Announcement

**HeliHub News** · 25th February 2014, 10:31

Aviamarket signs cooperation agreement with Moscow Heliport

Aviamarket has signed an agreement on mutual cooperation between the two companies "NDV-group" - the investor of the project "Heliport Moscow" and "Aviamarket" - Russia's largest authorized dealer Robinson Helicopter Company.

"Heliport Moscow" - a unique project of the Civil Code "NDV", which has no analogues in our country. Europe's largest helicopter center is designed basing on more than 200 aircraft. "Heliport Moscow" provides a full range of services in a small aircraft, including the sale and rental of small aircraft, qualified service, training private pilots and retraining of professionals, and offers air taxi available, historical tours and unique tourist destinations.

"This agreement is part of a program of further development" Heliport Moscow "and allow successfully implement our plans for the future. For customers, this means that they are now able to get an even wider range of services in this area, using the resources of our companies. And the pilots and their guests will have just two houses - one in the area Myakinino, in the "Heliport Moscow", another - in the region of Istria, where the "Aviamarket" - says the outcome of the meeting, Chairman of the Board of Directors of "NDV-group" Alexander crystal.

"Aviamarket" is successful in the market of corporate and private helicopters. Today it is the largest in the Russian official dealer of Robinson. In addition to the sales center provides a full range of services for training flight and technical personnel, maintenance and basing of helicopters. For visitors' Heliport Moscow "will now be available both sites, including base heliport" Aviamarket. " Strengthening the team the best experts in their field will raise the quality of all services provided to a new level.

"Agreement" Heliport Moscow "opens new opportunities for all, - says CEO" Aviamarket "Michael YUSHKOV. - Our company has more than ten years' history has accumulated vast experience and knowledge in the helicopter industry, we know the market trends and ways of its development. Therefore, we decided to join forces to achieve a common goal - to develop and popularize Russian helicopter market. We are confident that our experience and capabilities of the partner that will synergies that will quickly and effectively implement conceived plans. "

**HeliHub News** · 25th February 2014, 10:35

National Police to Have New Luanda Helicopter Base

The Luanda helicopter base of the National Police situated at the 4 de Fevereiro airport will soon gain a new unit on the outskirts of the capital.

The information was released Monday in Luanda by the general commander of the National Police, commissioner Ambrósio de Lemos.

According to the officer, there is need to reduce the current airport base to a small operational unit, in line with the requirements established by the National Company of Air Navigation and Exploration of Airports (Enana).

Ambrósio de Lemos said the construction of the new base is pending funds.

Meanwhile, the general commander of the National Police travelled Monday evening to southern Huila province , to inaugurate the first regional helicopter base, as part of the celebrations of the 38th anniversary of the corporation, on February 28.

**Aviafora Newsdesk** · 8th March 2014, 07:45

Second area heliport may come to Pilsen

A helicopter take-off and landing facility in southeast Pilsen, which received Chicago Planning and Development Department approval, is on hold until neighborhood residents have a say about it.

The Chicago Plan Commission postponed its Feb. 20 vote on the proposal after Ald. Daniel Solis (25th) objected to a lack of community consultation. Members of two neighborhood groups, the Pilsen Alliance and Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization (PERRO), look forward to neighborhood meetings on the issue.

Chicago Helicopter Express sought zoning changes for a heliport on a site consisting of 4.56 vacant acres from 2408 to 2424 S. Halsted St. on the north side of the Chicago River’s South Branch.

Another heliport, called a “vertiport,” already has received full City approval, with construction to begin this spring on ten acres northwest of Pilsen in the Illinois Medical District between 15th and Hastings Streets and Wood Street and the Chicago Transit Authority Pink Line.

Nelson Soza, executive director of the Pilsen Alliance, and Jerry Mead-Lucero, organizer of PERRO, said they welcomed a delay in a final decision on the Halsted heliport.

While neither group outright opposes the proposal, Soza and Mead-Lucero said officials had not consulted community members, who deserve an opportunity to weigh in on the project.

