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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 0130.PDF
130 FLIGHT, 22 January I960 AIR COMMERCE . . .. Green Alley Heliport SABENA'S BASE IN THE HEART OF BRUSSELS By JAMES A. LUCAS Modern decor and a profusion of indoor plants add to the pleasing appearance of the pier building's interior IT was as long ago as September 1953 that Sabena started theirinternational helicopter passenger services, and through theyears the network has grown as this form of air transport has become accepted by the average traveller.The routes from Brussels to Antwerp/Rotterdam, Lille and Liege/Maastricht were the first to be opened, followed almostimmediately by an extension of the latter route to Cologne and Bonn. Since then the service to Eindhoven/Duisburg/Dortmundhas been added and, of course, 1957 saw the introduction of the Brussels/Paris route, bringing the unduplicated route mileage ofthe network to 652 miles. Experimental flights to Paris and London had been made during late 1953 and early 1954 but theover-sea route to London still awaits the introduction of more suitable helicopters. Originally, six seven-seat Sikorsky S-55s formed the Sabenahelicopter fleet, but these were gradually replaced during 1956-57 by 12-seat Sikorsky S-58s. Eight of these helicopters form thepresent fleet and Sabena are now looking to the larger twin-engine types for their third stage of progress. With the spread of the network and a steady increase in thenumber of passengers (39,661 in 1957 and 50,715 in 1958) came the need for more extensive ground facilities. This necessity wasfelt most at the major heliport in the network—Bruxelles, Allee Verte ("Brussels, Green Alley" to us). Any expansion of AlleeVerte, situated at ground level near the city centre, would normally have proved quite a problem. Fortunately, however, the demoli-tion of a disused railway station alongside the original heliport site allowed a spread across the tracks. The extra space has beenused for an extensive apron and a new terminal building (with room to spare for future extensions), leaving the original site freefor the take-off and landing area. The new terminal building embodies operational experiencegained through the years and is based on the latest "pier" prin- ciple used at Brussels National and other major airports. Thiscomprises a main section at the base of the apron with a covered passage (the pier) connecting a series of waiting rooms (termed "exits") along the outer edge of the apron. A large hall is theessential feature of the main section, which allows ample space for the foregathering of passengers and their friends, althoughpassengers are not required to report until ten minutes before departure time. The rather sober lines of the hall are relieved byan abstract mural on the primary wall which has "The Future of the Helicopter" as its theme; if beyond the comprehension ofsome of the passengers, it at least provides a colourful backcloth to the activities. Telephones, lavatories and a bar and buffetoccupy the outer end of the airside. The buffet can seat 50 people and its glazed front allows an unobstructed view of apron activities.One wall is covered with photographs of the latest American and British helicopters which have visited the heliport during the pastyear (mostly on their way to or from the Paris Show). An information and booking desk is also provided at this endof the hall and is available for both the fixed-wing and helicopter services of Sabena. At this and other suitable points in the build-ing flight information is displayed to passengers and staff on illuminated panels. It includes the destination (for departures)or the point of departure (for arrivals) and the appropriate exit number with a colour code for other details: blue, baggage loaded(no further baggage registration for that flight); yellow, departure delayed; red, service cancelled. Behind and alongside the booking desk are the administrativeoffices, pilots' rest room and operations. The heliport is in com- munication by telex with all other heliports in the network, thecity air terminus and nearby Brussels National Airport. A VHF receiver also forms part of the equipment although at present aiEtraffic control is covered by Brussels National which also supplies the meteorological information. Eventually, when twin-enginehelicopters permit full all-weather and night operations, the facilities will be provided on the spot. Baggage ar,d Custom*occupy a square near the entrance to the pier. Baggage registra- tion and outbound Customs are dealt with on the hah1 side of thesquare while inbound Customs and baggage collection are dealt with alongside the pier entrance. Communication with the apron Layout and dimen- sions of the apron, which at present deals with some 50 helicopter move- ments a day NEW •*V\ TERMINAL7 OLD
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