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298  HELICOPTER AIR SERVICE PROGRAM

Senator MONRONEY. What part of your income comes from your helicopter operation and what part of it comes from your other activities? 

Mr. BAGAN. I would say the coming year we will probably have an income from the helicopters of about a million-and-a-half dollars, and we will probably have an income from our maintenance facility of $2 million. 

But there is something else I want to tell you about. 

Senator MONRONEY. Income from your other facilities helps you to carry the general overhead of your helicopters.

Mr. BAGAN. That is correct. That is one of the purposes. 

Another purpose, one of the most important, too, is the helicopter is a mechanical gadget. It requires more maintenance. As a small airline it is hard to give the maintenance support to keep the personnel around. By having our own maintenance base, I have every type shop available, sheet metal shop, radio shop, electric shop, hydraulic shop, an engine buildup shop, welding shop. 

All these shops and all these top mechanics available to help with the helicopters. This gives the helicopter terrific support which it couldn't really afford on its own.
I bought that at a reasonable price, I think. Again I am proud of what we are doing. I am out hustling. I bought it for a piece of paper, and it is a million or two million dollar business. And it was a hundred thousand dollars.

One thing which will help our income, and is also one of the most interesting projects I think in the country for the coming year: Through the joint efforts of the Port of Oakland, Bell Aerospace, and our company, we filed an application with the Home and Housing Finance Corp. This application has been granted. In approximately 30 days we will be taking delivery of Hovercraft. This Hovercraft is the vehicle that rides on a bubble of air, about 5 or 6 feet off, I think, and goes across at 6 feet. This is a federally approved program under the Home and Housing Finance Corp. They are planning approximately $800,000 for the whole program.

The other three participants, Bell Aerospace, Port of Oakland, and ourselves, are splitting the other $350,000. We are to take delivery of two of these ships. The ships are quite similar to the helicopter in many ways. I think it is almost like the helicopter only upside down. It uses the same General Electric engine, and has a gearbox which turns the big fan underneath instead of up above. 

We will take delivery on April 11 of the first one, about May 10 or 11 of the second one, and then we will install the engines and put radar on them. We will train for around 200 or 300 hours on these and these will go on our scheduled service. 

Senator MONRONEY. How fast do they go? 

Mr. BAGAN. About 60 to 70 miles an hour. 

Senator MONRONEY. Not as fast as the helicopter? 

Mr. BAGEN. No. But really the distance we are talking about, Senator, you are only talking about 1 or 2 minutes. 

Senator MONRONEY. You will only go over water? 

Mr. BAGAN. No; land, too. 

We intend to bring it right up to the gate where the helicopters are, and down over land or water. 

Senator MONRONEY. How does it take off?