GTA Vice City helicopter locations and helicopter controls explained
How to find a chopper and take to the skies.
Helicopters in GTA Vice City are one of the best ways to explore the city.
The game has a wide array of vehicles that you can steal, drive, and possibly crash. From small motorcycles to roaring sports cars and even military tanks, the fun never stops while you get creative at causing endless mayhem in your wake through Vice City.
But it's the helicopter that's the most useful and awe-inspiring, allowing you to fully explore without worrying about traffic jams or bodies of water.
On this page:
If you're looking for more explainers, we have pages on Vice City properties, opening up closed bridges in Vice City and GTA Vice City cheats.
GTA Vice City helicopter locations: Where can you find helicopters in GTA Vice City?
There are 12 possible Helicopter variants that you can pilot in GTA Vice City. To unlock them so they appear across the map - including the previously empty eastern helicopter locations in Ocean Beach, Vice Point, and Prawn Island - you must progress through the story first and open up all Vice City bridges by completing the 13th story mission 'Phnom Penh '86'.
You can, of course, glitch your way to the other island early if you want to fully explore Vice City's map and pilot a helicopter early. Also, the cheats from the PS2 original for spawning a helicopter don't work in later PC or console re-releases - so you have to find them yourselves.
Helicopters are sitting in various heliports across the map, which sometimes are hosting more than one vehicle at once. The list of Helicopters you can find in Vice City goes as follows:
Sparrow #1 - Vice City Mainland Police Station:
Sparrow #2 - Little Haiti:
Sparrow #3 - Vice Point:
Sparrow #4 - Ocean Beach:
Sea Sparrow - Vercetti Estate:
Appache #1 - Fort Baxter Air Base:
Appache #2 - Ocean Beach:
Maverick #1 - Vercetti Estate:
Maverick #2 - Downtown:
Police Maverick - Vice City Mainland Police Station:
VCN Maverick - Downtown:
Skimmer - Prawn Island:
GTA Vice City Helicopter flight controls in the original releases
When you get into a Helicopter, a few seconds will pass with the vehicle starting up. Once it's ready, the main controls for the Helicopter vehicles are the following:
- Pressing Up / W on PC, or B on an Xbox Controller, will make the Helicopter ascend.
- Pressing Down/S/, or X on an Xbox Controller, will make the Helicopter descend. Hold it down when landing, so the vehicle doesn't bounce before you get out.
- Pressing Num 9/Num 6 on PC or Left Analog Stick (Xbox Controller) will make the Helicopter's nose go up or down.
- Pressing A/D on PC or Left Analog Stick (Xbox Controller) will make it steer left or right.
- Pressing Num 2/E on PC or RB on an Xbox Controller will make the Helicopter rotate clockwise.
- Pressing Num 1/Q on PC or LB on an Xbox Controller will make the Helicopter rotate counter-clockwise.
Meanwhile, the Helicopter blades can be used as a lethal weapon in case you need it, and if you're piloting a Helicopter that carries a bomb, you just need to get close to it and it will grab it. To drop the bomb press Num 0 or the left mouse button.
GTA Vice City Helicopter flight controls in the Definitive Edition
When you get into a Helicopter, a few seconds will pass with the vehicle starting up. Once it's ready, the main controls for the Helicopter vehicles are the following:
- Pressing Left Button Mouse/RT (Xbox Controller) will make the Helicopter ascend.
- Pressing Right Button Mouse/LT (Xbox Controller) will make the Helicopter descend. Hold it down when landing, so the vehicle doesn't bounce before you get out.
- Pressing W/S/Left Analog Stick (Xbox Controller) will make the Helicopter's nose go up or down.
- Pressing A/D/Left Analog Stick (Xbox Controller) will make it steer left or right.
- Moving the Mouse/Pressing RB (Xbox Controller) will make the Helicopter rotate clockwise.
- Moving the Mouse/Pressing LB (Xbox Controller) will make the Helicopter rotate counter-clockwise.
As general tips, the Helicopter blades can be used as a lethal weapon in case you need it, and if you're piloting a Helicopter that carries a bomb, you just need to get close to it and it will grab it and press Num 0 to drop the bomb.
Likewise, if the helicopter in question has primary or secondary weapons, you can press E or Q respectively.
As per the locations, you will find available helicopters in the very same locations than the original games, with the ones located in Vice City Beach only accessible after unlocking Vice City Mainland.