Is there a helicopter specifically designed or modified to fly golfers around a Pacific island 18-hole golf-course?
Australian golf executive Stephen Allen has scoured the aviation press for several months and has yet to find the answer to his dreams.
"Our clients have opened a new course off the coast of Queensland and need to fly people around it," says Allen.
"Jack Nicklaus flies his Gulfstream, callsign Air Bear One, and Greg Norman has a Boeing, so the rotary wing industry must be able to come up with its equivalent to stop the executive jet side hogging the limelight on the golf-aviation front."
So what special requirements is Allen looking for? "The course is spread along a string of islands so we need two engines for over-sea safety. Then we need to carry up to 18 people," he says.
Plenty of cabin capacity is also needed to allow them to get their clubs and trolleys inside.
"Perhaps the answer is underslung loads for the clubs? Then they could tee off straight after touchdown."
If the pilot had some knowledge of golf that would be a big advantage: "We can't have him landing in a sand trap and not being able to get out or putting the passengers down on the wrong hole in the middle of a round."
Allen can be contacted on Dubai (+9714) 829420 or Fax (+9714) 829423.
Source: Flight Daily News
