Falls Council Oks new flight path for Rainbow Air

Yahoo

07-06-2025

Niagara Falls City Council members voted Wednesday night to approve a new flight plan for Rainbow Air, as the longtime Falls tour operator prepares to open its new facilities just off of Buffalo Avenue.
Rainbow was seeking to modify its current operational flight path as it is set to begin operations at its new $15 million tourism center at 56 Acheson Drive opening on June 23.
The new route was endorsed by the union representing air traffic controllers at the Falls airport as the quietest and safest flight path possible.
'We have reviewed the flight path of Rainbow Air. We endorse it,' said Daniel Leonard, the president of the local chapter of the air traffic controllers union. 'It is the safest path and the least disruptive to our new giant balloon flight (near the falls).'
Leonard said new helicopters that will be operated by Rainbow Air are also the most 'eco-friendly' in operation currently.
'The flight path also provides, in case of emergency, the best survivability,' Leonard said. 'It gives (the helicopter pilots) options.'
One of those pilots, Mark Chamberlain, told the council that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-approved flight plan was adopted after considering safety and noise as the most important issues.
'It was designed with the help of the FAA and the considerations were safety first and then noise, which has been an issue before, Chamberlain said.
He said the flights will operate at a height of 3,000 feet, 500 feet higher than the company's previous flight plan. Take-offs from the new helipad will also get out of neighborhood air space and over the Niagara River quicker than before.
'We were looking to reduce the noise footprint,' Chamberlain said. 'The Airbus H-130 is the only helicopter allowed to fly over national parks and it's the quietest in the industry.'
Rainbow Air has described its new heliport and headquarters as 'the largest private tourism development in Niagara Falls in many years.'
The project is located adjacent to the former Carborundum Center on Buffalo Avenue. It includes two new helipads and a 30,000-square-foot building that houses aviation-related features.
Representatives of Rainbow Air said they have upgraded their fleet with brand new Airbus H-130 helicopters that seat seven passengers plus the pilot. They also noted that the interiors in the new choppers are quiet enough for an audio tour to be played on speakers in the cabin, with translations into several languages for international guests.
Rainbow Air, which was established in 1995, had previously operated its tours from a landing pad near the Niagara River gorge. The tour company said that the gorge pad location required an inconvenient take-off procedure and was the source of constant noise complaints from some South End residents and businesses.
The company has been operating from the Niagara Falls International Airport during the construction of its new tourism center.
From its new location, helicopters will fly over Goat Island before making a loop over downtown Niagara Falls. After flying over the Rainbow Bridge, the helicopter will go along the Canadian side to get a view of the Horseshoe Falls before following that route back to the helipad. Flights will last between 12 and 14 minutes, depending on the weather conditions.
The tourism center is accessed off Acheson Drive from Buffalo Avenue. It includes room for three helicopters and two helipads, an outdoor dining/gathering area and parking for both cars and buses.
The single-story indoor facility contains a maintenance hangar, an aviation heritage center that will present Niagara Falls' role in the history of flight, and a retail sales area with convenience food and drink items. The facility also has an entertainment center with 15 custom-designed 3-D flight simulators that allow visitors to have the experience of flying over the Falls.
The project's architect, Aaron Faegre, said the new home for Rainbow Air was chosen to allow the company's helicopters 'a quick departure to the south, over the Niagara River,' which will allow the aircraft to 'climb to altitude quickly and minimize noise.' The flight path of the helicopters in and around the Falls is tightly controlled by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and Air Transport Canada.
Rainbow Air officials said they have conducted studies that show that the noise from departing helicopters at the new site is no greater than the noise of trucks operating on Buffalo Avenue.
'We sought to minimize noise downtown by moving here,' Faegre said.
Rainbow's director of operations, Paul Faltyn, has said the project will allow Rainbow to become 'a year-round destination' in the Falls.