67°F
weather icon Clear

Gunship Helicopters immerses shooters in high-impact setting

You’d think being belted in and sitting in a helicopter with its door open when it’s airborne as your left leg rests on a gun mount outside and you’re holding a machine gun would make you nervous. But it didn’t.

I wasn’t scared at all as I felt the empty space in front of me, heard the thump of the helicopter’s rotor blades, lined up a steel target hundreds of yards away in the gun’s red dot optic, heard the safety officer tell me to go for it and pulled the trigger.

It made me feel like I was a soldier completing an important mission or an actor filming a scene in an action movie, but I’m neither of those things. I’m just a normal person on a flight with Gunship Helicopters, the company that gives people a chance to safely shoot a fully automatic machine gun from a helicopter at a 71-acre outdoor shooting range in the Mojave Desert in Sandy Valley.

Gunship Helicopters is operated by Matthew Fahnestock, his dad and Boulder City resident Bob Fahnestock, and their friend Randy Saenz. The company started in 2015 after they had the idea to marry their mutual aviation experience with another activity: shooting machine guns.

“We really just want to provide … something you can’t get anywhere else in the world,” said Matthew Fahnestock.

“Matthew and I were like, ‘We could do this.’ … So we started with some shoulder machine guns and just kept getting bigger,” Saenz said.

About two years later, in 2017, Gunship Helicopters opened for business, and now it allows those who book a flight to shoot at least 100 rounds with an M249 SAW (squad automatic weapon) attached to a gun mount on the outside of the helicopter. The doors are open so the person shooting can sit inside and be belted in while shooting at steel targets and wreckage hundreds of yards away.

The outdoor facility also includes the longest sniper range at a commercial facility in Las Vegas, according to Matthew Fahnestock.

“We want to provide a safe experience,” Saenz said. “First comes safety, then comes the fun.”

Guests must complete an orientation, mission briefing and simulation before getting on the helicopter. Additionally, there is an air range safety officer on the flight, who loads the gun, directs the passengers in its firing and is responsible for its operation.

Customers can add a package to shoot a Barrett .50-caliber on the ground.

A Gunship Helicopter flight is $550 per person, but there are discounts for groups of four or more.

For more information about Gunship, go to https://gunshiphelicopters.com/.

In addition to co-owning Gunship Helicopters, Bob Fahnestock has 40 years of aviation and airline mechanic experience and has operated BFE LLC at the Boulder City Municipal Airport since 2006. Saenz helps him manage that business. Additionally, Gunship’s corporate office is at the airport.

Matthew Fahnestock is also a pilot and said he first planned to fly for an airline, but during the training for his license, he flew a helicopter and loved it so much he didn’t want to fly anything else.

Battlefield Vegas, a Las Vegas company that allows customers to tailor their shooting experience, is situated within Gunship’s range and offers opportunities for customers who want to shoot tanks or other ground assault vehicles. Matthew Fahnestock said the business hopes to offer combination packages with Battlefield in the future.

Contact reporter Celia Shortt Goodyear at cgoodyear@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow her on Twitter @csgoodyear.

MOST READ
THE LATEST
Building a growth mindset at King

Sometimes as adults we can spend too much time focusing on “wins” and “losses.” This is true in education as well.

Busy fall season at Garrett Junior High

As we wrap up the fall season at Garrett Junior High, there’s so much to celebrate.

Sometimes simple appliance DIY can spare you costly service calls

Wasn’t I embarrassed when I couldn’t figure out why my friend’s dishwasher wouldn’t start. I troubleshot as best as I could, given my limited time visiting her. It was getting power, the door was closed properly, yet when I pressed “start,” it just wouldn’t. I advised her to call a local appliance repair company. $85 later she was informed that it somehow went into its “locked function.” Simply holding down the Heat/Dry button for three seconds unlocks it. That’s all it needed. Boy did I feel dumb. I mean, I’m the Toolbelt Diva, after all.

A look into Día De Los Muertos at BCHS

For nearly a decade, Boulder City High School has created a tradition in their Spanish Honors classes to build ofrendas in honor of the Spanish holiday, Día De Los Muertos also known as Day of the Dead.

Calculating breast cancer risk

Absolute risk versus relative risk and what you need to know about calculating the risk of developing breast cancer. Let’s define both and gauge the risk.

Staff, students impress principal

Andrew J. Mitchell recently earned a spot on the Clark County School District Superintendent’s Honor Roll. It was a pleasure to accept this award on behalf of the staff, students, and families of Mitchell Elementary.

Country Store expects big crowd this weekend

Over the last seven-plus decades, Grace Community Church’s Country Store has gone from a simple bake sale to one of the largest yard sales in the area.

Military widows, widowers, form new group

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) supervises thousands of benefit programs including many variations on most of them. Veterans and their families can be eligible for “this, that and the other.” But in the case of “other, that and this,” one must go to option one, two or three unless applying under a different section of the definition of “Feature X, Y and Z.” Or something like that. The red tape is unending.

Record attendance at annual fall Spooktacular festival

Each year, Martha P. King and Andrew J. Mitchell host our annual Spooktacular Event during the month of October. The Spooktacular is a fall festival open to all families living in the Boulder City community. The event boasts trunk or treating, food from Vinnie’s Pizza, a spooky garden walk, carnival games, and a community cakewalk.