Whether you spend your days earthbound or high up on Chicago high-rises, there are some sights you’ll never see, no matter how many different venues you visit.

Last Tuesday YoChicago chartered a helicopter with the doors off and Data Based Ads’ CEO Mike Scotty, our ace photographer Michael Kardas and I spent almost two hours checking out some of those sights.

Kardas and I commandeered the seats that would offer the best views during most of our flight time, our pretext being that we had the better cameras.

For a good part of the trip Scotty looked out on flatland Chicago or Lake Michigan. He still managed to capture some great views, but also snapped some rarely seen perspectives on Chicago high-rises. Here are a few of them.

The top floors of Museum Park condos, viewed from the southwest.

The top floors of Aqua, viewed from the northeast, with Park Monroe, Legacy and Aon Center to the left.

The top floors of Park Monroe condominium, viewed from the east.

The top floors of Legacy condominium, viewed from the southeast.

See more of YoChicago’s aerial photos at Flickr. We’ll be adding photos to that album over the next week or two.