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."

FMI: www.skyhelicopters.com ; www.dot.state.tx.us