Seated for four is the R-44 Raven II
Many people can say that they have visually experienced all that the north shore has to offer. From postcard looking beaches to historic buildings, it is amazing that a small area of New England offers so much beauty. But what many people cannot say is that they have seen such beauty from 800 feet in the sky, going 130 miles per hour, in a R44-Raven II helicopter.
Introducing brothers Christian and Matt Nowosiadly, the faces behind Now City Tours, a touring company that takes guests all over the north shore and Boston. Although it might not ring a bell yet, these brothers are on the right track to making their company a household name. Since starting their business this past summer they have been featured in the Improper Bostonian and have earned a top spot on Trip Advisor, ranking them 12th out of 68 tours in the Boston area. Wednesday morning I caught up with Christian and Matt, had the pleasure of learning about their company and got to see that there really is no way view the north shore than by helicopter.
Where was your starting location? Where are you currently? As Now City Tours, we started our operation in Revere and currently operate out of Revere and Beverly
How did Now City Tours come about? We took a helicopter tour in the summer of 2010 and fell in love with helicopters instantly. We built a relationship with the owner of that tour company and eventually took over the helicopter and operation from him and now have him on staff as a pilot. We wanted to start a tour company closer to Boston, so we started looking into building a helipad in/near the city. Through our research, we found that a helipad existed from the 70’s in Revere. This helipad was planned for use in offshore oil operations off of Georges Bank, but that plan never materialized. 30 years later, we partnered with the current helipad owner to put some life back into the old landing area rather than build one from scratch.
How long has it been around? Now City Tours started operations this summer.
Tours that you do include North Shore, Boston and from your flyer it says South Shore as well. Are there any other ones? Those are the standard tours, but we often customize tours to fit the guests’ needs. Sometimes we will fly over a person’s house or circle over the spot where a couple first met while one proposes to the other in the back.
Out of all of these, which is the most popular/your favorite? The most popular is the Skyline tour of Boston, mostly because a lot of our guests are from out of town and visiting the city. I find that local flyers love the North Shore, or to fly over where they live. My personal favorite is the peaceful flight along the North Shore.
Do you look to expand or stay local? New England has such unique scenery with the ocean; peninsulas, inland bays and beaches that we would love to stay local. Our current expansion plans are only to get more helicopters.
You have a great rating on Trip Advisor and have been in the Improper Bostonian, so sum it up for me, how is business? Considering we were late starting in the season, business has been great. We are booked pretty solid every weekend and the tours really sell themselves. Once people see that we really love doing this, it rubs off on them and they can’t help but have a great time.
Anything exciting or unusual happen while flying? While every trip is exciting for us, it’s probably a good thing that nothing unusual has happened while flying tours. The most unusual stuff happens while doing the other part of our business, Aerial Photography/Videography. We often have to get creative with the helicopter so the crew can get just the right shot.
For more information and to book your first flight, visit their website: www.nowcitytours.com or shoot them an email: christian@nowcitytours.com, matthew@nowcitytours.com
More images from the flight
