Six Heliport Case Studies
Description:... Over the years, one of the main concerns of the vertical flight industry has been heliport development. The record shows that most proposed heliports are never built, and that even a heliport that has been fully operational for years can be closed due to changing community priorities. This report evaluates the dynamics of heliport development and operation in order to achieve greater success rate in the future through the case study investigation of six heliports that have both succeeded and failed. The heliports studied are: Houston Central Business District Heliport, Houston Texas; E.34th Street Heliport, New York, New York; Garland HeliPlex, Garland, Texas; Annapolis Heliport, Annapolis, Maryland; Boston City Heliport, Boston, Massachusetts; and Cobo Hall Heliport, Detroit, Michigan. This study is a follow-on to two previous studies for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): "Four Urban Heliport Case Studies," (reference 1) completed in 1988, and "Heliport/Vertiport Implementation Process - Case Studies" (reference 2) completed in 1996. The first study endeavored to understand what causes a heliport to succeed or fail. The second investigated why heliports succeed or fail in the implementation process at the local government level and recommended ways to improve the success rate.
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