Once the luxury of a select few, the not-so-humble helipad is having a bit of a moment. With the explosion of interest in the explorer yacht market, a touch-and-go landing pad is becoming more of a necessity than the extravagance it once was. Sure, a tender will get you from shore to superyacht in good time, but there's nothing that quite compares to touching down on the bow. We take a closer look at some of the best helidecks afloat...
A defining feature of Geco's exterior design is the touch-and-go helipad on the foredeck. The minimalist platform complements the modern and slender profile of the 55 metre superyacht, and when not hosting a chopper, this round platform is instead transformed into a Moroccan-style cocktail area best enjoyed at sunset. After dark, the helipad also works as the perfect spot for stargazing.
Designed in a military-inspired style by Espen Øino, the helideck area on 71 metre Lürssen Skat was the first to be penned by the designer for a superyacht. Located on the aft deck, the helipad has a dual purpose as a landing site for choppers and also providing shade to the deck space below.
Ragnar is one of the coolest conversion projects to splash in recent years. Having started life as an icebreaking tug, even the harshest environments are a walk in the park for this Viking-inspired explorer. Unsurprisingly, Ragnar is jam-packed with some serious tools for exploring ashore, including an Airbus EC145 which sits atop a certified helideck, perfect for whisking thrill-seeking guests off for an afternoon of heli-skiing.
Octopus is perhaps one of the best known explorers on the water. The 126 metre Lürssen hit the water in 2003, commissioned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, and was designed for far-flung global adventures. She has two helipads on board, one fore and one aft, with a hangar that can store two aircraft. Since her delivery, Octopus has explored the coast of Antarctica, traversed the Northwest Passage and discovered the wrecks of long-lost WW2 battleships off the Philippines.
The foredeck on the 95.2 metre Lürssen superyacht Kismet is marked for half-court basketball, but it can also double up as a touch-and-go helipad. Her sport-loving owner Shahid Khan has sports interests on both sides of the Atlantic, owning both the Jacksonville Jaguars basketball team and Fulham FC.
To prepare her for adventures in the Antarctic, Planet Nine's helipad was designed with a lifting platform that allows the aircraft to be stowed in the hangar beneath when not in use. This also enables the 73 metre explorer yacht to carry two helicopters at once, allowing guests to arrive on board by chopper while the owner's own helicopter is stowed safely away.
Espen Øino designed the 72.25 metre Abeking & Rasmussen explorer yacht Cloudbreak with a cinema lounge right next to the helipad, so returning heli-skiers could step straight inside from the Bell 429 Global Ranger and watch GoPro footage of their day’s performance on the slopes.
The fully certified helideck on board Madsummer is located at the bow and capable of supporting an EC135 helicopter, which weighs around three tonnes. Elsewhere on the 95 metre Lürssen is a seaplane berth on the sundeck. The superstructure had to be strengthened to support the 590kg weight of the Husky A-1C 200 seaplane.