Grand Canyon Flying

I took these on a sightseeing flight from Las Vegas in 1995. It was a package tour in which we were picked up at our hotel and taken to a general aviation airport (not the one next to the Strip). The route took us over Hoover Dam and into the western section of the Grand Canyon. At times we were flying below the rim. We landed at the Grand Canyon Airport (GCN) and were taken by bus to lunch and then to the visitors center. We had maybe two hours there and then flew back to Las Vegas. Total time roundtrip was about eight hours.

I don't know how many flights like this are still done, due to noise restrictions in the Canyon (although the part we flew in is nowhere near where most tourists go to visit). If they still do these tours, it's a great way to see the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam, since the Grand Canyon visitors area is a long drive from Las Vegas (or most any large city), and it's quite a thrill to fly inside a canyon, especially as a passenger.

I'm not sure what type of airplane we were in, since I hadn't started taking lessons yet and wasn't paying attention to things like that. I remember it was a twin that held 15-20 people.