Early Morning Dayton Arcade Helicopter Heavy Lift August 2020

September 1, 2020

On August 30, 2020, I was able to capture Midwest Helicopter Airways lifting large air conditioning units atop the Dayton Arcade. Prior to the first takeoff, I positioned myself in the parking garage just to the north of the Arcade. I and one other photographer were several stories up at eye level with the roof where the HVAC would go. We were ready.

The Dayton Arcade helicopter lift started around 7:45 am and lasted about an hour. It was amazing, loud, and windy. This vintage heavy lift helicopter made several trips between an empty lot and the top of the 9-building complex in downtown Dayton Ohio. To remain safe, any time it was close to the Arcade, we were instructed to stand further back in the parking garage. Since I was prepared with a long lens, this was no problem for me. It was awesome to see this powerful aircraft lifting expensive equipment between buildings and dropping it into place. I don’t know of another circumstance where I’d have the ability to watch and photograph something this cool. The other people who covered it were on the ground shooting up at the lift. In my opinion, I had the best shooting spot.

Check out my other Dayton commercial photography.