Rentschler Heliport

Economic and redevelopment reasons. The heliport was part of the larger Rentschler Field, a private airfield owned by United Technologies Corporation (UTC), the parent company of Pratt & Whitney. In the late 1990s, UTC decided the large airfield was no longer essential for its operations and donated 75 acres of the land to the State of Connecticut for redevelopment. The closure facilitated the construction of a new stadium and a technology park on the valuable real estate.

The site of the original Rentschler Field and its heliport has been completely redeveloped. The location is now home to the Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field, the football stadium for the University of Connecticut (UConn) Huskies, which opened in 2003. The surrounding area has been developed into a technology and business campus, also known as Rentschler Field. While the original airfield is gone, Pratt & Whitney (now part of Raytheon Technologies) maintains an active, private heliport on its adjacent manufacturing campus (FAA Identifier: CT88) to serve its current corporate needs.

The heliport was an operational component of the historic Rentschler Field. Named after Pratt & Whitney founder Frederick Rentschler, the airfield was a pivotal site in American aviation history. It served as the primary flight test and delivery center for Pratt & Whitney engines and for aircraft built by other UTC divisions like Vought-Sikorsky. Thousands of military aircraft, including iconic WWII fighters like the Vought F4U Corsair and Grumman F6F Hellcat, made their first flights from this field. Aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh also used the airfield extensively as a consultant. The heliport itself primarily handled corporate and executive transport for UTC, often utilizing helicopters manufactured by its own Sikorsky Aircraft division.

There are zero prospects for reopening the original Rentschler Heliport (US-11214). The land has been permanently and successfully redeveloped into a major sports and commercial complex. A modern, active heliport on the adjacent Pratt & Whitney property fulfills the company's current aviation requirements.