The way gr:w was built helicopters do make a lot of sense, planes too. The parachuting part does not make a lot of sense, but some sort of mechanic for fast traveling was necessary, and there were not many places to land. Terrible controls didn't help in that regard.
Oh I would also limit gear by weight. In hitman, it's pretty amazing just how many apples and coconuts you can hi in your jacket without it being a problem. I would limit space and gear on the person. Like you could cache it but you have to come back to the cache to get it.
I'm not sure the game im describing would be a AAA killer so it may just have to live on in my dreams.