Heliport Marking Services

Heliport marking is the painted layer that tells a pilot, at a glance and without any lighting or radio aid, exactly what a deck is, where it starts and ends, and what it can carry. The core set covers the TLOF boundary or circle, the FATO boundary where the two areas differ in size, the H identification marking centred on the touchdown point, a maximum weight figure in tonnes for decks that carry one, and, where a fixed approach direction applies, an approach path indicator and wind direction indicator. ICAO Annex 14 Volume II sets the dimension, colour, and tolerance for each marking, and GACAR Part 138 applies the same reference to licensed Saudi heliports, so a marking scheme is a dimensional and colour compliance exercise as much as a paint job.

Surface preparation and paint specification matter more on a heliport than on most other marked surfaces, because rotor downwash, tyre and skid contact, and Saudi surface heat cycling all work against paint adhesion and colour retention faster than a standard road-marking specification assumes. NLS specifies aviation-grade marking paint rated for the surface type, concrete, asphalt, or steel deck plating on an elevated helideck, and for the UV exposure and thermal cycling Saudi conditions put on an exterior marking, rather than defaulting to a generic line-marking paint that fades or peels within a season.

The service runs as a defined sequence: a site survey confirming the pad's actual dimensions and any existing marking condition, a marking layout set against the applicable ICAO Annex 14 and GACAR dimensional requirements for the deck's category, surface preparation, application, and a post-application inspection confirming dimension, colour, and retroreflectivity (where applicable) meet the standard before handover. This same sequence applies whether the work is a new pad's first marking or a repaint of a weathered existing scheme where the old lines have degraded past a usable tolerance.

Saudi heat and UV exposure shorten a marking scheme's usable life more than a temperate-climate repaint interval assumes, and elevated helideck surfaces in particular see accelerated wear from the combination of direct sun, rotor downwash, and steel substrate thermal expansion, worth planning into a facility's maintenance schedule rather than waiting for a marking to visibly fail before scheduling a repaint.

NLS delivers heliport marking as a scoped service, survey, layout, application, and inspection, using aviation-grade materials matched to the deck's surface type and exposure, priced in USD for the service scope and SAR for the customer-facing offer. A project team typically shares the pad's dimensions, surface type, and category, and NLS returns a marking layout and inspection plan with a matched quote.