Ten minutes to enjoy the splendour of the over 400 year-old Bhagyanagar may sound just not enough. But the sheer experience of flying a few 100 metres over the twin cities on a chopper is surely worth it - a joy ride for sure.
Among the structures that one gets an aerial view are the Clock Tower in Secunderabad, the majestic statue of Lord Buddha, the Hussainsagar, Charminar, Mecca Masjid, Salarjung Museum - to name a few, not to forget the massive expanse of the concrete jungle that the twin cities have turned out to be.
Thanks to a joint initiative by Thumby Aviation and Indwell Aviation, Sunday saw a repeat of the helicopter ride - the earlier rides were sometime in January, according to Director-Business Development of the former company, Govind Nair.
“We did eight sorties on Sunday. Every time we organise such rides, we need to get the required permissions from the authorities - the Director-General of Civil Aviation, the Director-General of Police and the district administration, to name a few. That is some job but we have to ensure compliance,” Mr. Nair said.
He added that currently, the company used a Bell 412 chopper that can comfortably take 12 people on board, apart from the pilot and co-pilot. He said the initiative of giving people an aerial view of historic Hyderabad was kick-started by the Telangana State’s Department of Tourism. As for future plans and more rides, Mr. Nair said it would depend on how well it is received by people. “I can assure you that at ₹3,500 a ride, the 10-minute ride would certainly last longer in the minds of people,” he said, summing up.
