Heliport Gorinchem - Designing an Aerial Logistic Network

Abstract

The Dutch city of Gorinchem has great economic growth opportunities for the future, but is limited by its transport system. It is strategically located at a crossroad of two motorways and two rivers, the Boven-Merwede and the Linge. Gorinchem is home to a number of multinationals, among others Damen Shipyards and Van Oord. This sets the right conditions for economic growth. However, the city roads are congested and the limited accessibility of the area by train and car slows this economic growth. Therefore, a solution is required to make Gorinchem more accessible. The development of an aerial network is an approach that could comply with the vision of the city as an innovative regional business centre. This project, called Heliport Gorinchem, aims to provide a final design for an aerial logistic network that can be implemented in Gorinchem in the year 2020. The project consists of three main parts: the project initiation and definition, a conceptual design part, and a detailed design part. This report contains a review of the project initiation and definition, and the conceptual design part. The main focus of this report is on the detailed design part of the project. The aim of the project initiation and definition is to structure the project, come up with a time management plan and organise the group. Also, the requirements and constraints for the project are set. The goal of the project is to design a concept for a sustainable logistic network of multi-purpose aerial vehicles in Gorinchem, competitive with the current transport market, within ten weeks. A market analysis is performed after the project initiation, to identify the traffic problem in Gorinchem on a local and regional scale. Locally, the city has three connection points to the motorways and these points form the entry and exit of the city. The capacity of the roads to these points is too low for the traffic they have to handle. It is estimated that there is an overload of 4000 travellers per hour during rush hours. On a regional level, a connection with a railway to the north and south of the country fails to appear and there is no aerodrome near Gorinchem to have any connection by air. The outcome of the conceptual design part is a concept for an operational aerial network. To come up with ideas for possible concepts for the network, multiple brainstorm sessions are held. A selection procedure is executed in order to reduce the amount of possible concepts and to come up with a final concept for the detailed design part of the project. From this, a combination of a linear local and a linear regional network is selected. The verification of the conceptual design has led to the conclusion that an aerial network alone will not solve the traffic problem entirely at this moment. However, there is a demand for a better accessibility and economic growth in of the city. Therefore the aim of the project is altered into a new vision. The goal of the aerial network is to serve economic growth of the city. An aerial network will allow Gorinchem to improve its accessibility to important locations, while becoming an important link in the aerial infrastructure of the Netherlands. The aim is therefore to implement an aerial network before 2020. In the short term, up to 2030, the goal is to realise a profitable aerial network. In the years thereafter an expansion of the aerial network will allow for an improvement of the traffic situation in Gorinchem. This is the aim of the long-term vision. The detailed design part elaborates on the design of all aspects of the aerial network in the short term, while keeping its long-term development in mind. The main customers are identified to be business travellers. Other smaller markets are determined as well, like tourism, medical assistance and governmental flights. The aerial vehicle for the short term is selected to be an Eurocopter EC135 helicopter that makes use of a hybrid engine and noise reducing technology. The helicopter should operate under visual flight rules to limit the investment costs. The aerodrome is designed to be a self-sustaining heliport with a low investment cost of 750,000 euro for the landing site. For the location, the industrial estate Avelingen at the edge of the suburbs is chosen. It has a direct connection with the motorway and can be linked with the future railway from Breda to Utrecht. Furthermore, it is located at the Boven-Merwede river which has an extra advantage. An approach route for helicopters will minimise the environmental impact regarding noise and safety. A business model for the aerial network has been developed and analysed. Unfortunately, the business model shows that it will not be profitable in the short term to set up a transport service for business travellers. The main reasons for this are the high maintenance costs of the vehicle, call out costs, and airport charges. From the conducted research, it can be concluded that it is possible to realise a heliport in Gorinchem and start its operations in the year 2020. Although the implementation of a profitable aerial network seems currently not feasible, it is reasonable to invest in the construction of a heliport as there is demand for a heliport in Gorinchem. It is advised to develop a heliport that allows companies like Damen Shipyards and Van Oord to use the facilities with their own helicopter. Furthermore, this will be a first and innovative step in the development of a regional aerial network, which provides fast and high quality transport. This can offer Gorinchem the opportunity to take a leading role in aerial transportation on a regional scale in the Netherlands . Furthermore, it will support the economic growth of the city. Further research should focus on the design of a new aerial vehicle. It is recommended that maintenance and fuel cost are reduced for the new aerial vehicle in order to make the aerial network profitable. Other research should focus on the expansion of the aerial network and find alternative locations with low landing charges. In this way, the high landing fees at the airports can be avoided and the possibility to make a profitable aerial network will increase. It is recommended to perform a market analysis on the willingness to pay of the future business travellers and other markets. This will have influence on the income of the business model. In the best case scenario, the design can even become profitable in the short term.