Police Aviation News SPECIAL EDITION

©Police Aviation Research SPECIAL EDITION JULY 2012 PAR Police Aviation News July 2012 2

PAN—Police Aviation News is published monthly by POLICE AVIATION RESEARCH, 7 Wind- mill Close, Honey Lane, Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 3BQ UK. Contacts: Main: +44 1992 714162 Cell: +44 7778 296650 Skype: BrynElliott E-mail: [email protected]

SHOWS JULY 2012

FARNBOROUGH AIR SHOW Farnborough, Hampshire, UK 9-10 July 2012 Farnborough, one of the major shows in the aerospace calendar and yet in the main one not too kind to the Airborne Emergency Service sector of business. The large size and im- personal nature of Farnborough and its ilk are the main spur for the niche air events – not always shows – including PAvCon, NBAA and Heli-Expo.

Visitors are drawn to see displays covering nearly 3,500 square meters from hundreds of international companies housed under cover in a number of vast halls and chalets con- structed at great expense – others being left to the vagaries of the weather without cover or in their own tents and caravans. And this year the vagaries were decidedly nasty as Britain endured the worst summer in living memory. The poor weather clearly affected visitor numbers early in the week.

As the browned grass testifies, Farnborough 2010 was a far drier affair than this year. © Aviation-images.com via FI2012

Front Cover Image: The Bell 525 Relentless has ‘Oil Industry’ written all over it and it may never feature as an emergency services aircraft. That said it has features that could one day appear more widely—including the pilots seats. They run on tracks from the forward position into the main cabin and remove the need for separate crew doors. Access into the cockpit is vastly improved and there have been some very positive comments on the new side stick controls. The 525 mock up launched at HAI earlier in the year has been much improved and now actually works as intended—further enhancing its purpose. [Item page7] PAR image. Police Aviation News SPECIAL EDITION 3

The large companies, aloof in their giant stands and securely guarded chalets did their best to deter potential customers from seeking an audience with senior executives or even the lowly salesmen who had drawn the short straw for manning the exhibits from dawn to dusk.

Nonetheless many small companies were there displaying their products in the hope that they may be noticed. For some the vast cost will prove wasteful.

Uninhabited pipe dream The ‘imminent’ arrival of unmanned craft flying in public airspace continues to grab the headlines. Simply because there are thousands of projects, many of them little more than bits of foam and duct tape, there is an assumption that all is well and that soon airspace will open to give access to commercial operations.

It all remains an illusion that is constantly hyped up. Its day will come but not yet- awhile. The BAE Jetstream flying test bed mentioned in last month’s edition of Police Aviation News was on the Farnborough flight line and its purpose has regularly appeared in the news media over the past month. Same story but just written in a different way. It was no small shock to discover that the When is a UAV not a UAV? When it is still apparently pristine finish featured in the image issued developing the technology that everyone by BAE in June was an illusion. The Jetstream has a thinks is already here! very drab matt finish, a paint job that is already around a decade old. The aircraft is a tool and intent on making the best of some very limited funds under the ASTRAEA scheme and it is unlikely to resolve all the outstanding issues – mainly the development of a finite and trustworthy electronic ‘Sense and Avoid’ capability – without further funds being identified.

Unmanned of all shapes and sizes—but not many of them Police Aviation News July 2012 4

At a recent police aviation conference where they were promoting the Herti UAV and the so called ‘South Coast Project’ BAE stated that they believed they would have an unmanned craft over the 2012 Olympics. A nominal wager [£20] was riding on the claim and it is now due for payment. Recently Herti and its larger stable-mate, the twin engine Mantis, have been pushed into the hangar at BAE Warton to gather dust. Mantis will reappear later this year on testing but Herti, potentially the only ‘affordable’ BAE project likely to be for police use, is likely to just fade from view forever. Herti, little more than a remote-control light aircraft, was only just affordable if shared by the multitude of operators that the South Coast Project briefly brought together; anything more complex is going to take a step change in central government funding. Looks as if the pilots can be sure of their jobs for the foreseeable future. Police Aviation News SPECIAL EDITION 5

