New rules proposed for heliport layout
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is drafting new rules for heliport layout and construction in a revised Annex 14.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is drafting new rules for heliport layout and construction in a revised Annex 14. The new rules propose changes to the size of the final approach and takeoff (FATO) area, visual cues and surrounding airspace. ICAO expects the rules to be in place next year.
According to Christelle Ruan, a technical advisor on ICAO’s heliport design working group, for helicopters weighing less than 7,000 pounds (the equivalent of Part 27 helicopters in the U.S.), the FATO area will be smaller. “Current rules call for the area to be able to include a circle, the diameter of which is one helicopter length, called D value,” Ruan explained. The new rules will reduce this number to one rotor-disc diameter.
