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What a Helicopter Can Do

Completing Missions Other Aircraft Can’t Perform

The Unique Capabilities of Vertical Flight Aircraft

Compared with their fixed-wing cousins, helicopters have unique abilities:

  • Helicopters don’t need a runway to take off and land—they can do either almost anywhere, without any infrastructure.
  • Helicopters need a considerably smaller landing zone than airplanes require.
  • Helicopters can fly fast, slow, very slow, sideways, and even backward, unlike airplanes, which need to maintain a minimum forward airspeed to stay aloft.
  • These highly maneuverable aircraft can also maintain a fixed position while airborne, or hover. Imagine an airplane ever being able to do that!

How We Serve: About Helicopter Missions

Helicopters enable their aircrews to reach places others can’t go and complete missions others can’t handle. The vertical aviation industry accomplishes more than 40 distinct missions in service to communities around the world. From this page, you can:

WATCH a short video, 44 Missions: What A Helicopter Can Do

VIEW the Helicopter Missions Gallery, featuring photos and descriptions of each mission

Common Helicopter Missions

  1. Aerial Demonstration
  2. Agriculture Application
  3. Agriculture Management
  4. Air Ambulance
  5. Avalanche Control
  6. Cargo Transport
  7. Construction & Heavy Lift
  8. Corporate & Executive Transport
  9. Disaster Relief & Recovery
  10. Environmental Protection & Restoration
  11. External-Load Operations
  12. Extraterrestrial Exploration
  13. Fishery Support
  14. Flight Training
  15. Geomapping & Surveying
  1. Harbor Pilot Transfer
  2. Heli-Skiing
  3. Infrastructure Surveillance, Monitoring & Inspection
  4. Law Enforcement & Public Safety
  5. Livestock Management
  6. Mosquito Control
  7. Natural Resources Management
  8. News-Gathering
  9. Photography
  10. Offshore Energy Industry Transport & Support
  11. On-Demand Transport
  12. Organ & Blood Transport
  13. Petroleum & Mining Support
  14. Pollution Detection & Monitoring
  15. Private Owner/Personal Use
  1. Remote-Area Access, Transport& Supply
  2. Search & Rescue
  3. Security Monitoring & Surveillance
  4. Scheduled Transport
  5. Sightseeing & Tours
  6. Stunt Flying & Media Production Support
  7. Timber Harvesting
  8. Traffic Surveillance
  9. Utility & Power Grid Construction
  10. Utility & Power Grid Maintenance
  11. Vegetation Management
  12. VIP Transport
  13. Wildfire Prevention, Control & Response
  14. Wildlife Management

Learn More About Vertical Aviation

Explore the rest of the VAI website to learn more about vertical aviation. Visit our Education and Career Pathways section if you’re interested in pursuing vertical aviation as a career. Sign up for our daily e-newsletter and POWER UP magazine to get the latest vertical aviation news delivered to you. Join VAI to stay in the know about the industry!