Good grief, it certainly sounds as though you've never even set foot here but expect locals to provide you with all sorts of details on local statutes. Suggest you put in some personal effort, come here and see exactly where we are and what we are before asking questions about forest fires and wildlife counts ...:-X

I'm sorry if I offended you. I definitely do not expect you or anyone on this board to know everything. I only offered up some preliminary questions I have had. I figured some people on this board may run local business and have a good idea of where to get information. I am putting in personal effort into this venture and just trying to gain some preliminary information before jetting off to a destination. I understand forest fires may sound ridiculous but I was just trying to give an example of odd jobs a company could do.

Again my apologies if this came off as invasive or contrived,

Jim

You can learn a lot about living and working here if you go to the top of this page and click on "VIMovingCenter" which is specifically designed for those contemplating a move.

Here's a place you might start. http://www.viport.com/ .

And you could always poll the cruise lines to see if they would 'sell' your package as one of their excursions. There are also business lawyers on island - invaluable. Take a couple of weeks and head down to check things out and meet some of the people you could potentially be dealing with. It's well worth it - from my experience anyway.

I was a 5 year vacationer, now full time resident and ill do my best to answer.

Visitors:

Would you be more interested in a lower cost helicopter tour in a smaller helicopter that could only carry 3 passengers or would you pay a higher premium to fly in a larger helicopter that could carry up to 6 passengers? Something like a Raven II R44 is something i think would work for low - cost 3 passenger tours and transportation

Would you be more interested in short duration island tours (5-15 minutes) which would give you a quick over view of STT and STJ or more interested in a longer duration tour with a stop at a "private" landing location that would get you away from the mass crowds from the cruise ships with maybe a 30 minute to 1 hour time alone with a catered breakfast, lunch, dinner, or maybe just a picnic like snack. One hour specials would be nice, 5-15 minute tours arent that enjoyable, should be at least 20 minutes.

Would you be willing to pay more money to be ferried to a destination of your choice by helicopter rather than boat? This could be a dramatic time saver which could be very important given the short schedules of the cruise ships. A ferry is around $60 from St. Thomas to Tortola, so I would consider paying a bit more for heli service. But the pilot should consider taking 1 or 2 passengers, sometimes people cant always get a 3rd

What would you like to get out of a helicopter tour that you paid good money for? safe flight

What would be most important in your decision making process for choosing a helicopter tour? Price, helicopter seating, landing locations, destination choices, ease of getting to helicopter landing area, ease of booking, other? Price, locations, and specials.

Local population:

Do you have a good contact for business development on the VI? http://www.sbdcvi.org/

Do you know a good contact for the managers of the national parks? n/a

Do you know if the FAA oversees your aviation because you are a US territory or is this done through local government because you are an unincorporated territory? n/a try asking a current pilot association?

Knowing the area much better then me would you consider a helicopter tour a good value and solid choice for cruise ship and other tourists? locals dont use cruise ships for inter island travel, a ferry is cheapest and reliable. I would say 80% or more of the vacationers who come to the USVI/BVI cant afford renting a heli for travel that replaces a ferry. Unless your prices are the same as a ferry.

Do you know of any noise abatement or zoning laws that would prevent setting up a location closer to the cruise ship docks or heavily trafficked beaches/attractions? Flying would be only during busy times of the day from this location and I would prefer to actually take off and land over the water onto a dock. This would greatly reduce noise impact. The airport (TIST) is located within 30 seconds flying time of all the cruise ship docks, and a water landing area is right next to the cruise docks. Taxi's from the east end of St. Thomas to the airport could run about $20.00 per person one way, so if you are based out of the airport, then its not too bad. You might want to consider locating to Beef Island (EIS) there are higher chances people would travel via heli since the clientele who travel to high end villas could afford the service.

Are there any other uses the people of the VI could use a helicopter? Do citizens or long time visitors wish to learn to fly? Do you have forest fires (doubtful) or construction projects that would require a helicopter crane? Are there remote areas that could be better accessed by helicopters to lessen the impact on the islands? Are there wildlife counts or other natural park observations that need to be done? No fires here, the real estate business is big here, lots of villa rentals, that could use aerial photography.

I know these questions run the gambit of everything. If anyone can answer any of these questions I would truly appreciate your input. I not only want to run a successful business but I want to be able to give people what they desire and a wonderful one of a kind experience.
I am a full time photographer here, and use aerial services frequently, there is a business, but prices have to be low enough for the general public to consider using it.

A 1 person flight from Puerto Rico to St. Thomas would run around $800..not affordable for average joe. Ferry is $150, and airplane is $240. Hope all this helps. Good Luck

Thank you,

Jim

Go to the Relocation Forum - there is a frequent helicopter pilot that posts over there.

Pia