“If the new heliport is approved, the Pilsen neighborhood would be surrounded by helicopter noise,” Mead-Lucero said, terming it “a sonic assault on Chicago’s Near South Side.” Even though the Medical Center project won approval, he said work on it needs to halt until the community can review the project’s effect on quality of life. An organization called NoiseFree America gave Chicago Helicopter Express its February Noisy Dozen Award.

Those building the heliports envision use for police, fire, and medical purposes as well as private corporate and tourist flights. Solis postponed action based on his role as chairman of the City Council Zoning Committee, although the Halsted site sits Ald. James Balcer’s ward (11th).

http://www.gazettechicago.com/index/2014/03/second-area-heliport-may-come-to-pilsen/

**Aviafora Newsdesk** · 11th March 2014, 08:15

New helipad can save lives in emergencies

The helipad high atop Gundersen Health System’s new Legacy Building can shave five to 10 minutes off of getting a patient to an emergency or operating room, a hospital official said Monday.

Those minutes can be life-saving in the critical situations the MedLink chopper often is involved in, said Scott Sampey, director of the MedLink air/specialty care transport program at the La Crosse hospital.

MedLink nurse Terry Dorshorst, right, and pilot Andy Putnam walk off the helipad Monday after landing at Gundersen. The "12" in the foreground denotes the pad's 12,000-pound weight limit, and the "44" stands for the 44-foot maximum length for a land helicopter's rotor blades

Under the previous set-up, the helicopter landed on a ground-level helipad, where paramedics and nurses had to take the patient to an ambulance for a quarter-mile drive to the emergency department, then unload the patient again, Sampey said.

“It wasn’t bad, but putting the patient in and out of the ambulance took time,” he said.

“What’s different now is the helicopter lands on the helipad, they pull the stretcher out and go straight to the elevators and go directly to emergency, or surgery or critical care,” he said.

“The new system is more efficient,” he said.

The MedLink Air helicopter lands Monday on the helipad of the new Gundersen hospital

Upon notification that a helicopter is en route, security workers take control of the two super-size elevators that are about 30 yards from the eighth-floor helipad, Sampey said.

“Nobody can stop the elevator, and it stays open until the helicopter lands and they take the patient to the floor,” he said.

Nurse Terry Dorshorst, who said the new process can save five to 10 minutes, said, “It’s quicker, faster and safer for the patients and for ourselves.”

Compared with traditional elevators in which emergency workers had to squeeze in around the patient, the new elevators — Gundersen calls them “mega-vators,” allow plenty of elbow room, Dorshorst said.

“You can almost turn the cart around,” he said. “That allows us to use monitors and continue to treat the patient.”

The helipad, which can accommodate 12,000 pounds, also has the advantage of being above potential obstructions of buildings and wires, said pilot Andy Putnam.

The helipad and its walkway to the elevator tower are heated to keep them free of snow and ice and allow year-round use, Sampey said.

The MedLink helicopter, which carries a paramedic and a nurse in addition to the pilot, makes 500 landings a year at Gundersen, he said. It is akin to an earthbound critical care ambulance, with the same life-saving equipment, such as monitors, ventilators and IV pumps, he said.

Flights can range from trauma cases after crashes to inter-hospital trips in which another facility sends a patient to Gundersen or vice-versa, he said.

The emergency personnel normally wait until the rotors have stopped before unloading a patient, he said.

“But if they bring in a patient (in an extreme emergency) they can pull out the patient with the blades still going to save more time,” he said. “It’s very safe, and we do it all the time.”

If a crash involved multiple victims being brought in on separate helicopters, the helipad on the ground near the hangar still can be used, he said.

“With a couple of patients in a car accident, we would communicate to the ground crew and sort out who is more severe,” and that patient would land at the new helipad for faster access, Dorshorst said.

http://lacrossetribune.com/news/loca...2f27f2f8a.html

**Aviafora Newsdesk** · 21st March 2014, 22:39

Plan Commission approves $12.5 million Bridgeport heliport

Eleven years after former Mayor Richard M. Daley demolished Meigs Field under cloak of darkness, Chicago will soon have two places where helicopters can take off and land.

