News Helicopters List and Discussion

[Brian 6]

Good link to bookmark and use at the News Desk, or at home to follow the Los Angeles News Helicopters.
Los Angeles News Helicopter Fleet Tracking: (This link will only show the LA news Helicopters when it's flying) (Great for Pursuits, and Large events)
 

Active Tracking:

https://tar1090.adsbexchange.com/?icaoFilter=a97a67,ab4ea1,a40442,a2f430,acd27a,a2f3d4,a1c5f0,a2f3b4,a8db1c,a05388,a9eeb8,a9e65d

 

24 Hours Tracks & Live:

https://tar1090.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a97a67,ab4ea1,a40442,a2f430,acd27a,a2f3d4,a1c5f0,a2f3b4,a8db1c,a05388,a9eeb8,a9e65d

 

N71HD - a97a67 -  KABC - 
N828AP - ab4ea1 - KABC - 
N358TV - a40442 - KNBC - 
N29LW - a2f430 -  KNBC - 
N925TV - acd27a - KTLA - 
N29HD - a2f3d4 -  KCBS/KCAL/KTTV - 
N211FN - a1bdc3 - KCBS/KCAL/KTTV -  (Hasn't flown in September,2019)
N213PD - a1c5f0 - KMAX - 
N29FX - a2f3b4 - Helinet Backup
N67TV - a8db1c - Helinet Backup
N12YJ - a05388 - Welk Aviation Backup

KNX1070 Cessna - N739YZ - a9eeb8
KNX1070 Cessna - N737PM - a9e65d

 

Map Help with how to filter different aircraft. 
You can add other aircraft icao hex Mode-S code on the end of the URL.

https://www.adsbexchange.com/map-help/
Lookup the icao hex Mode-S code on the FAA site.
https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/nnum_inquiry.aspx

_________________________________

Another cool link for the Los Angeles area.
Advisory Circular LA - Bot that tweets about aircraft flying in circles over Los Angeles.

https://twitter.com/SkyCirclesLA

N71HD - Circles
https://twitter.com/hashtag/N71HD?src=hashtag_click&f=live

N29HD - Circles
https://twitter.com/hashtag/N29HD?src=hashtag_click&f=live

Edited June 1, 2020 by Brian

[Brian 6]

Thanks to the great list on the first page.

 

TV News Media Helicopters Fleet Tracking on ADSBexchange Aircraft Tracking Site
Tracking them on the uncensored flight tracking network adsbexchange.com

(FlightAware and FlightRadar24 blocks some media helicopters or info)

 

TV News Media Helicopters Custom Fleet Tracking Links... (123 aircraft on the list)

Old Tracks & Live: https://tar1090.adsbexchange.com/?icao=C0074C,C032F7,406D34,402FBD,4011CD,7C5BC5,7C6085,A002D4,A0047C,A031A7,A046E7,A04F5F,A02B97,A05926,A06153,A066F8,A076DE,A051E5,A05292,A05380,A05388,A08BCA,A07A11,A0B349,A0DE7F,A109B5,A18032,A19167,A1BB3F,A1BEF6,A1C5F0,A1D07F,A1B766,A22EE9,A25546,A2A536,A2F3B4,A2F3D4,A2F430,A18D79,A18EC2,A373C4,A3BCB2,A40442,A40A28,A45922,A31C15,A31CCF,A4AD54,A4D994,A4FAE1,A55B36,A5977F,A4A830,A638F5,A63954,A6AF72,A70B43,A6FEAD,A74A02,A76B63,A636B3,A636FB,A7CCB3,A7DE3C,A7ECA2,A7ED1F,A81461,A815A1,A8B8A3,A8B9AD,A8D99C,A8DB1C,A928DA,A7C2B9,A7C3EF,A7C44D,A7C465,A7C4BC,A95F5C,A96214,A97162,A978EA,A9836A,A988EF,A97A67,AA0219,AA0323,AA078E,AA2050,AA196D,AA67F1,A95147,A95151,A9520B,AAE751,AB27C7,AB4EA1,AB2EFF,AB71BA,AB57C3,AC3D4A,AADE8D,AADF5A,AC6D10,ACD27A,ACBCFD,ACF181,ACE39F,ACE455,AD47ED,AD340B,ADA908,ADD817,ADD207,AC6AA2,AC6B8B,AC6BDC,AC6C37,AC6C45,AC6CA9,A9EEB8,A9E65D,A636B0

