West 30th Street Heliport, also known as BLADE West Heliport is locatetd on Manhattan Island, New York City. The heliport opened with two landing pads in 1956 and in December, New York Airways began scheduled passenger flights. These days, Blade Helicopters uses the pad mainly for shuttle flights to Newark and JFK Airport, but there are other operators as well.

Written by Maximilian Ruehmer-Junghardt. Follow him on Instagram! Last Update: December 2022 

Rating
Movements
Photo Locations
Weather
Spotting Information
Ladder	Not needed.
Car/Public Transport	Difficult to find a free parking lot so walking or public transport is better. Closest metro station is Hudson Yards.
Drinks/Food	There are two restaurants at the Pier. Hudson Yards is less than 10 minutes away by walking and it has plenty of food options
Hotels	There are a few in a 30 minute walking range or less than 15 minute car ride
Season	Not particularly but there is a bit of haze on the hot summer days from location 2.
Security	You will be fine as long as you don’t take pictures of those entering or getting in the helicopters
Runway Usage
General Info	There are three main helicopter approaches, the most uncommon one is when they come South or West and are almost over the walkway for a bit, most of the time all non-Blade helicopters turn in at the Hudson River and then go East towards the heliport, Blade Helicopters from JFK or EWR do the same except they land at the heliports behind the main building, making them more difficult to spot. When they come from the North, they always turn east in the middle of the Hudson River. For takeoffs, nearly all of them go vertical for a few meters and then head toward there respective destiantion. The other uncommon takeoff, only for non-BLADE helicopters is that they roll to the edge of the heliport, face southeast and have a shallow climb.

	Spot #1 – Hudson River Park
WHERE	At the northern end of the Hudson River Park, across from 29th Street. To get there, walk along the Hudson River Park and once you are facing north and looking at the Southern-most windsock you are in the right spot. Parking is available in the nearby streets.
WHAT	Take-offs and landings of Non-BLADE helicopters. The Helicopters will be going vertically over a fence, a wind sock may be in your picture depending on the angle, but no ladder is needed
TIME	Noon-Dusk
MISC.	There are benches at the park to sit down and relax.
FOCAL LENGTH	100 mm

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	Spot #2 – Pier 66
WHERE	Pier 66 at Hudson River Park is the best location to get all movements. To get to the spot you walk along the Hudson River Park and Follow signs for Pier 66. There are many spots to choose from but the two best ones are at the end of the pier and close to the middle of it. There is a small railing and no ladder is needed. Parking is available in the nearby streets.
WHAT	Everything is visible from this spot.
TIME	Noon-Dusk
MISC.	There may be some sailboats in your way. There are benches at the park to sit down and relax.
FOCAL LENGTH	400mm – 500mm

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