The Chicago Plan Commission made sure of that Thursday by clearing for take-off a plan by Wheeling-based tour company Chicago Helicopter Express to build a $12.5 million heliport on the south branch of the Chicago River.

That makes two. Mayor Rahm Emanuel has already given another company, Vertiport, approval to build a heliport in the Illinois Medical District.

Chicago Helicopter Express plans to shift its operations from Wheeling to Chicago and provide helicopter tours and private charter shuttles from a blighted, 4.6-acre site at 2408-to-2424 S. Halsted.

The plan approved Thursday calls for construction of 14 launching pads, a 17,500 sq.ft. hangar, terminal with rooftop observation deck, water taxi dock and aircraft fueling station.

It was approved over the objections of a parade of Bridgeport and Pilsen residents concerned about long operating hours and up to 125 helicopter flights per day — as well as about a company that kept residents in the dark for months, then belatedly gave them contradictory information.

“We need verifiable answers—not just the company’s word--and an enforceable agreement that will bind the company to its safety and community benefits agreement,” said area resident Jill Salinas.

“It is hard for us as residents to believe that, given the inherent nature of helicopter operations and the impact of prevailing winds on flights paths that the helicopters will, under no circumstances, be flown over homes and businesses.”

But company officials insist there will be just 15 tours a day, meaning 15 takeoffs and 15 landings — far fewer than the 125 flights feared by neighbors.

Company CEO Trevor Heffernan insisted that his helicopter tours would have “zero impact” on noise in a community that’s plenty loud already because of CTA buses, the Orange Line and traffic on the Stevenson and Dan Ryan Expressways.

Heffernan promised to follow a flight path toward Lake Michigan high above the Stevenson and build sound barrier walls. He touted his use of “the quietest helicopter on the market built specifically to fly in urban areas”: the Eurocopter EC-130 with a tail rotor system tailor-made to reduce noise.

“The location…is in a pocket that’s isolated by two highways, the railroad tracks, the river, industrial properties. It also serves a direct flight corridor out to Lake Michigan without ever flying over any homes or businesses….It’s over 1,200 feet from the nearest neighborhood,” Heffernan said Thursday.

“The location not only lends itself to be accessible to visitors and residents of Chicago via the Orange Line, the water taxi stop, Halsted and Archer as well as several highways. It also makes it a safe location because all flight paths are never over any homes, never disturbing homes. More importantly, those flight paths aren’t gonna change because the highways and railroads aren’t going away. So, it gives us longevity and safety.”

Ald. Jim Balcer (11th), whose Bridgeport ward includes the project, agreed that there would be “almost zero disturbance to the community.” He’s all for a project he called a boon to tourism.

“It means jobs. It means economic growth. It means no TIF money will be used. TIF money will be put in. Fifty or more direct jobs at all level skills will be brought in. Increased revenue for local business. New business and growth in the community, which also creates jobs and revenue. Increased property values,” the alderman said.

A decorated Marine and City Council champion on veterans issues, Balcer added, “I’ve served in Vietnam. I was in helicopters. I’ve been up in the police helicopter. In no way would I support anything that endangered my community. Last Sunday, myself and my son, who is 19, went up for a ride. There is no way I would endanger my son’s life in a helicopter if I thought it was unsafe.”

Zoning Committee Chairman Danny Solis (25th) did not attend Thursday’s meeting.

Solis had endorsed the Bridgeport heliport, only to withdraw his support amid warnings of a “sonic assault” on Pilsen residents.

Solis said his about-face has nothing to do with the behind-the-scenes lobbying by Victor Reyes, former chieftain of the now-defunct Hispanic Democratic Organization (HDO) at the center of the City Hall hiring scandal.

Reyes represents Vertiport, which apparently doesn’t relish the competition.

