White Mountains Helicopter Lifts Off

Courtesy photo.

When she was younger, Stacey Berger waited in a two-hour line with her dad for her first helicopter ride at a local air show. That maiden voyage stuck with Berger, who became a hobbyist pilot and freelance flight instructor while negotiating construction contracts with subcontractors by day. Last summer, she took her passion a step further and launched White Mountains Helicopter in Warren, offering scenic helicopter tours and aerial photography services in the region.

“There’s a misconception that flying is only available to military and airline pilots, but it’s something anyone can do on a smaller scale,” says Berger. “I’m hoping to change that perception with my business.”

Berger and a couple of co-pilots launch from a private helipad in Warren to offer four tour options, including routes around town, along the Connecticut River and NH/Vermont border, over Plymouth State University (PSU) and up to Franconia Notch. Tours start at $90 per person depending on the flight distance, which federal regulations cap at a 25-nautical mile radius. Flights have a two-passenger minimum and maximum capacity of three.

Berger also offers custom tours as well as flights for independent photographers, occasionally hiring one to take photos for her own promotional use.

“It’s been exciting to extend what I love doing to other people,” says Berger. She’s aiming to build her business “slowly and manageably” and says she “can’t speak highly enough” about the assistance she’s received from the APEX Accelerator Program run by the Enterprise Center at PSU.

The program has helped Berger hone her marketing efforts and connected her with the local hospitality industry and Western White Mountains Chamber of Commerce in Lincoln. She’s hoping to expand her business by offering tours at hotels, inns and lodges in the area, as well as events like business functions and Old Home Days celebrations.

For more information, visit flywm.com.