhilarating experiences I’ve ever had. Everything about it was perfect.
Making the reservation was easy/​painless. You show up 30 minutes before the flight to check in/​do a safety briefing. Everyone who works there is nice and professional. They send you an email with info before you arrive, but the most important thing is to dress warm and wear a windbreaker/​your favorite Patagonia jacket. They paired us with another couple and a pilot, so it is a small group. I was a little nervous that my boyfriend would throw up, but he was fine and they had «aloha bags» on the helicopters just in case. It just didn’t even really dawn on me that riding in a helicopter, 120 mph, over the Na Pali coast or Waimea Canyon, sans DOORS, would be scary, until I was strapped in the helicopter. By then, it was really too late to worry about it. Our pilot, Ben, was really solid and made us feel really safe.
When the helicopter took off, and we started flying over the island, I was so happy and excited I couldn’t even believe it. There are so many sites to see on the island, and seeing them from a helicopter with unobstructed views, is indescribable. Some of the highlights: seeing the waterfall from the first scene in Jurassic park, seeing literally dozens of other waterfalls (some as high as 3,000 ft), flying over the Na Pali coast and seeing tunnels beach, Hanalei Bay, and all these crazy empty beaches, and finishing things off by going into north shore valleys and seeing the rainiest place on earth, within mile of Waimea canyon.
If you have the means– or even if you don’t, sell a kidney or something, do this.

Amazing! Prior to the actual trip, my stomach was in knots. However this all changed…, this was the best thing I have ever done on a Hawaiian trip! By far, the scariest thing throughout this experience was the weigh in during check in! LoL! We opted for the no-​doors helicopter. Best decision ever. Our copter had the pilot, plus 2 in the front and 2 in the back. Hubby had to sit in the front by the pilot and I sat in the right back (seating distributed evenly by weight) plus another couple, another chicks to my left. Wouldn’t think twice about no doors if I did it again. Unrestricted views and fresh air (people who did doors said it was stuff and nauseating, restricted views). Simply awesome experience. The views and route was amazing. The view of the Na Pali Coast was breathtaking and hidden beaches/​trails, simply amazing. No better way to see Waimea canyon by flying through it! We even flew through several rainbows and close to waterfalls. The instructor and our pilot Ben was nothing but professional, and great guide (he narrated and answered questions during flight, we even checked out a beautiful beach he pointed out during flight, Polihale… Paradise!). We each wore headsets where we were able to ask questions and communicate with each other. This is by far the best investment I’ve made during a trip, and have no regrets! Worth every penny. I would do it again a heartbeat. Definitely the only way to see all of beautiful Kauai, that would otherwise be inaccessible by foot or car. Tip; bring a jacket, wear long pants, and cameras and phone with a strap. It’ll get so windy! I let go of my phone with the strong force, but luckily I had a neck strap!

SPECTACULAR!
Our group of nine took flights in one open door helicopter with four passengers and one larger six passenger helicopter with air conditioned comfort. We all loved the experience it exceeded all expectations. In the days leading up to our flight we made the mistake of reading about the accident record of helicopters on Kauai. The number of accidents over the last fifteen years was a bit concerning. All fears subsided when we arrived at Jack Harter. The staff are very friendly and professional and most importantly the pilots are experienced and talented. We had Ben and Spencer as pilots. Both were very entertaining and had tremendous knowledge of Kauai. Highlights of the flight included the Napali coast, canyon, cone of the volcano, and tall beautiful waterfalls.

Pricey but 100% worth it. We did the tour with the doors off and it was nothing short of fantastic! I would recommend this tour to any and all of my friends and family members. The tour enables you to see the island from an interesting perspective, to learn cool facts about Kauai’s history, and to see hidden gems like waterfalls, rock formations, and the Na Pali Coast. While a splurge to do both, I also recommend seeing the Na Pali Coast by boat as well. Thank you for the amazing tour!

My wife and I flew in one of Jack Harter’s Hughes 500 open-​door helicopters with Ben as our pilot. It was a great experience from working with Forrest to complete our reservation, through the flight, and the photo in front of the helicopter after we landed back in Lihue. Ben gave both sides the same fantastic views by stopping and rotating, or flying in a slow circle. He’s a great guy who clearly loves what he does. And who wouldn’t love to fly around one of the most beautiful places in the world, sharing it with people from around the globe?
My advice for people wanting to do the open-​door tour is to remember that it is easily 20°F cooler in the air and the wind drops that even further. You can expect it to be 55°F and having it feel like it’s 50°F (or less) so dress appropriately. That means:
* Jeans. I saw people wearing shorts and they did not look happy when we landed.
* Real shoes (no flats or sandals with ankle straps ladies) are a MUST. Remember to move your toes periodically to keep the blood moving.
* If you’ve brought some, tall socks. They’ll help keep your ankles warm.
* Don’t wear loose fleece unless you have some kind of wind-​breaker/​hard-​shell/​soft-​shell to go over it. The wind will pass through the loose fleece like it’s not there and you’ll lose all the warmth.
* Cotton/​poly hoodies/​sweatshirts and other jackets will keep you decently warm, but keep an eye on your hood since it will be blowing around. Again, people went without a jacket looked quite unhappy upon return.
* Sunglasses will help keep the wind out of your eyes, along with any rain… because it will rain. You’re on Kaua’i, remember?
* And the most important thing: GLOVES. This was not mentioned by any of the companies that run open-​door tours, but you will want them. I wish I’d had my GoreTex gloves.

