Demolition is expected to begin soon on the concrete helipad installed at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. Built in 2017, local authorities approved the helipad on the condition it only be used to support the presidential mission while Trump was in office.
Private helipads are generally banned in Palm Beach unless used to support law enforcement or air ambulance operations; however, an exception was made for Trump on both security and traffic grounds, with members of the Palm Beach Town Council theorizing that it would alleviate traffic congestion from presidential motorcades. In practice, Trump rarely used the helipad, preferring ground transportation to and from Palm Beach International airport via a route often lined with flag-waving supporters.
The 50-foot-diameter pad was built to accommodate rotorcraft as large as the Sikorsky VH-3D “White Tops” operated by Marine Squadron HMX-1 but drew fire in 2018 when some area residents objected to its use by one of the Trump Organization’s private Sikorsky S-76s during a family vacation.