 

Active Tracking: https://tar1090.adsbexchange.com/?icaoFilter=C0074C,C032F7,406D34,402FBD,4011CD,7C5BC5,7C6085,A002D4,A0047C,A031A7,A046E7,A04F5F,A02B97,A05926,A06153,A066F8,A076DE,A051E5,A05292,A05380,A05388,A08BCA,A07A11,A0B349,A0DE7F,A109B5,A18032,A19167,A1BB3F,A1BEF6,A1C5F0,A1D07F,A1B766,A22EE9,A25546,A2A536,A2F3B4,A2F3D4,A2F430,A18D79,A18EC2,A373C4,A3BCB2,A40442,A40A28,A45922,A31C15,A31CCF,A4AD54,A4D994,A4FAE1,A55B36,A5977F,A4A830,A638F5,A63954,A6AF72,A70B43,A6FEAD,A74A02,A76B63,A636B3,A636FB,A7CCB3,A7DE3C,A7ECA2,A7ED1F,A81461,A815A1,A8B8A3,A8B9AD,A8D99C,A8DB1C,A928DA,A7C2B9,A7C3EF,A7C44D,A7C465,A7C4BC,A95F5C,A96214,A97162,A978EA,A9836A,A988EF,A97A67,AA0219,AA0323,AA078E,AA2050,AA196D,AA67F1,A95147,A95151,A9520B,AAE751,AB27C7,AB4EA1,AB2EFF,AB71BA,AB57C3,AC3D4A,AADE8D,AADF5A,AC6D10,ACD27A,ACBCFD,ACF181,ACE39F,ACE455,AD47ED,AD340B,ADA908,ADD817,ADD207,AC6AA2,AC6B8B,AC6BDC,AC6C37,AC6C45,AC6CA9,A9EEB8,A9E65D,A636B0

 

-------

Deleted these due to gone or not flying anymore.

N211FN - Gone from LA
N555TV - Deregistered
N90L - Cancelled
N92AQ - Not Assigned/Reserved

Edited June 1, 2020 by Brian

[Brian 6]

Add this to the news helicopter list.

 

N5QV - A636B0 - Atlanta WSB-TV News Chopper 2

[N1GAW 2]

Who would imagine that at 11pm on a Sunday night there would be 15 news helos active from Chicago to LA.

 

 

Edited June 1, 2020 by N1GAW

[rkolsen 1684]

21 hours ago, Brian said:

Thanks to the great list on the first page.

 

TV News Media Helicopters Fleet Tracking on ADSBexchange Aircraft Tracking Site
Tracking them on the uncensored flight tracking network adsbexchange.com

(FlightAware and FlightRadar24 blocks some media helicopters or info)

 

TV News Media Helicopters Custom Fleet Tracking Links... (123 aircraft on the list)

Old Tracks & Live: https://tar1090.adsbexchange.com/?icao=C0074C,C032F7,406D34,402FBD,4011CD,7C5BC5,7C6085,A002D4,A0047C,A031A7,A046E7,A04F5F,A02B97,A05926,A06153,A066F8,A076DE,A051E5,A05292,A05380,A05388,A08BCA,A07A11,A0B349,A0DE7F,A109B5,A18032,A19167,A1BB3F,A1BEF6,A1C5F0,A1D07F,A1B766,A22EE9,A25546,A2A536,A2F3B4,A2F3D4,A2F430,A18D79,A18EC2,A373C4,A3BCB2,A40442,A40A28,A45922,A31C15,A31CCF,A4AD54,A4D994,A4FAE1,A55B36,A5977F,A4A830,A638F5,A63954,A6AF72,A70B43,A6FEAD,A74A02,A76B63,A636B3,A636FB,A7CCB3,A7DE3C,A7ECA2,A7ED1F,A81461,A815A1,A8B8A3,A8B9AD,A8D99C,A8DB1C,A928DA,A7C2B9,A7C3EF,A7C44D,A7C465,A7C4BC,A95F5C,A96214,A97162,A978EA,A9836A,A988EF,A97A67,AA0219,AA0323,AA078E,AA2050,AA196D,AA67F1,A95147,A95151,A9520B,AAE751,AB27C7,AB4EA1,AB2EFF,AB71BA,AB57C3,AC3D4A,AADE8D,AADF5A,AC6D10,ACD27A,ACBCFD,ACF181,ACE39F,ACE455,AD47ED,AD340B,ADA908,ADD817,ADD207,AC6AA2,AC6B8B,AC6BDC,AC6C37,AC6C45,AC6CA9,A9EEB8,A9E65D,A636B0

