Helicopter

Lore & Background

In the Saints Row universe, helicopters are not just transport—they are a statement. The Saints, whether they are a small-time gang in Stilwater or interdimensional overlords in Steelport, treat every vehicle as an extension of their ego. A helicopter lets them arrive at a rival's compound not by skidding a car around the block, but by dropping out of a clear sky with a full-body neon wrap and a minigun humming.

The franchise's tone means helicopters are never treated with the reverence of, say, a military briefing. They are loud, slightly unstable, and prone to spectacular crashes into parking garages. Yet the Saints keep buying them, keep painting them in increasingly absurd color schemes, and keep using them as the fastest way to cross a city that is, in later entries, literally floating in space.

In Saints Row IV, the alien-occupation backdrop gives the helicopter roster a slightly more militaristic flavor, though the Saints' approach remains the same: grab the keys, pick the loudest paint job, and treat the sky like a highway with no speed limit.

In Their Own Story

The sun was setting over Stilwater, painting the glass towers in shades of tangerine. Johnny sat in the cockpit, boots on the dash, a half-eaten burrito balanced on the throttle. The rotor whined to life, shaking the cheap plastic trim. Below, a convoy of rival vehicles idled at a red light, oblivious.

He banked hard, the city tilting like a deck, and let out a laugh that the wind tore straight out of his mouth. The paint on the hull—electric blue with a flaming skull on the tail—caught the last of the light. He didn't need a plan. He needed altitude, speed, and the satisfaction of being the biggest, loudest thing in the sky.

The convoy looked up. The burrito did not survive the maneuver.

Reader's Guide

Saints Row: The Third and Saints Row IV both include helicopters in their vehicle rosters. In The Third, they are typically purchased from the in-game vehicle dealers or unlocked through progression. In IV, the alien-occupation setting expands the available options slightly, though the core handling remains the same: fast in open sky, twitchy in tight spaces, and one bad collision away from a fiery spin into a parking structure.

Customization is where the Saints' personality shows. Paint colors, wraps, and small accessory tweaks let you turn a functional rotorcraft into a rolling billboard. The most iconic look is always the full-coverage neon or flame wrap—something that says the pilot cares more about style than survival.

In missions, helicopters shine for fast travel across the map and for aerial firefights where their speed and altitude give you an edge over ground vehicles. Their fragility is the trade-off: a single well-placed shot or a clip against a building can end the run.

The most ridiculous entry is simply the helicopter itself in the context of the game—flying a $20,000 rotorcraft in a full-body paint job while a minigun rattles behind you is peak Saints Row absurdity.

Did You Know?

• Helicopters in Saints Row are noticeably less armored than the franchise's signature ground vehicles, making them a high-risk, high-reward choice for aerial combat.
• The Saints Row IV setting, with its alien-occupied Steelport, gives the helicopter roster a slightly more militaristic visual flavor compared to the grittier Stilwater entries.
• Despite their fragility, helicopters are among the fastest ways to cross large open-map areas, making them a go-to for players who value speed over survivability.
• The franchise's customization system allows helicopters to be painted in the same outlandish color schemes and wraps available for cars, reinforcing the Saints' 'style over sense' philosophy.