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 veryday,
more than 1000
people fly around and over NYC. Many of them take off for
fun. But business executives, like the real-estate mogul Donald
Trump, use helicopters to save time. According to Norma Foerderer,
Trump's assistant, he owns a Sikorsky helicopter, Model 576B.
"His
view is not from the pilot seat, but as a passenger travelling
from the nearby places such as Atlantic City, N. J., and Hartford,
Conn." she says. NYC24
has learned that a helicopter like Trump's can cost between
$5 million to $10 million, depending on the specific configuration
of the aircraft.
 YPD
Aviation Department is located in Floyd Bennett, Brooklyn.
It has six helicopters: two Bell 412, for eight passengers;
one Bell 206 L4, for seven passengers, and three Bell Ranger
206 D3, for five people. The police department hires 37 policemen
trained and certified as regular commercial pilots. They are
in charge of rescuing people in boating disasters along the
five boroughs and Long Island. For this purpose, the police
use the model Bell 412, which can carries two pilots and two
scuba divers.
Another use for the police helicopters is the routine patrol
flights over the city, mainly in highways and green areas,
such as Central Park. The police also do coordinated actions
with cars in case of robbery and assault. The aircrafts are
used to locate suspects on the ground, but policemen in the
cars do the chase. "We very seldom land the helicopter. It's
risky and almost always ineffective," says the officer James
Ciccone.
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Why
so costly?
Certification
To
get a license, a pilot must have 40 hours in flying
time. Flight school, Mustang Aviation, requires the
candidates to fly from 50 to 70 hours to get the certification.
The three-part Certificate test admnistered by the
Federal Aviation Administration includes:
-
A written part, with 700 multiple
choice questions to be answered in 2 1/2 hours.
- Practice:
emergency procedures outside the helicopter and a
1 1/2 hour flight, making air maneuvers, such
as emergency landing and take off.
Course
Prices
- People
less than 200 lbs. fly
lighter helicopter models. The course costs from $10,000
to $12,000.00.
- People
over 200 lbs.
cost $16,000.00.
Fuel
-
Mostly a mix of kerosene and gasoline: $2.50
to $3.00 per gallon. During an hour, a small
helicopter spends from eight to 12 gallons.
-
Larger aircrafts use jet-A or turbine fuel, which,
in NYC, costs 33% higher
than in other cities. In order to get the fuel into
the city, it must be brought by barge or truck. Additional
costs and city taxes apply.
Insurance
-
Landing fee: $35 an hour·
-
Overnight parking from7 p.m. to 7 a.m.:
$150
-
Parking fee: $20 per hour.
- Because
of those costs, most of NYC helicopter companies do
not have hangars in the city.
Sources:
Mustang Aviation, Dow Jones Aviation Department, Summit
Aviation and Wall Street Helicopters
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