We chose this place after reading the recommendation in the guidebook Kauai Revealed. We opted for a Hughes helicopter, which seats four, so everyone on the tour gets a window seat.
Ben was our pilot/​guide, and it was apparent he has a love for the island and is very knowledgeable about its history. We went into valleys, saw waterfalls and beaches that are impossible to see other than by air. The Na Pali coast is amazing, and so is the Waimea canyon, and what a wonderful way to see it all, especially when your time on the island can be limited (we were there for 9 days.)
The Hughes aircrafts have no doors, so make sure you bundle up. I had two sweatshirts on and long pants, and wish I had a jacket. The boyfriend had a North Face windbreaker on, and he was chilly. So a little pre planning goes a long way on this one. If you want to do the Hughes, bring a jacket. But it’s so worth it.
Pricing is about $ 300 per person, which may seem steep, but it’s so amazing, it’s pretty worth it. Tour is about 55 minutes.
Highly recommend this company and their tour!

I took the Jack Harter helicopter tour with a group of 6 which was the perfect size group for one helicopter. It was our first helicopter ride and we got a lot of recommendations for JH (Jack Harter) from different people. So after a lot of research and Unilocaling we decided that JH was the way we wanted to go.
We reserved our seats for the 11am tour with the doors. I sat in the front seat far right and from what I can tell none of the other passengers really had any obstructed views and if they did, I didn’t hear anything about it. From the time you step into the office until you step out you are well taken care of. A lot of «island» hospitality and humor and I loved every second of it. Our pilot was awesome and knowledgeable about all of our questions. I also loved how the music and dialogue was cued up with all the beautiful scenery!
It was well worth the money and I’m happy I chose JH. Mahalo!’

I wasn’t sure about being on a helicopter ride. In fact, I was so nervous that I almost threw up before the ride took off in the air. However, I was determined to have a good time and overcome my own fear, boy was I glad that I stuck with it until it was over.
First off, a very nice man picking us up from the hotel directly to their home office that is no more than 10 minutes away. When we arrived, all of us already have assigned pilots as well as assigned seats. He also gave us a heads up on what to do and not to do. He made his request very clear in a very funny/​acceptable way. As soon as we arrived, we took off no more than 15 minutes (or less) upon our arrival. The pilot was super friendly that he introduced himself over the headset. He took us around the Island explaining what we were looking at, showing us all the hiking trails and dolphin in the ocean. We also got to see many many waterfalls that were over 300 feet high. The doors are off so that we could feel the warm breeze as well as allowing us to see our surrounding clearly.
I used to be very suspicious of tour guide of any kind until now. I cannot be any happier to have done this with the company. Thanks again for a wonderful time and we will definitely spread the word back home.

My friend and I booked a flight with Jack Harter last week while we were visiting Kauai… best decision we’ve ever made!!! We are both photographers so we DEFINITELY flew with the doors off. I am from Miami and I flown with NYonair around 3 times, this beats that experience by a landslide. Our pilot, Myles, was incredible and he really made sure that we thoroughly enjoyed our flight and got the most out of our experience. One hour is the perfect amount of time, I saw rivers, the Na’Pali coast (AMAZING), dove into a canyon, saw goats fighting on a cliff, I can’t describe how much fun it was– I was on a natural high for the rest of the day.
Also, can I just mention how much I loved my guide, Jeffrey??? One of the sweetest souls I’ve ever been lucky enough to meet, I’ll never forget him.
Book w/​Jack Harter! And make sure to ask for doors off
Check my heli photos and other Kauai photos on my IG: on_​_​_​amission

We flew on July 29 Doors Off Helicopter and it was absolutely amazing!!! Probably one of the top 5 things I’ve ever done anywhere!!! Our pilot Harry was fun, knowledgeable and a great guide. We had 3 of us but we chartered the flight (ie paid for the 4^th seat) and this was a great move. We had a little more space and were guaranteed the front right seat for our daughter who is studying photography.
I was in the «dreaded» left rear — it wasn’t dreadful at all. Harry turned the chopper around each time so I could get a great view. What impressed me most was how the pilot went above and beyond giving our daughter advice on grabbing the best pictures. He told her how to shoot through his door and tilted the chopper so she could get great views without the blades. He would line up and tell her «now!» We’ve only previewed the shots on her good camera but they look amazing. Even the shots on my iPhone are incredible.
I bought the iPhone case with strap ($ 25) in the office and it was well worth it so we could immediately text pictures and post to Facebook!!! If you’re already spending over $ 1000 on a ride, an extra $ 25 is nothing.
This is not a cheap tour but worth every penny. The waterfalls and cliffs and canyons are breathtaking!!!
Highly recommend!!!

