Trump Proposes 100-Foot White House Helipad as VH-92A Exhaust Scorches South Lawn
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 19
Trump Proposes 100-Foot White House Helipad as VH-92A Exhaust Scorches South Lawn
13 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 19
A 100-foot helipad with a black-granite presidential seal is under consideration for the White House South Lawn, aiming to give presidential helicopters a fixed landing zone.
The proposal is meant to stop the new VH-92A fleet from scorching the grass with engine exhaust, a problem identified as early as a 2018 training session.
The $5 billion helicopter replacement program delivered 23 Sikorsky-built aircraft, but no new helicopter has yet carried a president from the South Lawn.
The helipad idea fits Trump’s broader push to remake the White House complex, even as his separate $400 million East Wing ballroom project has been stalled by legal and procedural setbacks.
Beyond the helipad, what is the total cost to fix the operational flaw in the $5 billion Marine One fleet?
Could advanced materials, not construction, protect the historic White House lawn from the new Marine One helicopters?
Why build a permanent helipad when military doctrine now favors using temporary and dispersed landing sites?