Rooftop Helipad Open for Business

Frank Robinson landed an R44 Raven II on the first approved and permitted Robinson Helipad, officially opening the private rooftop helistop. Located on the Honda dealership in Santa Ana, California, the 20 x 20-foot helipad features Robinson’s new lightweight deck designed for helicopters with gross weights up to 3,000 lb.

Honda of Santa Ana owner Ron Vinci took advantage of Robinson’s offer to provide a helipad deck, heliport consulting, and engineering assistance if he bought a new R44. Vinci recently purchased the new R44 Raven II, which he will use to visit his car dealership from his home in San Diego, less than an hour’s flight away by helicopter.

"This is really first class," Vinci said. "Now I can make some business calls in the morning and be up here in time to have a lunch meeting with the guys." Before his helipad, Vinci needed to schedule an entire day to visit his dealership with a two-to-three-hour commute each way. Now he can visit more often and spend much less time traveling.

Lightweight, and easy on the pocketbook, too.

The Robinson Helipad deck was designed by Robinson engineers to fill the need for a low-cost, lightweight helipad. The deck is composed of 24 ten-inch wide by twenty-foot aluminum extrusions, which fit together in a tongue and groove arrangement, mounted on a separate beam support structure. Easily assembled by two people with hand tools in one day, the deck and its attachment hardware weighs less than 1,600 lb.

Free, for a limited time:

Robinson’s offer to provide a free helipad deck is still available to Southern California and Arizona customers who purchase a new R44. Robinson will provide the deck, heliport consulting, and engineering services as part of the package. A second helipad in California is already underway in Temecula (CA).

FMI: www.robinsonheli.com