Contact:           Kay Powell

865-453-8574

kpowell@mypigeonforge.com

 

HELICOPTER HEADQUARTERS LIFTS OFF IN PIGEON FORGE

 

$8 million attraction adds to tourism inventory of mountain resort town

 

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (October 2006) – Helicopter Headquarters, an $8 million attraction designed to showcase the development of helicopters and to encourage visitors to experience wingless flight, has opened on the Parkway in Pigeon Forge.

 

“Whether or not you’re ever going to fly in one, helicopters are familiar to everyone, and Helicopter Headquarters explains this aspect of aviation very well. It’s a solid addition to the many family-oriented attractions in Pigeon Forge,” said Leon Downey, executive director of the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism.

 

Portions of the attraction are interactive, including three custom-made flight simulators and a green-screen experience through which visitors can get a DVD souvenir that shows them piloting a helicopter—or diving from one.

 

Helicopter-style flight has intrigued man for centuries, a fact verified by display of a full-scale model of Leonardo da Vinci’s concept for a helicopter, taken from a 15th-century sketch.

 

Other displays recognize pioneers in helicopter flight and pay tribute to helicopters’ military uses.  Also on display are theatrical posters from movies such as “Lost Command,” “Rambo III” and “Team America”, a replica of a supersonic military helicopter that was the “star” of the “Airwolf” TV show and a mock-up helicopter shell used in the movie “Terminator3: Rise of the Machines.”

 

One artifact that drew attention from the day Helicopter Headquarters opened is a prototype for a Sky Commuter hovercraft, believed to be the only survivor of about 10 that were made in the 1980s. 

 

In addition to its role as a visitor attraction, Helicopter Headquarters has space for special functions, convention gatherings and other events.

 

Downey noted that Helicopter Headquarters is one of several new developments in Pigeon Forge.

 

Among them:

 

  • WonderWorks, a $9 million attraction that combines science with entertainment and described as an amusement park for the mind, which opened this summer.
  • “The Miracle,” a multi-million dollar, multi-media production in a 1,700-seat theater that chronicles the life of Jesus. It opened this spring.
  • Expansion of the $15 million Walden’s Landing development, which has added new restaurant and retail space.
  • Zorb, an innovative ride invented in New Zealand that features inflatable plastic spheres big enough to hold human passengers for rides that careen down a hillside. This is a $1.2 million project opening this fall.
  • Dollywood has announced a $17.5 million steel roller coaster, the Mystery Mine, for 2007.
  • Dollywood’s Splash Country water park has announced a $2.75 million expansion for 2007.

 

In addition, two multi-faceted resort developments continue to take shape, both featuring retail space, restaurants, lodging and attractions:

 

  • Pigeon Falls and Main Street Marketplace, which developers label a $500 million project.
  • Belle Island Village, which developers value at $60 million.

 

Visitor information about Pigeon Forge is available at www. MyPigeonForge.com or by calling toll-free 800-251-9100.

 

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