PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - British Grand Prix 2010: Silverstone Heliport
Old 22nd Mar 2010, 21:08
  #54 (permalink)  
finals06
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: UK
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You're confused!

Looking at the circuit redevelopment I find it hard to believe that there will be a heliport of any size at Silverstone in 2010. Corporate hospitality is where Silverstone make their money and the heliport should cater for these big spending individuals and organizations. IF slots are going to be at a premium and parking is going to be heavily restricted (as surely it will be) where is the sense in filling the place up with privateers, especially if they are paying a token fee?
Commercial helicopters have always had to pay a premium to land at the circuit. This I would imagine is what pays the substantial set up costs that must be involved with running a heliport of this scale. If I am bringing in an S76 with landing fees of over a grand a pop I am not going to be very happy if I can’t park up during the race! The alternative – fly to base to park and then battle my way back in to collect my passengers post race sticking another 30 minutes on the flying time and at my expense. Are helicopters really low on Silverstone’s priority list or is all this just a pain in the backside for Heli Air who must be wondering what they have let themselves in for!
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