I was very impressed with the tour with Jack Harter Helicopters. Matt, who drove us to the helicopters, was friendly, and our pilot, Elijah, was great as well. Going without the doors is definitely the way to go, and don’t be afraid! You’re strapped in good.
I don’t want to repeat what has already been said, so I’ll list some notes.
— They sell straps for your phone for $ 4 in the office before you drive to the airport. I wish I had bought one. I thought the wind wouldn’t be too bad (I’ve been in blackhawks, etc before), but it’s a small helicopter without doors. I would have waved aloha to my phone if I tried to take a picture without the strap.
— Bring a sweatshirt if you have room in your bag! I had a long sleeve shirt on and it was cold but manageable.
— Try to not sit in the back left seat behind the pilot. Elijah did a great job of swinging around so I could see as well, but I still feel as if you get a better experience in the other seats.
Have fun!

The «doors off» tour was absolutely incredible! We researched all of the different tours (and companies) and decided to take the Jack Harter Tour because (1) it’s safety record (2) the length of tour (3) the «doors off» feature and (4) the great Unilocal reviews. This certainly was not the least expensive tour but it was by far the best. Our pilot, Harry, was very experienced (27 years), gave a wonderful narrative during the tour and actually took us to the top of Mt Wai’ale’ale where we saw the rain gauge for the wettest spot on earth. He said that in over 3000 flights he’s only been able to take approx 70 tours up there. Conditions were perfect and it was amazing. We were sure glad we had our jackets and long pants as it was cold up there.
My husband and I were seated in the back (which was great for taking pictures)… it’s only a 5 passenger so only 2 sit in the back. We were worried about not being able to see the sites but Harry always moved the aircraft so everyone had a great view. Needless to say I took over 200 pictures. We’ve been coming to Kauai for 40 years and hadn’t taken a helicopter tour in 25 years… so glad we chose this tour as we were not disappointed.

My husband and I had a disappointing experience with Jack Harter Helicopters last month, and were even more frustrated with the manager Casey’s unwillingness to acknowledge, apologize for, or compensate us in anyway for our negative experience.
We chose Jack Harter because of the excellent Unilocal reviews, and expected to have a great experience — which I did, but my husband did not.
I was seated in the front on the far right, while my husband was seated in the back left, behind the pilot. The views I got were great. However, my husband missed out on the views of the Na Pali Coast, as his view was blocked by the passenger seated next to him, and the pilot did not spin around to ensure my husband got an unobstructed view. As the pilot was pretty good about spinning around earlier in the flight to make sure my husband got good views of everything else (e.g. all the waterfalls), my husband assumed we’d be coming back the way we came, and that he’d get his views of the Na Pali Coast later, and didn’t speak up. Needless to say, he was incredibly disappointed at the end of the flight.
When we expressed our disappointment to the office staff after the flight, they told us to call the manager, Casey, the following week, as there was nothing the staff could do.
My experience speaking with the manager actually made the whole situation worse. He’s clearly not customer service oriented. He refused to believe that my husband missed out on views of the Na Pali Coast. Casey insisted that the problem was our «expectations,» and refused to acknowledge that our pilot Spencer may have made a mistake and forgotten to turn around. (We have a lack of photos of the Na Pali coast as proof.) The fact that I didn’t even get an apology is incredibly upsetting.
More than anything, the fact that Casey refused to acknowledge that his pilot may have made an error, and failed to express any sympathy or desire to make things right, is very disappointing.
Our advice — if you’re seated in the back left seat, be wary, and explicitly ask about the itinerary and what you will see from your side of the helicopter. If you hear you are going to miss out on something (like the Na Pali Coast, for example!) ask for a refund then and there and don’t waste your time going up.
The nail in the coffin: my husband had the camera during our flight, so we don’t even have any pictures of the Na Pali Coast given his terrible view. What a waste of $ 540.

Five stars to our pilot Harry and the company.
We took the door off tour, the view and experience are amazing. Jack Harter makes you feel very safe too.
Harry our pilot was very experienced and shared with us his love of flying over Kauai.