 

Active Tracking: https://tar1090.adsbexchange.com/?icaoFilter=C0074C,C032F7,406D34,402FBD,4011CD,7C5BC5,7C6085,A002D4,A0047C,A031A7,A046E7,A04F5F,A02B97,A05926,A06153,A066F8,A076DE,A051E5,A05292,A05380,A05388,A08BCA,A07A11,A0B349,A0DE7F,A109B5,A18032,A19167,A1BB3F,A1BEF6,A1C5F0,A1D07F,A1B766,A22EE9,A25546,A2A536,A2F3B4,A2F3D4,A2F430,A18D79,A18EC2,A373C4,A3BCB2,A40442,A40A28,A45922,A31C15,A31CCF,A4AD54,A4D994,A4FAE1,A55B36,A5977F,A4A830,A638F5,A63954,A6AF72,A70B43,A6FEAD,A74A02,A76B63,A636B3,A636FB,A7CCB3,A7DE3C,A7ECA2,A7ED1F,A81461,A815A1,A8B8A3,A8B9AD,A8D99C,A8DB1C,A928DA,A7C2B9,A7C3EF,A7C44D,A7C465,A7C4BC,A95F5C,A96214,A97162,A978EA,A9836A,A988EF,A97A67,AA0219,AA0323,AA078E,AA2050,AA196D,AA67F1,A95147,A95151,A9520B,AAE751,AB27C7,AB4EA1,AB2EFF,AB71BA,AB57C3,AC3D4A,AADE8D,AADF5A,AC6D10,ACD27A,ACBCFD,ACF181,ACE39F,ACE455,AD47ED,AD340B,ADA908,ADD817,ADD207,AC6AA2,AC6B8B,AC6BDC,AC6C37,AC6C45,AC6CA9,A9EEB8,A9E65D,A636B0

 

-------

Deleted these due to gone or not flying anymore.

N211FN - Gone from LA
N555TV - Deregistered
N90L - Cancelled
N92AQ - Not Assigned/Reserved

 

Wow thank you, I’ll take a look at the deleted helicopters. 

14 hours ago, Brian said:

Add this to the news helicopter list.

 

N5QV - A636B0 - Atlanta WSB-TV News Chopper 2

Is this a new helicopter or second for WSB? I’ve seen N2QU recently. 

[JCB4TV 347]

KFOR Chopper 4 crew spots, rescues missing swimmer in an Oklahoma river

 

Nexstar should keep this bird flying.

[Gavin 118]

4 hours ago, JCB4TV said:

KFOR Chopper 4 crew spots, rescues missing swimmer in an Oklahoma river

 

Nexstar should keep this bird flying.

 

I hope they get a chopper for WNCN in Raleigh. Right our helicopter is a drone. Branded "SkyEye 17"it looks believable but not I feel like Nexstsar might be shredding on news helicopters on big market stations that had helicopters post merger.

[N1GAW 2]

It appears N661HD has left Baltimore.  Seen in-flight tonight headed southwest over Kentucky.  No idea where they're heading, however the owner is Sky Helicopters Inc, in Dallas TX and they appear to be on the right path for a return to home base.

 

 

[JAGMedia 0]

Updated LA info for Helinet:

 

Asked Stu Mundel about N211FN: "211 is basically a parts helicopter... the basic airframe is still Helinet property but definitely not flying anytime soon if ever"

He also confirmed 29FX is still backup helicopter for 29HD but not a dedicated helicopter; any Helinet news contract can use it.