I mentioned headline grabbing and even as I was formulating the words I found an article in the July edition of the US magazine that made its name in placing Bell Heli- copter at the top of the ‘best in support’ year on year. The staff of this magazine compiled an article based on the words of Michael Toscano the CEO for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International [AUVSI] and added images of the Bell Eagle Eye tilt- rotor and the lightweight quad rotor UAV operated by Merseyside Police as illustrat- ing typical success stories. If they had checked their sources they may have real- ised that the tiny police craft dived into the River Mersey two years ago and they chose not to replace it and, although potentially a comeback kid, the Eagle Eye was cancelled from its starring role with the US Coast Guard years ago. This was not To- scano’s fault just misdirected editorial and not even relating to the text. Such errors are potentially damaging to the long term credibility of all types of unmanned craft. There is a wish to see ‘cheap’ unmanned craft serving the needs of the police but wishing something does not necessarily make it happen as a long term tool fit for ‘everyman’ - as proved to be the case with the hovercraft.

The number of UAV promoters at Farnborough were lower in number this year and the indoor flight in a cage displays muted, certainly there was no longer talk about flying a full size machine on the flight line, that ‘me first’ competition has already run its course and the Paris Air Show took the prize flying the Schiebel S-100. That is not to say there were no flights outside, the Portuguese Tekever Group was demon- strating their craft the AR4 Light Ray, and caught the attention of the BBC in its show coverage. Tekever subsequently claimed the type to be the first fully autono- mous UAS to perform outdoor flight demonstrations at the Farnborough Interna- tional Air Show. Police Aviation News July 2012 6

The US aviation industry was represented by hundreds of small companies as part of more than 20 state groups at the show, often as a result of a scheme which assists small to medium-sized businesses in their exporting efforts and among them were those feeding the current frenzy in the USA to get unmanned craft in among the civil air traffic. Although it was far from clear in the presentations aimed at getting business at all costs they too face ex- actly the same technical problems as exhibited by the efforts of BAE in Europe.

The US Government has plans to set up a number of remote areas as unmanned test areas and a number of states have plans to ensure that it is their own little used airport or bit of scrubland that the government should pour their money into. Quite where Farnborough fits into this major plan is unclear but part of the US thrust in the show included individual states building a business case in their own favour via anyone in the media that would care to lis- ten.

One such was Oklahoma, specifically they spent a great deal of effort with printing informa- tion sheets, arranging interviews and flying in talking heads, politicians and former military figures, to put over their case. I came away from one such meeting wondering to myself “What was that all about.?” I can only assume some politician thought it was a good idea. Whether this activity undertaken in the UK, even though associated with the AUVSI, will ever greatly advance the cause of unmanned aviation let alone an individual state is open to question. What would the Ameri- cans think of say the Government in Wales attending a similar event promoting the use by UAV’s of an isolated airfield in West Wales to the media in Wyoming?

Bell Helicopter In terms of complete airframes Bell Helicopter brought examples of the Bell 429 and 407 to the show and naturally highlighted the handful of V- 22s operated by the US Marines, particularly as they were seen flying regularly.

In addition the company brought along their mock- up of the 525 Relentless. It had been tweaked somewhat since HAI Heli-Expo and the sticky trackwork for the pilots front seat and the back passenger door that failed to fully open were now fully fixed.

Bell has announced the latest list of key suppliers for the Bell 525 Relentless, the world's first "super- medium" helicopter but there remain a number of others to be added to the list as the design is final- ized. "This is an important milestone for the 525 Relent- less program as we transition from the preliminary design phase into detailed design," said Larry Thimmesch, Bell Helicopter’s vice president of Commercial Programs. "Collaborating with these critical suppliers on our customer solution is testa- Police Aviation News SPECIAL EDITION 7

Bell has established agreements for 525 equipment, parts and tooling with:- ment to just how far the Relentless program has GKN Aerospace – Airframe Structure (Complex Ma- chining & Composites) come in a few short months since it was unveiled at Goodrich – Ice Protection System HeliExpo this February. The new Bell 525 Relent- Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. – Passenger Seat- less is a culmination of our research and developing ment efforts, in collaboration with continual inputs Mecaer Aviation Group – Wheeled Landing Gear Kuka – Major Structure Tooling from our Customer Advisory Panel, comprised of Pacifica Engineering – Rotor & Drive Tooling large operators from around the globe in every seg- Triumph Group – Airframe Structure (Complex Ma- ment of the business." chining & Composites)

The Relentless will be powered by the GE CT7-2F1. This latest version of the highly suc- cessful CT7 family is designed with an emphasis on reliability, fuel efficiency, minimised maintenance costs and other technical features to ensure aircraft meet the requirements of long range, high payload missions. The CT7-2F1 engine includes a state-of-the-art Full Au- thority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) plus advanced materials, primarily in the turbine sec- tion.

