[Trashcan]

Digg - Grand Canyon Skywalk is a ripoff

Looks like $75 per head, just to wait in line and have your camera taken away.

[Howard]

I was all ready to pay the $75 until I found out they were going to take away my camera.

[VikingPhotography]

This attraction was one of the things I was looking forward to seeing when I next get out to Arizona... I guess I can write that off now since I could score a helicopter overflight of the canyon for not much more than than the $75pp fee, and get better and more varied photographs in doing so.

[Howard]

I agree, Viking, except, while we were in LV last time, there was news coverage about an increase in the number of helicopters going down while flying over the canyon. Improper maintenance. I don't know if they were all from one company or if it's a trend.

[VikingPhotography]

Howard;

I'd guess that there's a few 'copter operators out there whom ride their machines close to the safety margins for maintenance... after all, if your rig is being serviced then it's out of the loop from making money for you.

Of course you also have the options of pilot error, general mech/electrical failure and even the canyon itself to blame, given wind shifts that can occur from the canyon walls etc.

Still - it's not really any different from flying via a commercial airline carrier; you just have to hope that they've met their responsibilites in terms of passenger and crew safety and trust the experience of the pilot.