[N1GAW 2]

Great video from N82F during fire aboard USS Bonhomme Richard in San Diego port, they were the only news helo on scene and live streamed.

[GodfreyGR 652]

So is this a subtle way of KSTP grounding "Chopper 5"? Last in the market with their own aircraft since WCCO/KMSP/KARE pool theirs...

[kmetz 5]

I always thought that WPLG and WSVN shared one. Not surprised that WFTS leads the coverage for Tampa Bay. WFTS and WFLA always talk big about their helicopters. WPTV is also 

Video (promo) 

Newscast launch segment below. 

 

 

 

 

WPTV was very proud to present their HD helicopter. 

 

 

Edited February 14, 2021 by kmetz
Added WPTV

[lanman 58]

WPXI has gotten rid of Chopper 11, and apparently they're now sharing with KDKA, according to this instagram post and comment thread:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ0-Hi0Bbxo/

[newsteam13 394]

16 minutes ago, lanman said:

WPXI has gotten rid of Chopper 11, and apparently they're now sharing with KDKA, according to this instagram post and comment thread:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ0-Hi0Bbxo/

 

Chopper sharing with some or all stations in one market...that is nothing new. Where I'm at (Denver), one news helicopter is used by ALL Denver stations. KWGN calls itself SKY 2, CBS 4 still calls itself Copter 4, KUSA still calls itself Sky 9...all despite all stations using ONE, and ONLY ONE, blue-colored news helicopter. What a depressing story of our times. WPXI NBC 11 in Pittsburgh is not alone in the grief, according to the comments on the instagram post. Oh, how the competitive edge, uniqueness and glory days of TV news is gone forever.
 

 

Edited February 14, 2021 by newsteam13

[C Block 1566]

2 hours ago, newsteam13 said:

 

Chopper sharing with some or all stations in one market...that is nothing new. Where I'm at (Denver), one news helicopter is used by ALL Denver stations. KWGN calls itself SKY 2, CBS 4 still calls itself Copter 4, KUSA still calls itself Sky 9...all despite all stations using ONE, and ONLY ONE, blue-colored news helicopter. What a depressing story of our times. WPXI NBC 11 in Pittsburgh is not alone in the grief, according to the comments on the instagram post. Oh, how the competitive edge, uniqueness and glory days of TV news is gone forever.

 

I'm not usually one to advocate for cost cutting, but....helicopters are a huge expense, and it makes a lot of sense in many ways to pool that sort of resource together. Chopper sharing has been going on now in Denver for well more than a decade. Can anyone point to a story that would have been better served with more than one chopper there?

 

Also, is KDVR still part of the pool or what? I know they were, then they dropped out. I thought they were back in?

[newsteam13 394]

9 hours ago, C Block said:

 

I'm not usually one to advocate for cost cutting, but....helicopters are a huge expense, and it makes a lot of sense in many ways to pool that sort of resource together. Chopper sharing has been going on now in Denver for well more than a decade. Can anyone point to a story that would have been better served with more than one chopper there?

 

Also, is KDVR still part of the pool or what? I know they were, then they dropped out. I thought they were back in?

 

FOX31 KDVR is still part of the pool, along with the others (ABC7 KMGH, CBS4 KCNC, CW2 KWGN and NBC9 KUSA). 

Oh, and BTW, how much DOES it cost for a TV station to have its own helicopter? I'm talking purchase of the chopper, operating costs and maintenance (fuel, repairs, etc). I think a Bell JetRanger costs $1 million to buy (click here), and the Eurocopter AS350 costs around $2.4 million (click here)

And within a day, how many hours does it take for a chopper to be in the air? For traffic reports, breaking news, whatever?

Edited February 14, 2021 by newsteam13

[DENDude 217]

KDVR & KWGN may still be in the pool, but they certainly haven't used "Sky FOX" or "Sky2" in a few weeks.  The last time i saw video from the helicopter on FOX was Mid January.   

[RCA TK47 277]

Just some observations...

 

Looks like KSDK & KMOV are done with N6TY & their chopper agreement:

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/columns/joe-holleman/ksdk-kmov-shut-down-shared-helicopter/article_ee39336a-5bee-5642-a348-13fe27a0ba44.html

 

KCRA Sacramento has been using N75TV for a little bit. 