Buoyed up no doubt by a more recent announcement from Argentina accepting the in- creased weights Bell remain upbeat about the perceived problem with EASA certification of the higher gross weight Model 729. The aircraft on display was the Canadian registered C- FTNB, the long term European market demonstrator. Bell have already gained certification in Canada of the 3,500kg limit and expect both the FAA and EASA to follow suit in due course despite the certification being significantly over the current 3,000kg weight limit of JAR/FAR 27. Meanwhile due to the ongoing delays in the European certification of the Rob- inson R66, Robinson dealers across Europe are calling for a meeting with EASA in an effort to get ratification of the certification of the turbine R66. If that instance is a guide Bell may have a wait on their hands with the 429. Police Aviation News July 2012 8

AgustaWestland Historically Eurocopter may be something of a reluctant bride as far as appearing at Farn- borough is concerned but the same cannot be said of AgustaWestland. The company has ‘always’ been at the show thanks to the home spun element of Westland so when the two got together AW slipped effortlessly into place as a major exhibitor.

The title of rotary wing stars of the show was a choice between the US Marines tilt rotor and the appearance of the three new technology airframes from AW – the AW139, AW169 and AW189. When all are certified and available for service the trio will represent a major threat to the existing airframes of their competitors. Although there are no outwardly visible signs of nervousness from such as Eurocopter with their best sellers of an earlier generation these three represent a move away from the need to call upon ‘Grandfather Rights’ in certification. What AW has to do in the meantime is get the certification and the customer support right – every time.

Underscoring the success of the first of the trio AW handed over the 500th AW139 to West- star Aviation Services of Malaysia during a ceremony held at Farnborough. The aircraft was accepted by Tan Sri Syed Azman Syed Ibrahim, Group Managing Director of Weststar from Bruno Spagnolini, CEO, AgustaWestland. The 500th delivery comes just one year after AgustaWestland delivered the 400th helicopter.

During the early days of the show AgustaWestland ceremoniously handed over the first of two GrandNew airframes for a police service in China. [below] Police Aviation News SPECIAL EDITION 9

The customer is the Public Security Bureau of Or- dos, Inner Mongolia, China.. The two helicopters will be used to perform fire fighting, rescue, observation, transport and civil protection duties.

As displayed the role-equipped AW GrandNew featured a standard interior of 3 rear seats and a single rear mounted seat with the addition of a basic workstation bolted to the centre of the floor. It carried a Goodrich hoist mounted over the starboard door, an Spectrolab SX-16 searchlight forward and a FLIR turret underneath the rear. This latter was an FSI product and might be assumed was for ‘display pur- poses only’ on this occasion as export controls would prohibit export of that technology.

As the displayed airframe still carried its Italian test marks I-EASX no final identity is yet known.

Eurocopter Meanwhile in the wings, and not far behind is Eurocopter with the single new project helicopter it brought to the show – the EC175 flying in a SAR colour scheme.

In recent months a major effort has been taking place to get the EC175 into Search & Res- cue [SAR]. The type was launched into the oil industry and it was originally perceived as a too little too late attempt at following the AW139. It soon became clear that it was a few steps up on the 139 and more in AW189 territory – this gave it lead time. The programme is proceeding well but it has not been a runaway sales success – 29 was the latest figure - which led to pushing it forward as a UK SAR solution. Police Aviation News July 2012 10

Even though the message behind the UK SAR project was presented to the media in Mar- seille well in advance of Farnborough, Eurocopter was briefing the ‘new’ plan again at the show. There is no specific customer, the winner of the contest will do just fine, but it is en- visaged that the contractor might use the EC175 as a major element [effectively replacing the role currently undertaken by the AW139 fleet].

