Helicopter EC225 Landing Pad

GIS Project by Maria Kisyova and Christopher Cheung

Our objective was to find an ideal area for a EC225 landing pad in Swanton Pacific Ranch. The
criteria we chose is as follows:
Clearance of 500ft x 500ft because there needs to be a space wide enough for the helicopter to
safely land/lift off. The average length of EC225 is 64 feet and the average wingspan is 53 feet.
Flat ground (<10% slope) because landing a helicopter on a steeper slope will cause stability
issues. Also building a landing pad on a slope can cause erosional problems, which can damage
the landing pad.
Away from trees/forest because trees will get in the way of the helicopter descent path. We
would want to avoid any obstacles that could damage the helicopter during lift off or landing.
With this in mind, we decided that the most optimal land type for the landing pad would be the
range land use type. Additionally, we wouldnt want to clear out any trees in order to create this
helipad.
Away from stream (buffer, 500-1000 ft): We wouldnt want land near a stream because of
either rising water levels or erosion that could be cause by the stream. Both of these potential
events would result in damage towards the landing pad. Also construction in areas near water
could potentially damage the local environment and cause pollution.
Roads that leads to landing pad because this allows for convenient access to the helipad. In
order to meet this criteria we wanted our potential sites to be within 200 feet of a paved road.
Run model:
 Verify results
370259.68N 1221323.45 W Elev 140ft

We chose this location because it matches all of our criteria. It does not slope and has a 500 ft
clearance from all trees and streams. It is not too close to a road and there is enough room for a
new road to be built that leads to the helipad.