9M9 – Zug Island Heliport, Detroit, Michigan (Fictional) v1.0
Background
Zug Island has the appearance of a post-apocalyptic industrial hellscape, belching fire and smoke day and night, a black anti-oasis surrounded by greens and grays. Located on the Detroit River just outside the Detroit city limits, it is Michigan’s version of Gary, Indiana. Created in 1888 when a canal was cut through Samuel Zug’s marshland at the mouth of the Rouge River, the newly formed island was quickly put to use as an industrial dumping ground. A blast furnace was installed in 1902 to refine steel with a second furnace added in 1909. At the time they were the largest such blast furnaces in the world. Prompted by demand from the nearby automotive industry, the mill was expanded in 1931 by the National Steel Corporation and the workforce peaked at 16,000 during the 1940s. The mills were purchased in 2003 by US Steel when National Steel became insolvent. US Steel idled most of its workforce on the Island in 2020, reducing the number of employees there to about 500.
The island and the adjacent river is the most polluted spot in Michigan. A century of unchecked dumping of toxic materials from steel making and numerous other industrial enterprises in the River Rouge area has left the Detroit River filled with poisonous sediment. Fortunately, an 84-million dollar dredging operation began in 2024 with the goal of cleaning out the polluted sediment around the island. But operations on the island continue to emit pollution into the air, and nearby residents live in a persistent, smelly miasma. The EPA has measured high levels of ammonia and ethylene, along with mercury, manganese, and lead compounds. Even so, a small portion of the island is maintained in its natural state, with foxes, mink, wild turkeys and Perigrine falcons among the wildlife living there. Life indeed finds a way.
The Heliport as constructed in MSFS
Wouldn’t you love to visit this island paradise? Well, you can’t. The island is private property and access to the public over the only vehicle bridge is severely restricted. But you can visit the island in MSFS, and now there is even a place to land. I have added a helipad near one of the large commercial buildings, and given it the unused identifier 9M9. Although photogrammetry of the island is not highly detailed, the island does look appropriately gloomy from the air. To add some detail, I placed a few buildings and some vehicles and other objects near the helipad. I also added some appropriately stinky smoke. I hope this makes your visit more “enjoyable.”
If you have the ability, be sure to fly this scenery at night in VR. You just might feel like you’ve entered the movie Blade Runner.
Notes
To install the heliport, merely unzip and place the folder titled “mulberrywing-airport-9m9-zug-island-heliport” in your community folder.
Samuel Zug was a dedicated abolitionist. His biography, published by the Historic Elmwood Cemetery & Foundation, states: “He was a worker on the Underground Railroad who sheltered and assisted countless freedom seekers. He was an early member of the Michigan Anti-Slavery Society in the 1840s. He supported the anti-slavery newspaper, the Signal of Liberty, with both his subscription and advertising. He was active in Michigan’s anti-slavery Liberty Party, and the Anti-Slavery Young Men of Michigan Society.”
The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was heading to the Zug Island steel mills in 1975 with a load of iron ore pellets when it sank off Whitefish Point in Lake Superior during a brutal November storm. All 29 hands were lost. The sinking was memorialized in a famous song by the Canadian musician Gordon Lightfoot.
The new Gordie Howe International Bridge crosses the Detroit River between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, immediately adjacent to Zug Island. Gordie Howe was a famous Canadian ice hockey player who spent 25 of his 26 NHL seasons with the Detroit Red Wings. He is beloved by Americans and Canadians alike.
Summary
The Zug Island Heliport gives you access to the most industrialized area in the state of Michigan. Home to steel mills for 120 years, Zug Island is covered by decades of soot, coal dust, and heavy metals. Come visit the most polluted spot in the state — just be sure to leave the toxic waste behind when you leave.
