Tresco Heliport is a heliport

Heliport

A heliport is a small airport suitable only for use by helicopters. Heliports typically contain one or more helipads and may have limited facilities such as fuel, lighting, a windsock, or even hangars...

 located on the island of Tresco, in the Isles of Scilly

Isles of Scilly

The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...

 off the southwest coast of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, UK.

History

Tresco Heliport has a CAA

United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority

The Civil Aviation Authority is the public corporation which oversees and regulates all aspects of aviation in the United Kingdom. The CAA head office is located in the CAA House on Kingsway in Holborn, London Borough of Camden...

 Ordinary Licence (Number P677) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee. The aerodrome

Aerodrome

An aerodrome, airdrome or airfield is a term for any location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve cargo, passengers or neither...

 is not licensed for night use.

Tresco's principal industry is tourism, and the heliport supports this by enabling scheduled helicopter service to and from the mainland. Without the presence of the heliport, visitors to the island from the mainland would need to transfer to the inter-island boat service from the main island of St. Mary's

St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly

St Mary's is the largest island of the Isles of Scilly, an archipelago off the southwest coast of Cornwall in the United Kingdom.-Description:...

. The heliport is owned and operated by Tresco Estates, who lease the island from the Duchy of Cornwall

Duchy of Cornwall

The Duchy of Cornwall is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch inherits the duchy and title of Duke of Cornwall at the time of his birth, or of his parent's succession to the throne. If the monarch has no son, the...

.

Tresco Heliport was opened by John King, Baron King of Wartnaby

John King, Baron King of Wartnaby

John Leonard King, Baron King of Wartnaby was a businessman famous for leading British Airways from an inefficient, nationalised company to one of the most successful airlines of recent times...

, Chairman of British Airways

British Airways

British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...

, on 26 April 1983.

On summer weekdays the heliport receives up to six flights a day from Penzance Heliport

Penzance Heliport

Penzance Heliport is located northeast of Penzance, Cornwall. The heliport has scheduled flights to the Isles of Scilly, which connect to the railway network at Penzance railway station by a special bus service...

 on the mainland, declining to two services a day in winter. Passengers are conveyed from the heliport to their resort or destination on a passenger carrying trailer drawn by a farm tractor

Tractor

A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...

. A footpath from one of the main landing beaches, at Carn Near, to the Abbey Gardens

Tresco Abbey Gardens

Tresco Abbey Gardens are located on the island of Tresco in the Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom.A Benedictine abbey was founded here in 964 AD, although the majority of what remains today comes from the Priory of St Nicholas founded by monks from Tavistock Abbey in 1114.The gardens were...

 crosses the heliport landing field; it is closed by warning lights and bells a few minutes before a helicopter is due to land at the heliport, and opened again after the helicopter has taken off.

Airlines and destinations

External links

• Tresco Heliport page, at Tresco Estates website
• Tresco Heliport page, at helis.com