In the background of the EC175 solution being presented is its greater performance capability when compared with the AW139. It is being suggested that the type could provide most of the resources needed for UK SAR by virtue of its longer, 250nm [463km], range. The size and range capabilities claimed for the new type are remarkably similar to those achieved by the Sikorsky S-92 and EC225, the types hitherto seen as the natural replacement for the Sea King in the long range mission. They may fall short of the Sea King in maximum range capability but there is a long range tank that can be added to the S-92. Quite how that will square with the, albeit tiny, remaining requirement to undertake a maximum range rescue currently available via the Sea King fleet remains to be seen. The EC175 may be able to undertake most of the mission but it is unlikely that public opinion will allow the new SAR arrangements to fall short of current capabilities thereby abandoning some in need. Police Aviation News SPECIAL EDITION 11

The SAR variant has a 360° radar mounted under the nose, an EO IR sensor – currently the L3 Wescam MX-15 – searchlight, weather radar and a twin hoist from Goodrich.

Light Surveillance Twins Down on the static line, mostly dwarfed by giant airliners and military aircraft, were the smaller manufacturers and their agents – each representing fixed wing airframes mainly vying among themselves for a slice of a growing economical surveillance market and each paying extortionate rates to gain a window on the world and that window was quite small, even without the vagaries of the weather reducing footfall around their exhibits the major media exposure of their tiny craft was insignificant alongside the Boeing and Airbus products.

Diamond Aircraft and their type operator DO Systems took spaces alongside each other and brought along their own substantial entertainment chalets. The DO Systems aircraft still exhibited significant reminders of their service with the RAF over the recent war zones, per- haps it was an oversight, taking off stickers can be such a chore! Police Aviation News July 2012 12

In 1994 the Specialist Aviation Group, better known as Police Aviation Services [PAS], launched the McDonnell-Douglas MD900 into the airborne law enforcement community and became synonymous with promoting the type. Now, faced with a difficult relationship with MD Helicopters, and some issues in sourcing additional examples of the MD900 PAS, nailed their colours to the mast later in the week with an order for AgustaWestland AW169 helicopters. In the end the company has to place its own survival to the forefront and it cannot wait forever for the Notar helicopter to return to market. Before that move there were other less dramatic signs of a divergence of product line on the light fixed wing static line.

A new company C-Aviation, currently based at Biggin Hill and Gatwick with a newly acquired Vulcanair P68 The rear systems operator position has a retractable screen and console housed Observer G-SVEY, are seeking to be noticed in the on on the starboard rear seat position. demand surveillance market. Their aircraft was prepared for service by PAS, the interior calling upon some long standing skills the company has had pretty much out of necessity, Even in the better days of the business there was a divergence into constructing interior structures for First Aid stations in what was then the Westland EH-101. Using that knowledge a smart workstation has been devised for the rear of the C- Aviation airframe. The rear observer sits to the left in the rear seat with a work station stack to his right and retains mobility to access the sensor lifting mechanism [a FLIR sensor was fitted]. Once the sensor is deployed the observer slides the part of the work station across his lap. The system makes best use of a limited space in the rear of the cabin.

C-Aviation is a relatively new company, but not new people, they have been developing the concept of providing a tier 1 aerial surveillance capability over the last four years with a view of keeping it cost effective. The company is owned and run by Director Bob Craft and ex- serviceman and the business will grow using the experience of former police and service personnel while at the same time giving these people a chance for a second career or at least gaining some commercial experience. The operators have a basic website up and run- ning www.c-aviation.com and this will updated in time. Police Aviation News SPECIAL EDITION 13

A second P68 is being prepared in a similar manner by PAS for C-Aviation. Later this year the company will be moving to Coventry to take part in the resurgence of this once closed airport.

Across from the C-Aviation P68 Canadian company Viking Aviation were exhibiting their Twin Otter. This project is a small company taking responsibility for the in-service support of the former production of the de Havilland Canada company DHC-2 to DHC-6 and the placing into production of selected types. Each project is different and in effect only the Twin Otter is the ongoing return to production project. Each of the others is in a different state of being a production or support project; currently the DHC-5 Buffalo currently being the only other type liable to see new production on the back of a Royal Canadian Air Force need to replace part of its SAR force. The market is currently flat on most of the other airframes but that may change in time – only the Caribou is deemed unlikely to ever see a return to production.