 

 

[caliwxdude 254]

On 2/14/2021 at 8:53 AM, newsteam13 said:

Oh, and BTW, how much DOES it cost for a TV station to have its own helicopter? I'm talking purchase of the chopper, operating costs and maintenance (fuel, repairs, etc). I think a Bell JetRanger costs $1 million to buy (click here), and the Eurocopter AS350 costs around $2.4 million (click here)

 

99% of stations don't own the choppers, they lease them (or have other sharing agreements) from helicopter operators that provide the maintenance, pilots and photographers. Helicopters Inc. is one of the main players in the US ENG market—in the SF Bay Area for example, they own/operate all helicopters. These days only KTVU's N62TV and KGO's N7QY carry station branding but the feeds are shared among all affiliates in the market. They also have a couple generic birds based at the Hayward airport—for example, N42SL (KTRK's former chopper before Helicopters Inc. upgraded them to a next-gen Bell 505/JetRanger X) flies around occasionally and shares video among everyone in the market. AFAIK, these contracts are usually billed hourly.

 

Here's another example: SKY Helicopters provides aerial coverage for Dallas/Ft. Worth stations with a couple Robinson R44 Newscopters based out of their own facility in Garland, TX. They list aerial videography at $1750/hour (all in), so that should give you a baseline price for the R44, which is among the cheapest helicopters to operate. I'm sure the station groups have negotiated something cheaper.

 

The only stations I know of that actually own helicopters outright are Griffin's N9TV at KWTV in Oklahoma City and N196TV at KOTV in Tulsa. Griffin built a heliport/hangar for N196TV at KOTV's new(ish) facilities in downtown Tulsa, but it seems like the chopper is based at Jones-Riverside Airport in South Tulsa these days.

Edited March 5, 2021 by caliwxdude

[appleachian 131]

WRAL owns its Sky 5, N553HD.  Based at Raleigh-Durham Airport with a helipad on the roof of the station.  

Edited March 5, 2021 by appleachian

[Gavin 118]

4 minutes ago, appleachian said:

WRAL owns its Sky 5, N553HD.  Based at Raleigh-Durham Airport with a helipad on the roof of the station.  

Same thing crosstown rival the ABC Owned Station in Raleigh also owns it helicopter or Disney/ABC does.

[appleachian 131]

10 hours ago, Gavin said:

Same thing crosstown rival the ABC Owned Station in Raleigh also owns it helicopter or Disney/ABC does.

WTVD’s helicopter is owned by a contractor, Helicopters Inc. 

[AudiGuy 0]

NBC10/Telemundo/NECN Boston seems to be using N61HL now, an AS350BA, owned by Tiny Bubbles/Angel City Air

[brad618 0]

The joint Houston chopper is actually dispatched out by one station in the group that rotates on a monthly basis between them, not just KRIV.  All member stations are in contact via a cellular push-to-talk group.  The station in control for the month then talks to the chopper over 2-way radio.

[MetroCity 248]

It is true that most TV helicopters are leased. Often, they are bundled with traffic reporting services, provided by one of the major traffic providers. The pilots and the helicopter reporters are generally officially employed by the traffic service, and not the station. They simply act as contractors. This keeps their head count off the station books, and delegates all payroll and benefit handling to the traffic company. 
 

When you tally up all the things included in the helicopter contract (helicopter, pilot, camera, reporters, insurance, maintenance, traffic service, etc.) the cost is easily well over one million dollars a year. On top of that, helicopters generally have a use variant, similar to a mileage agreement on a car lease. Stations get a set number of hours per month (use it or lose it). Anything over that comes at an additional hourly rate, that can be between $700-$1000 an hour. And no. You can’t carry over unused hours. It can take just one extended breaking news event to send the helicopter expense wildly and enormously over budget.

 

It usually falls to the assignment desk to monitor monthly usage of the helicopter. If the assignment editor sees the monthly hour total reaching its ceiling, he or she usually will get the news director’s approval before crossing the line into extra hourly charges. In every newsroom I’ve worked in, it became common for the last few days of the month to have “no fly” orders.