H5 Helicopters founder Mitch Kelldorf has spent years flying for Apple TV, Nat Geo, BBC’s Planet Earth, Disney, Warner Bros. and Red Bull — but he insists the same storytelling mindset belongs in every flight he takes out of Scottsdale Airport.

“We tell a story and share it,” Kelldorf said. “People propose, celebrate anniversaries, bring champagne. It’s private and scenic — super unique.”

Kelldorf’s SaberCat1 crew plans each flight the way they plan production missions. 

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“We avoid environmentally or noise‑sensitive areas and use GPS to plot a safe, dynamic flight path,” he said. The pace is intentionally slow — sometimes just 30 knots — because that’s how he shoots canyon walls for Apple or BBC.

“Passengers aren’t flown high and told to look down,” he said. “We fly low and steady. Every 15 minutes, Arizona changes. People who’ve lived here forever say, ‘I’ve never seen it like this.’”

He talks with passengers throughout the flight, especially anyone who seems nervous. 

“I tell them up front that if anything feels off, we’ll come right back down and land,” he said. “This really takes the pressure off. Usually by the time we’re 10 feet off the ground, they’re just fine.”

Kelldorf grew up near Bell Helicopter in Texas, where the sound of Hueys and Cobras shaped him early. “I was obsessed with Hueys, Cobras — all the gunships,” he said.

After earning his pilot’s license and flying aerobatics for a decade, he moved to Scottsdale. A neighbor owned a Huey.

“I was like, ‘Dude, this is a magic carpet,’” he said. “I got rid of the acrobatic airplane pretty much immediately.”

His office reflects that mix of aviation and artistry. A wall of guitars lines one side — instruments he picks up between flights. “Flying and music are the same thing to me,” he says. “It’s rhythm. It’s feel. You can’t rush either one.”

He founded H5 Helicopters in 2008 and developed the SaberCat1 platform and a gyro‑stabilized camera system. Since then, he’s flown the likes of Clint Eastwood, Sean Penn and Wayne Newton.

“When we flew Clint Eastwood, he actually flew the helicopter,” Kelldorf said. “When we landed, he was buckling up, closing the door, helping me tidy up. Very humble. Very old school.”

Concierge flights, not tours

Kelldorf describes H5’s flights as “concierge experiences,” not sightseeing loops.

“I’ve taken couples out to Roosevelt Point and set up a table and caterer,” he said. “We land right on the point. It’s gorgeous.”

He’s flown guests through the saddle of Four Peaks and arranged custom outings. “I took a couple from the U.K. who wanted to go shooting but had never handled a gun,” he said. “I brought a specialist. They had fun.”

Giving back is part of the operation. “We try to give back as much as we can,” he said. “We’ve been blessed.” He donates flights to Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Foundation, Phoenix Children’s Hospital and Make‑a‑Wish.

One of H5’s most popular offerings is the mountaintop landing package — an hour‑plus flight to a remote peak above one of Arizona’s canyon lakes. 

Passengers wear Bose noise‑canceling headsets with private Bluetooth. “People tell me later that a song they played brings them right back to the canyon walls.”

Corporate groups rotate through 15‑minute flights during private events with music, food and drinks. For individuals, the entry package is a 35‑minute flight — Salt River, McDowell Mountains, Fountain Hills, Saguaro Lake — priced at $1,650 for up to five people.

Longer flights run $2,350 per hour, with routes to Sedona, the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Monument Valley and even restaurant landings in Winslow or Sedona.

“It’s about an hour and 40 minutes to the Grand Canyon,” Kelldorf said.

And unlike commercial tours, H5 adjusts routes on the fly. “If someone wants to dip lower or swing wider, we do it,” he said. “It’s a conversation.”