Would you land on this helipad?

[India Four Two]

This is the 68 storey, 860' Bitexco Tower in Ho Chi Minh City

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/india42/IMG_0454a.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/india42/450px-Bitexco.jpg

On the 52nd floor at 627' AGL is a helipad. The approach to the helipad is almost directly into wind for most of the year. Note the rounded shape of the building on the upwind side, and the concave face and sharp corners on the downwind side, immediately above the helipad. I suspect there would be some spectacular vortices shedding off those sharp corners on a windy day.

So my question is would you land on that helipad? It's actually an academic question since there are no light civil helicopters in Vietnam and aircraft are banned from flying over the city anyway! I like to refer to it as a "vanity helipad".

As a plank pilot with extensive helicopter passenger flying experience, I'm interested in the experts' opinions. Pay attention at the back - there will be a follow-up question. :E

[Jet Ranger]

When looking at picture no. 2...you can make an approach from 3 directions, one direct in, and two from the "side"... If one is not good, go from the other one...probably will be some rotors in short final when wind is stronger, but you will have to pass throw them...

Generally, answer is yes.

[spinwing]

Mmmmm ...

....... Would you land on this helipad ......



Yes ... no problems ;)


... I would of course prefer to choose which machine I would do it with though ...

[Flyting]

Similar to the Burj al Arab helipad in Dubai

[helispeediii]

i like to walk the course, but otherwise looks ok for small medium heli any dims ? ps like to do first landing on my own, not with cab full that you just picked from the races helispeediii

[Savoia]

Not to be compared with London's vast heliport which of course is approachable from every conceivable direction! ;)

http://jetbox.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/img_0077copy.jpg

[Nigel Osborn]

No problem at all. Of course there will be days when the wind could be tricky but with a correctly loaded helicopter absolutely no problem. Far worse pads in the bush & mountains.

[Gomer Pylot]

I land on far worse pads pretty much every day. Pretty much any hospital pad is far worse. They're all afterthoughts, not part of the architect's planning.

[Joker's Wild]

What Nigel said!!! :ok:

[tophelios]

I42
I know well this helipad...and I slightly disagree with you regarding the wind..it's very often coming from behind the structure, and gives some kind of "interesting" turbulence there ...just check the Vietnamese flag on it...
Moreover, the weight limitation is 3T...which means, you have to fly a 355 or 135 or other light medium...
And yes it's forbidden, but MoD approved it already and CAAV worked on a corridor we proposed them...
I'm not a world champion regarding the "landing limitations", but I would suggest to check it very carefully first, and I think it could come with a maximum wind velocity/sector limitation, as per on frigates or other helipads...
TH

[grumpytroll]

How big is this thing? That might have a bit to do with a consideration. It looks pretty big. I have seen some pads/LZ's in the EMS world that will make you go huh?

[India Four Two]

Since the consensus seems to be that it would be OK to land there, my follow-up question is somewhat redundant.

However, since there is some interest in the size of the pad, I will post my pictures anyway. If you can tear your eyes away from Ngô Thanh Vân, you can assess the size of the pad. ;)

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/india42/Covera.png

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/india42/Page70and71a.png

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/india42/Page74a.png

I'm amazed that there is a permanent flag pole and a tall fire hydrant on the outboard side of the pad.

I know well this helipadtophelios,

I met someone who had been working on the Bitexco Tower and he told me that there had been at least one trial landing on the helipad. Do you know if this is true?

[tophelios]

I42,
Not sure at all on this try...for all the reasons you mentioned already and the fact that the local operators don't have the heli for and are not very keen to try...
I never heard on it...despite I worked more than one year on the approval....but, in Nam, you never really know....
You also can note on the pictures that two glide slope indicators have been installed...but side by side and in a horizontal position...very helpful...:ugh: