USA04 August, 20263 min read
Donald Trump Orders Contractors To Redo White House South Lawn Helipad After Slanted Complaints
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Trump ordered a redo of the South Lawn helipad over appearance and slope. Crews removed parts of the granite presidential seal during the redo.
Helipad redo ordered
President Donald Trump has reportedly ordered contractors to rip up work on his planned White House South Lawn helipad and start over again after weeks of around-the-clock construction. The Washington Post reported that photographs show contractors have taken apart their work, including a 100-foot-wide granite presidential seal that was beginning to take shape last week. Trump had announced the granite helipad to protect the South Lawn from the intense exhaust heat and rotor wash generated by the new VH-92A Patriot helicopter that will shuttle him, the vice president, their families, and their closest advisors around, both at home and abroad.
The project’s cost was described as $5 million to $6 million, and it is being paid for by Sikorsky, the Lockheed Martin subsidiary that makes the VH-92A. The White House said helipads should be flat for safety but do not need to be perfectly horizontal, and it previously said the South Lawn slopes downward about 20 degrees in some places.
Why Trump objected
Two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Trump’s private comments told The Washington Post that Trump was “frustrated with its appearance” and was questioning whether “the slope of the White House lawn needs to be changed.” The Washington Post also reported that Trump expressed a desire for a landing pad that sits level with the horizon, prompting contractors to disassemble their work and consider whether to start by changing the lawn itself. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle defended the project, saying, “For years, the White House has desperately needed a proper Helipad on White House grounds that will allow the President to land safely and also protect the beautiful South Lawn grass from the fierce exhaust fumes of the incredible Marine One.”
The Daily Beast said Trump became so irritated by the appearance of the planned heli-pad that he demanded a do-over, and it cited the Washington Post’s reporting that he was dissatisfied with the results. The Hill reported that federal aviation administration recommendations do not require helipads to be perfectly horizontal, though they should be flat to allow for water runoff.
Timing and stakes
Construction crews have been working around-the-clock on the helipad project, and The Washington Post said Trump hopes it will wrap up before Chinese President Xi Jinping visits in late September. The Daily Beast reported that Trump had ordered the work to be completed by September on the White House South Lawn, but that he was dissatisfied with the results, according to sources told to the Post. The Washington Post said it was unclear how much additional cost or time the latest changes would add, and it noted that Lockheed Martin declined to comment about whether it had been asked to cover any additional costs.
For the interim, The Washington Post said Trump is using the Ellipse, a park south of the White House, as a temporary landing zone for Marine One. The Washington Post also said the VH-92A Patriot manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft has exhaust vents that direct heat downward, making grass-scorching likely, and it described the helipad as being near the South Portico.