Source: Fortune
Summary
President Donald Trump announced plans to build a granite helipad on the White House lawn to accommodate new, more powerful presidential helicopters. The project will be privately funded by Sikorsky Aircraft, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, and is expected to cost up to $6 million. Trump said the new helicopters are too powerful to land on the White House lawn without damaging the grass, and the helipad will allow officials to “finally retire 45-year-old helicopters” that had been used as Marine One.
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The numbers tell one story.
Trump’s construction project is just the latest in a series of efforts to remake the White House in his own image. The new helipad will be able to handle the more powerful helicopters, but it’s also a symbol of Trump’s desire to leave his mark on the White House. The project’s cost and timeline are unclear, but Trump has said it will be privately funded. The fact that Sikorsky is paying for the helipad because they “felt a little bit guilty” that the new fleet of helicopters was too powerful to land at the White House is a curious one.
Author: Evan Null