Twin Otter production is going ahead as a utility and passenger aircraft but the Vietnamese have ‘Guardian’ designated examples on the production line for use in a SAR and surveillance role, some being float equipped. Although the airframes are coming together this project is not going to be operational in the short-term. Viking have taken on a major undertaking to convert the pilots from being little more than pedestrians able to speak only their own language to being English speaking pilots and crew members with skills acceptable in the aviation world. Currently they are at the level of learning English and initial flight training. It will take a significant time to achieve operational capability for the customer. This is a major undertaking for a relatively new company and there are examples where others have failed when faced with a similar technology injection task.

Before the Air Show Britten-Norman had been ‘quiet’ and apparently not performing well. It was known that a number of production changes were in hand but that was about the sum of it. The company displayed three aircraft in a compact area that gave the effect of over- crowding, a standard BN-2T and two examples of the larger Defender 4000, one in Army colours and the other, devoid of marks during the show, carried a full array of weapons that belied its former operational use by the police in Hampshire.

Later in the week the company announced a new contract for the supply of aircraft to a new customer located in the Asia Pacific region. The contract is for the supply of two turbine Is- landers and the first aircraft to be supplied under a new supplier agreement with the company’s key sub contractor in Bucharest, Romania. In the past these aircraft have been supplied from Britten-Norman’s supplier as ‘green’ aircraft which were then flown to the UK for final fit out. In a major strategy review in 2010, the company decided to commence repatria- tion of aspects of its manufacturing, resulting in these aircraft being the first to be released under a new agreement where sub components are manufactured at the sub contractor and then shipped to the UK for assembly, fit out, first flight and delivery. Police Aviation News July 2012 14

The original agreement to manufacture aircraft in Eastern Europe back in 1968 was seen as ground breaking and Britten-Norman is again leading the trend in UK manufacturing by being amongst the first to be reversing the previous trend of outsourcing to Eastern Europe, the sub continent and the Far East, thereby helping to create valuable skilled and high tech employment in the UK. The aircraft will be fitted out with some of the latest refinements including the Garmin G600 ‘glass’ PFD / MFD cockpit along with Garmin GTN 750 / 650 touch screen avionics. The aircraft will also be equipped with fully integrated S-Tec 55X autopilots. Delivery of the aircraft is scheduled for 2013.

The aircraft are to be test flown and delivered from the company’s new manufacturing facili- ties at Daedalus Airfield, Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire, UK, following which they will be disassembled and sea freighted to the customer for reassembly on site at destination. In making this move, the company will ensure that the aircraft are delivered at a significantly lower cost.

Airborne Technologies delivered their first Tecnam MMA multi-mission aircraft to Aero GB at the show. The airframe at the show OE-FMG carried a tiny Aero GB logo on what was otherwise a pretty standard MMA colour scheme.

Aero GB will deploy the MMA - a special missions version of the P2006T - in a wide range of operations including surveillance, homeland security, aerial surveying and environmental missions. Like the configuration of the older and larger P68 all sensor equipment is located internally within the aircraft through the use of a retractable sensor suite and only deployed when the target area is acquired. Aero GB's MMA is equipped with an FLIR/Polytech Ultraforce 275 camera operated electri- cally through a floor trap. The crew's working environ- ment comprises three monitor screens and four control panels (serving the camera, data recorder, downlink system and moving map). Video, audio and data are transmitted to ground stations via an integrated microwave, digital line-of-sight system manufactured by BMS. The MMA's exact position and geo-referenced camera footprint is displayed on a moving map system supplied by Euroavionics.

Much further down the flight line examples of other surveillance types could be encoun- tered, the basic Tecnam P2006T marine surveillance aircraft that was at this year’s PAvCon was being displayed by Airborne Technologies and Indra on the latter’s stand. The MRI received European certification ahead of the Farnborough air show.

Also to be found were the RUAG Dornier 228NG and a range of surveillance craft based upon the Beechcraft King Air, including the company 350 demonstrator and others. The large gap was understandable in some instances but in others it seemed an opportunity lost in creating a light surveillance park at the show – the show organisers have successfully undertaken similar groupings before.

