Fri, Aug 19, 2011
New FBO Chosen For DeSoto Facility
A heliport feasibility study was conducted by the DeSoto (Texas)
Economic Development Corporation in October 2009, which determined
there was a market for a vertical flight facility in DeSoto’s
Eagle Industrial Park, with the possibility of ancillary projects
and businesses that would be supported by the new heliport. As a
result, the City of DeSoto in cooperation with the DeSoto Economic
Development Corporation applied for a grant from the Texas
Department of Transportation (TX-DOT) to fund a vertical flight
facility. Helicopter Association International now reports TX-DOT
has awarded a grant of $500,000 from its Aviation Division for
engineering, design and construction of a heliport.
The City of DeSoto conducted a Request for Proposals from FBOs
which would lease the site from the city and operate the heliport.
Under a current letter of intent, the city has identified Sky
Helicopters, Inc. as its fixed base operator. Sky Helicopter will
join the City of DeSoto and the TX-DOT as part of the project team
which will work together to design and construct the new facility.
Design will be conducted through the end of the calendar year.
Construction is planned for spring of 2012. The project is being
funded jointly by the TX-DOT grant, the City of DeSoto, DeSoto
Economic Development Corporation and the FBO.
Service providers that operate from a vertical flight facility
include public safety, emergency medical services, corporate
businesses transport, commuters, emergency preparedness, broadcast
news media, utility/pipeline patrol, flight training, sales and
service of aircraft and personal use. The aviation industry in the
state, according to a 2005 TX-DOT impact study, creates over 28,000
jobs, a $1.1 billion payroll and has a total economic impact of
over $4.2 billion.
"The vision for a vertical flight facility in DeSoto is
obviously long range and there are no guarantees, but we have
positioned ourselves for the future as aviation expands to meet the
needs of our entire regional transportation system which can never
completely meet the demands as our population continues to grow,"
says former DeSoto Mayor and past chair of the North Texas Councils
of Government Board of Directors, Bobby Waddle. "When the
population in the North Central Texas Region expands from its
current 6+ million to 9+ million in the next thirty years, aviation
will play a major role in relieving some of the impact of our
future mobility and air quality issues."
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