Yk from a Chopper

Carsten got his ride on a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter this morning for a view of the city from 1200 feet above. It's a four-seater (including the pilot), but there were only three people, and Carsten was up front with the pilot. That's Ben Meinders with him, brother to the radio news producer at the CBC. Ben drove up from Winnipeg for a surprise visit.

It's great to get this perspective because, otherwise, you don't have a sense of how isolated Yellowknife is, or of how many lakes surround the city. And the view is amazing from a chopper because it's like being in a bubble--this one even had a glass panel on the floor.

The company, Great Slave Helicopters, owns about 80 choppers, which they use to fly crews out to camps, not for tourism.