Karen Walker/ATLANTA
FIVE US HELICOPTER operators have submitted bids to provide a short-haul transport service in the Atlanta, Georgia, area when the city hosts the 1996 Olympic Games.
Organisers are not revealing the names of bidders for the project, known as the Atlanta Short-Haul Transportation System (ASTS), but say that they are all "top-of-the-line" companies. Contract award, is expected to be announced on 5 January.
The ASTS will use the global-positioning system (GPS) and data-links to allow up to 50 helicopters to fly between designated landing sites in and around Atlanta during the Olympics, delivering priority mail and packages and, possibly, VIP passengers.
The project is a joint effort by the US Federal Aviation Administration, the Helicopter Association International, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta law-enforcement agencies and NASA. If successful, the scheme may stay in place after the Olympics as a pioneer GPS-based transport system. One application may be, to provide a near all-weather helicopter emergency-medical service, for Atlanta.
FAA Administrator David Hinson says that the project will cost an estimated $10 million, half to be paid for by the FAA, and the rest to be picked up by other participants and private industry. Hinson says that the economic benefit in Atlanta is expected to be worth $15-19 million.
ASTS organisers report that, following an initial test involving a single helicopter in November, they see no technological barriers to implementing the system. A longer trial, involving several helicopters, is scheduled for January.
More than 800 general-aviation (GA) flights are expected daily into and out of Atlanta's airports during the 17-day Olympic period, plus more than 1,600 daily air-carrier flights - a 25% increase over regular air traffic in the area. The FAA will implement an arrival-and-departure slot-reservation programme to manage GA traffic into and out of the area.
"The 1996 summer Olympic Games will be the largest peacetime event in the history of the world," says Hinson. "Because of the magnitude of the event, these Olympics pose special challenges in aviation safety and security," he adds. The FAA will have 55 security personnel, on duty in Atlanta and a special air-operations centre at Dobbins AFB, Marietta, just outside Atlanta.
Bell Helicopter and Cessna Aircraft, will provide fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, to support the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games under parent company Textron's deal, to become an official sponsor of the event.
Bell will provide 19 helicopters to transport Olympic officials and broadcasters, while Cessna Citation business jets will be available on demand to transport staff and equipment.
According to Bell, the majority of the helicopters will be used for television coverage of the Games, which will take place between 14 July and 4 August 1996. Most of the helicopters, the majority of which will be Model 206B Jet-Rangers, will be leased by the manufacturers from operators for the duration of the Games.
Source: Flight International
