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HELICOPTER AIR SERVICE PROGRAM   421


In the San Francisco and Oakland Helicopter Airlines certificate proceedings, where subsidy was not in issue, the Hearing Examiner found that

"According to the Post Office Department, this service has proved advantageous to the postal service and the Department desires that it be continued. Whether the authority to carry mail is by exemption or certificate is immaterial." 1

Indirect benefits accruing to the public from the operations of commercial helicopter carriers include the intangible gains to the US national aviation interest as a whole as well as tangible and measurable benefits to the military establishments.

The United States has maintained its leadership in the manufacture and development of helicopters and VTOL aircraft. The United States currently enjoys a position of world leadership in helicopter operations (both civil and military) and in helicopter manufacturing and development. The US helicopter manufacturing industry is a world supplier of helicopters and related equipment, for both civilian and military use.

The present position of the United States in the helicopter field has been secured after many years of effort and the investment of substantial sums of both government and private funds, pursuant to the development  policies of our government. The certified helicopter operations being conducted in the United States have set the standard abroad for this type of service, and they have constituted a "show-case" for the sale of United States manufactured equipment overseas.

Many foreign countries (including the USSR) are actively supporting helicopter operations and helicopter manufacturing, and larger helicopters have been developed and are being operated in the USSR. The value of vertical-lift aircraft is being recognized on a rapidly increasing front, particularly in the underdeveloped areas of Africa and Asia, where ground transport is inadequate or nonexistent. The United States certificated helicopters operations have done a great deal to stimulate this activity and to demonstrate the advantages of United States made equipment.

Evidence of recognition of US world leadership in commercial helicopter operations is the number of foreign aviation and government officials who have inspected the facilities and operations of our certificated helicopter carriers. 2

Another aspect of public benefit also intangible but important, nevertheless, is the Civil Defense capability represented by the commercial helicopter carriers. The position of the Department of Defense was stated by the Hearing Examiner in his Initial Decision in the Chicago Helicopter Renewal Case.

"The Department of Defense also presented evidence on behalf of its office of Civil Defense. Its presentation indicated that helicopters provide very useful and significant purposes in civil defense including the fact that this aircraft may be the only means of accomplishing certain necessary operations in the event of a massive nuclear attack. The Department fo Defense while not supporting any particular helicopter service does favor any increase in scheduled helicopter operations which would maintain or increase the civil helicopter air fleet which in an emergency would be the primary reservoir in support of civil defense requirements.

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1 Initial Decision of Herbert K. Bryan, Hearing Examiner, CAB Docket 12029.

2 Documentation is to be found in New York Airways Exhibit No. 225, CAB Docket No. 11941 and in exhibits of Chicago Helicopter Airways, CHA 205, in CAB Docket No. 14008 and 140083.


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