Chuck Surack Trying To Save Heavily-Used Air Transportation Asset

The City of Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Airport Authority have petitioned the FAA to decommission a heavily-used heliport that’s been located in the heart of the city for several decades. The city wants to replace it with a soccer stadium or apartment buildings.

Billionaire entrepreneur Chuck Surack, owner of Enstrom Helicopters, has been trying for over three years to save the heliport from the city’s attempts to shut it down. He has pointed out time after time how heavily it is used for a variety of purposes such as emergency services, business transportation, and concerts and other recreation including nearby pro sports venues.

 Its location is within a few blocks’ walk to the city’s stadiums for the basketball Pacers and football Colts that many utilize to attend games. It is also commonly used by politicians and business executives, and it contributes to the economy and mobility of people all around the state. He also points out that heliports will become even more valuable as eVTOL and other vertical lift transportation become more widely available and in demand. They will likely need even more sites in fact.

Jim and Chuck compared it to the Meigs Field situation, but Surack said at least this process has been much more transparent and doesn’t fear a middle-of-the-night demolition.

He mentioned that IU Health’s fleet of LifeLine Helicopters is based in the city and use the heliport for patient transport and transfers. So in that respect it’s not just a great asset for Indianapolis but for the entire state of Indiana.

He is unsure who’s driving the decision-making but Surack says the mayor blames the airport authority, who in turn blame the mayor. But he does know that the airport authority made the request to the FAA and he thinks closure is inevitable unless something changes quickly.

Surack says many aviation organizations have expressed their support for the heliport to the mayor’s office and airport authority but those seem to be falling on deaf ears right now. Recently, to try to dissuade the city from moving the plan forward, Surack purchased two properties adjacent to the heliport. He is not opposed to a soccer stadium, but wants the city to make decisions for the right reasons.

The FAA Public Comment period has closed, according to Surack. But he is urging people to write Mayor Joe Hogsett’s office as well as the airport authority to protest the closure and explain why it should remain open.

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