Without mentioning Daley’s infamous 2003 decision to carve giant X’s into the Meigs runway, Planning and Development Commissioner Andy Mooney couldn’t help but note the sudden embarrassment of riches when it comes to heliports.

“The city has been without a heliport now since — for a number of years. Perhaps shortly, we will have two. But, we feel that a city of the nature, size and global [reach] of Chicago needs this type of capacity,” Mooney said.

http://politics.suntimes.com/article...03202014-437pm

**HeliHub News** · 11th April 2014, 07:38

Second Rooftop EMS Helipad Goes Live in London

Launched on Monday St George’s Hospital new helipad is the second helipad to be built in London, and the first to be built south of the river Thames

The helipad cost £5m to build, with £1m being donated by the HELP charity appeal, and is expected to become fully functional following test flights.

The new rooftop helipad at London's St. George's Hospital

It will mainly support Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance and London Air Ambulance services by speeding up the time it takes to transfer patients that are injured or seriously ill as well as transferring patients to and from the hospital for specialist treatment.

There will be a slight increase in noise pollution for local residents, but it is to be noted that the helipad will only be operational during daylight hours, from 8.00am – 8.00pm, to ensure this is kept to a minimum.

The helipad, which took a year and half to build, sits some five storeys above the emergency department and has direct lift access from the rooftop. The structure further solidifies the hospitals position as one of the four major trauma centres in London where expert facilities and staff are available to save lives.

**Aviafora Newsdesk** · 18th April 2014, 20:35

Great Western Air Ambulance Trials New Bristol Royal Infirmary Helipad

The Great Western Air Ambulance helicopter has become the first to land on the Bristol Royal Infirmary's (BRI) newhelipad, which is due to become operational mid-May. The flight test was for the benefit of all the other air ambulances wanting to deliver patients via the hospital roof but, ironically, the charity won't be able to take advantage of the facility because its existing aircraft does not meet the performance requirements to fly on and off the helipad with patients on board.

The Great Western Air Ambulance touches down on the new BRI helipad for what is likely to be its only ever visit to the site

The the BRI helipad from above

"We are the only air ambulance in the area who are unable to land on the BRI’s new helipad which is incredibly frustrating as we are the local air ambulance for Bristol in addition to this last year nearly a third of all of our patients were transferred to the BRI which is why it is so important to us to migrate to a new helicopter" said John Christensen Chief Executive of the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity.

The Great Western Air Ambulance on the new BRI rooftop helipad

Great Western's helicopter was designed in 1958 and is due to be replaced soon

A campaign is underway to raise money for a new EC135 helicopter which will be able to make use of the new helipad and provide a better service for the community. The charity is also working with local MP's to apply for a grant from the LIBOR fund. The charity must also raise around £1.75 million a year to keep the aircraft flying. The air ambulance covers Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, Gloucestershire and parts of West Wiltshire - an area with around 2.1 million people.

http://www.itv.com/news/west/2014-04...t-new-helipad/

**HeliHub News** · 16th May 2014, 09:30

Glasgow Heliport to Relocate

Plans to move Glasgow Heliport were first aired at least four years ago as the site owners wanted to use the land for a hotel. Ever since its launch, the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre have been supportive of the heliport in one corner of its site alongside the River Clyde, so there was no hint of losing the facility for Scotland's largest city.

Over the last couple of weeks, Bond Air Services - who operate the heliport - have moved everything a mile and a half west of the current site to a new location at Govan, adjacent to the southside entrance to the Clyde Tunnel. The heliport thus moves form the north to the south bank of the river, and is located between Linthouse Road and Holmfauld Road - once the site of shipbuilders Alexander Stephen Ltd. The ICAO airfield code remains as EGEG.

The current heliport

The new facility has hangarage for two helicopters and a total of six helipads are available according to the plans submitted to the local authority back in 2010/2011.

The Scottish Police and Scottish Ambulance Service each base an Airbus Helicopters EC135 at Glasgow Heliport, which also serves as a maintenance base for a third EC135 they operate for the Northern Lighthouse Board.

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