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The IAA is not looking down the road.
This heliport, although currently being utilized very lightly, will become more important as the city and metro area grows and traffic becomes denser.
This is not a good decision.
And moving Lifeline away from its hospital base is an even worse decision.
Help me out here….what hospital is close to the existing heliport?
And isn’t it possible that the new IU Health/Methodist complex can house a heliport on-site or very close?
I trust the FAA and Airport Authority to know more about this…than the amateur experts here.
There’s docs from the 1950s that suggest Indianapolis city officials really thought helicopter commuting from the suburbs was going to happen and wanted to have multiple helipads opened throughout the city.
I don’t think it’ll ever be a thing. Driving here is way too easy. We could double or triple our density and it’d still be fairly easy to drive here.
Won’t be sad to have the helicopter noise gone from over our house! And yes, I know I live downtown and I am used to the normal noises of the city. The helicopter sound echoes between buildings and is truly obnoxious.
A decision they will live to regret!
Although, maybe we could do a Spark on the Helipad.
That would be a better place for Spark than the Circle. There, or on the former train deck over Meridian.
The City had to compete to get this Heliport in the 80s. It was considered a real coup for our downtown to have it.
With all the emerging technologies, particularly in electric aviation, are we selling ourselves short?
Can we really afford not to have a heliport?
If it’s in the wrong place – where is the right place?
I don’t see what’s the concern? The city is build a $4 billion dollar new hospital downtown. You mean to tell me that another Heliport couldn’t be built at a new location downtown? I think more is made about this than really matters. Anything can be built if its needed
There is no ‘right’ place for a heliport in Indy:
>The 80s heliport fever was all bark and no bite. It once made sense for news agencies & IMPD to have their own helicopters, but now they all just use drones. Heliport usage is at all-time lows accordingly.
> While IUH still uses the heliport for helicopter parking and fueling, it’s not like they are using helicopters to transfer people from Downtown to their hospitals. IUH goes all across the region to pick people up and take them the most appropriate hospital. As long as they have a place to park/stage these helicopters somewhere in Central Indiana, they’re fine. Regional airports suit them well.
> eVTOLs commuting and/or helicopter commuting will never be economical for most people in Indianapolis. Downtown Indy is in the center of the metro, and it’s remarkably easy to get there from anywhere else in the metro. It’s also 18 minutes from the airport in worst case conditions. It’s not like LA or NYC, where there is enough demand for helicopter usage among the upper middle class & wealthy to make helicopters a relatively affordable way to get around. The economics come into play with eVOLs. In Indy, the super rich can build helipads Downtown with ease to get their easy in & out. Nothing will change for them except that their helicopters will need to be stored somewhere else. Other rich people can just pay for police escorts to skirt by traffic. Us normies have easy drives compared to most cities, and basically always will unless Indy somehow gains 8 million people overnight.
@Kevin P. The City isn’t building the new Methodist, IU is solely financing it, the City Of Indianapolis has NOTHING to do with it!!!!
Its interesting how people feel there is a need now and in the future for a helipad but so many feel no need for mass transit and dedicated bus lanes.
That’s because those idiotic dedicated bus lanes ROYALLY SCREW UP TRAFFIC!!!! Look at how severely the $$ losing RedLine screwed up College, Shelby, and Capital!!!
Best comment Greg S! Spot on!
I wonder how many of the commenters own helicopters.
Great News!! Move this city Forward and stop hindering progress!! It’s gonna happen anyway!!! Build Build Build!!!!!! And keep Building!!!
Obviously, since I was the developer of this facility with two great Vietnam Helicopter veterans and Chuck Caagan, Director of the Department of Economic Develpment for the City at the time, I am saddened to see it go. Many months of study and research went into the development of this development. The work with the media, emergent health needs of the hospitals and emergency issues for the community law enforcement, coupled with the great endorsements from many major Indianapolis Businesses and the willingness of the Indianapolis Airport Authority to establish a fuel and service facility made it a very viable entity then and even more so now. Have the original Economic Development Bonds, that Indianapolis did to support the financials of this facility that were sold to Cincinnati Insurance Company been paid? Is there any remaining outstanding debt on those bonds that the City must pay off to close and develop this for another use? All the ongoing use questions and debt issues need be discussed, and further study and analysis needs to be weighed carefully, just to forego the Diamond Chain site, Will another sports venue outweigh the needs and uses of the Heliport?