Taking to the skies above Sao Paulo

A flight over Avenida Paulista, the city's commercial heart, shows the area's high concentration of helipads Photograph: Eduardo Martino /Freelance

It takes only 7 minutes to fly from Alphaville, an up-market residential area on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, to Avenida Paulista, the financial heart of the city. To cover the same distance by car could take up to 2 hours Photograph: Eduardo Martino /Eduardo Martino

The general manager of an international hotel chain invites his friends to fly to the golf club in central Sao Paulo, where they will play in the tournament Photograph: Eduardo Martino /Eduardo Martino

On November 1 2007, three helicopters crashed within two hours of each other in or around Sao Paulo, killing three people and injuring five others Photograph: Eduardo Martino /Eduardo Martino

An helicopter approaches Helipark on the outskirts of the city Photograph: Eduardo Martino /Eduardo Martino

The maintenance service at Helipark is said to be of one of the highest standards in the world Photograph: Eduardo Martino /Eduardo Martino

A helicopter undergoes maintanance at Helipark Photograph: Eduardo Martino /Eduardo Martino

Pilots relax at CCA's premises. CCA is a company that works alongside insurance firms in fitting cars with monitoring devices and then tracking them using helicopters if they are stolen. It's a 24-hour service, so CCA always has a team of pilots on standby Photograph: Eduardo Martino /Eduardo Martino

A flight above Marginal do Pinheiros, one of a number of helicopter corridors recently created to organise the city's airspace and avoid collisions with other aircraft Photograph: Eduardo Martino /Eduardo Martino

The interior of one of a hangar at the Helicidade heliport Photograph: Eduardo Martino /Eduardo Martino

Pan Radio presenter Daniel Lian reports from the air Photograph: Eduardo Martino /Eduardo Martino

Of nearly 500 helicopters registered in Sao Paulo, 13 belong to the police. They are known as the 'aguia', or eagle helicopters Photograph: Eduardo Martino /Eduardo Martino

A police helicopter is refuelled at Campo de Marte airport Photograph: Eduardo Martino /Eduardo Martino

Some top executives avoid moving around Sao Paulo on land, fearing mugging and even kidnapping. They also estimate that the time they waste in traffic jams costs them more than the use or even ownership of a helicopter Photograph: Eduardo Martino /Eduardo Martino

A private helicopter sits on its helipad at a businessman's house on the outskirts of Sao Paulo Photograph: Eduardo Martino /Eduardo Martino