Monday, July 23, 2018

By Catherine Reynolds


For all of its technological progress and innovative prowess, humankind is still subject to such rules, is still unable to transcend reality. Sure, it can be done in virtual worlds, but those worlds are the products of imagination. In the real world, what goes up must always inevitably come down, either to lack of fuel or gravity simply acting upon it enough that it can no longer sustain flight or hovering. It such cases, the thing that is in flight needs to land. For birds, landing is easy, they can land anywhere as long as there are no threats nearby. But for the machines that humans use to go up into the sky, landing is a little more complicated. Generally speaking, such machines are only allowed to land in specific spots, designated beforehand as either an airport or a heliport.

A helipad is where helicopters land. It also where the takeoff from. For the most part, they are generally flat surfaces.

Helipads are necessary because helicopters cannot land on the street. Well, they can, but to do so outside of an emergency situation is highly illegal. As such, there has to be a designated surface to do so.

For the most part, an entity in ownership of a helicopter will have no problem coming with the monies necessary to build a helipad. In fact, it can be relatively inexpensive. All that is needed is some concrete for the surface, some paint to mark it as such, and some lights to help support nighttime and other low visibility operations.

As long as there is the presence of a flat surface, there can be a helipad. But most owners will build those platforms on the tops of skyscrapers. Air capable ships will have a designated flight deck for the takeoff and eventual landing of aircraft.

A helicopter is great for many purposes. The first is short range flight. The vertical takeoff and landing means that it can be in the air and on the ground quicker than an airplane, at the expense of travelling distance. Those with the means to use them can use them in order to cover long distance quickly, as they can bypass traffic quite effectively.

But private civilians with money are not the only entities that make use of a helicopter. Militaries all over the world use them quite extensively. There are few vehicles that can ferry troops and supplies quite like a chopper can, in terms of speed. The drawback is that choppers are often a target for enemy artillery.

Helicopters do not come cheap. Most owners are not private citizens, but government and corporate entities. This is because even a cheap model can cost millions.

It is often said that the sky is the limit. That may be true to some extent, but it is still a limit. When a limit is reach, the only direction to go is down.




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