Makes you wonder, what the Patrol Cars would look like for Rialto if they had gotten the contract. Oh, I imagine that they would be well kept up the first few years then as they were held in and figures to not be able to compete for another contract then he would run the cars longer to get and make more money out of the city. Then the city units would become the County units, because I imagine that the County could on paper purchase the old Patrol Vehicle from the County and use it for another few years. Just another way to save a buck and make the County Deputy a sitting duck with inadequate equipment.
Well, Take flight, I am happy that we have the Aircraft, after all we want to maintain that largest Privately owned, Public maintained fleet in the USA!!!
BSRancher...
Grand Prairie, Texas (May 15, 2006) The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department took possession of an AS350 (“A-Star”) B3 last week, the newest addition to their air fleet and the fifth A-Star for the department. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department patrols the largest county in the continental United States, with a jurisdiction that runs from the Los Angles County line eastwards to the Arizona and Nevada borders. The region has a wide variety of terrain—from desert to mountain—along with extremes in temperatures as well as high mountain altitudes, which presents a series of potential problems for any helicopter.
“We have about 20,000 square miles to cover,” says Captain R. P. “Toby” Tyler, Captain of Emergency Operations Division for the Sheriff’s Aviation Division. “Much of our territory is desert, but we also have mountains as high as 11,400 feet. The mountains are popular hiking areas throughout the year, so with our new A-Stars, we’re able to search for stranded hikers whatever their location, and hoist them out to safety even on the hottest days. We also have problems with wildfires, so our A-Stars carry firefighting hoist buckets as standard equipment during fire season. This means that as soon as we spot a wildfire forming, we can do something about it. The work we do is extremely demanding and the A-Star is capable of completing the varied missions and challenges we face in our diverse geographic environment.”
The AS350 B3 is a 6-7 seat, high performance aircraft equipped to perform a wide variety of law enforcement missions: surveillance, command and control, search and rescue, transport, border patrol and aerial support to ground operations. It’s able to perform in high and hot environment and is capable of high pursuit speeds and offers excellent maneuverability, thereby increasing response times. In addition, the aircraft has day and night VFR flight capabilities and can be customized with an NVG capable lighting source. It also features the extra power needed to lift full loads in adverse high-altitude atmospheric conditions.
About American Eurocopter
American Eurocopter LLC is the American subsidiary of Eurocopter, the largest helicopter manufacturer in the world, and EADS North America, the North American operations of EADS, the second largest aerospace and defense company in the world. American Eurocopter builds, markets, sells and supports the broadest range of civil and para-public helicopters offered by any manufacturer. The product line represents the most cost-effective, technologically-advanced helicopters, ranging from light single to heavy twin, serving all markets and missions. American Eurocopter's headquarters and main facility are in Grand Prairie, TX, with a factory in Columbus, Mississippi.
American Eurocopter supplies a broad range of helicopters designed to serve the corporate, offshore, law enforcement, utility and medical markets, backed by a unique level of customer support. For more information, call or write to American Eurocopter Corporation, 2701 Forum Drive, Grand Prairie, TX, 75052, (972) 641-0000 or visit our website at www.eurocopterusa.com
© Meeker Aviation
Wichita, KS In mid-May the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department (LASD) took delivery of the first of 12 AS350B2, AStar helicopters which will go into service this week and debut at the ALEA Conference in Wichita. The purchase was spread over two years (2002-03), requiring separate approvals each year. The remainder of the initial 6 which were approved late last year, will be delivered incrementally by the end of September and will go into service immediately. This will complete the delivery of the initial order of 6 AS350s to LASD. Deliveries of the second 6 AS350 B2s that were approved in April, 2003, will begin in December, 2003 through the end of the March, 2004 rounding out the fleet of 12 AS350 B2s. The AS350B2s will replace the Departments current fleet of MD500Es, 520Ns and MD600Ns.
The decision to change to the AS350B2 was reached after an extensive selection process involving a fly-off between the AS350B2, the Bell 407 and the MD600N. Assessment of other criteria, also part of the evaluation process, included company technical support, spares support and training. When testing these aircraft in all categories, the AS350 B2s performance was exceptional. This project required lengthy justification and negotiation with the County Board of Supervisors to seek approval of these aircraft which took over two years to complete, said Captain Jim Di Giovanna, for the LASD.
LASDs 12 AS350B2s will join the growing family of AS350 law enforcement operators in the State of California already engaged in the business of homeland security and support to police ground operations. They include the Los Angeles Police Department, the California Highway Patrol, the Riverside County Sheriffs Office, the Ontario Police Department, the United States Customs Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Border Patrol and the East Bay Regional Parks District. We found that these aircraft meet all our needs in each area of our operation that varies from an urban environment to coastal, mountainous and high desert terrain, literally from the desert to the sea said Captain Di Giovanna.
The new instrument panels coupled with the selection of supporting technical and communications equipment render the law enforcement package in these AStars some of the most advanced in U.S. law enforcement aviation.
The ergonomic design of the AS350B2s open cockpit, its large useful load, unparalleled visibility, power, speed, and available full-range of police options render the AS350B2 as one of the finest and most versatile police helicopters available in the world today. In my estimation, they are currently the finest single engine helicopter, in its class, currently in operation, Captain Di Giovanna said.
Both the AS350B2, and its more powerful brother, the AS350B3, are uniquely qualified to meet the requirements expected by American law enforcement agencies in order to help meet the new challenges of the homeland defense mission, as well as provide unequaled air support to ground operations.
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