It would be interesting to know what, if anything, the small light aircraft manufacturers and operators got out of Farnborough this year. I hate to think what the attendance cost would have been for the likes of BN, Airborne Technologies/Tecnam, DO Systems, Diamond, In- dra and many others and how large the cost per airframe percentage loading will be for future customers. Police Aviation News SPECIAL EDITION 15

AIRBORNE LAW ENFORCEMENT Reno, Nevada, USA 12-14 July 2012 And then it was off by air to San Francisco to get to this year’s ALEA Annual Exposition. This year the Airborne Law Enforcement Association [ALEA] held their annual conference and exposition in the bright sun of Reno, Nevada, a jewel in the north Nevada desert., but very much in the shadow of Las Vegas in the south of Nevada.

This, the 42nd annual ALEA event, is the yearly culmination of a number of smaller regional events held across the USA and Canada – these being around the delegate size and industry content of the European PAvCon events. The annual event is always held in the hot summer months in a spot where the housing rates are cheap – low season for the chosen town or resort. For the International attendee this has its drawbacks, low season in Reno is high season for North Atlantic air fares as Europeans tend to fly over to pick up cruises year round. For ALEA event attendees though the resultant housing deal is usually pretty good.

Despite the strap line of ‘The biggest little city in the world’ and a multitude of casinos it has not made much headway on its better known tinsel town. But, as with each of the other ven- ues in the past, it gives the local ALEA members an opportunity to show their worth in helping with the organization of what is a major calendar event in police aviation.

The local host input this year came from Washoe County a unit operating three Bell helicopters across 6,000 square miles of unforgiving desert scrub and mountains inhabited by a little over 400,000 people. The large area and sparse population result in a unit never likely to be operating the latest and greatest in police helicopters – each of the helicopters came free from the Department of Defense over the last 16 years. Four Bell OH- 58 Kiowa’s delivered in 1996 provided enough parts for the two airframes to be operated. The third machine operated is a Bell Huey delivered more recently but of similar Vietnam war heritage. Drug forfeiture money is the main funding line, it is unlikely that taxes alone would keep the operation viable. One of the Bell Kiowa’s was displayed in the exhibit hall.

The classes and meetings for the event were split between the host resort hotel [Peppermill Resort Spa Ca- sino], a brash meet of high comfort and a glitzy interpretation of taste, and the Conference Center a mile down the road. Although the main exhibition event is over 2 days the all important instructional classes are held over a week. European training tends to be Police Aviation News July 2012 16

authority directed, in house and country specific but the very large numbers of small police units in the USA result in the ALEA taking up the majority of the skills training and supervi- sion. The initial classes on offer, though industry sponsored to drive down costs, are a ‘pay to join’ offering requiring the attendee to pay a fee but during the Expo period a dozen or so free classes spring up. These vary in popularity with audiences from a handful to dozens. With a wide range of attractive subjects being presented simultaneously it can be difficult to choose between them, but you can probably return next year for the ones you missed.

The displays in the conference hall attract a significant number of exhibiting companies. The major manufacturers are there alongside the purveyors of small equipment and completion services. In the case of the latter services a number of mergers and take-over’s have mud- died the identities of many once household names and potentially detrimentally affected their business while a wholly new identity becomes known to the customers. It may not seem to matter with regular customers but in the completion world word of mouth matters and if you are admiring a completion undertaken a couple of years ago and want to go the same vendor yourself it is no good if the name quoted has changed. Police Aviation News SPECIAL EDITION 17

Nevada is poorly served by law enforcement aircraft – a reflection of vast areas and low population - therefore the majority of the airframes being displayed in Reno were from operators in the nearest state – California.

New to the floor in recent ALEA events have been light sport and unmanned craft, unfortunately this year the numbers in this sector were down, subject to the FAA clearing extended flight reality is reducing the number of light UAVs the police can actually use and only one light sport craft was being exhibited – the sleek but compact Rotax powered Flight Design CTLE being operated by the police department in Tulare.

The CTLE, originating from Germany, may be a tiny aircraft but as the images show it is well equipped with a sensor turret and even a tiny searchlight.

It is ominous that the majority of the light sport airframe designs being selected for use by this Government sponsored ‘low cost’ US law enforcement programme are sourced in Europe – potentially a repeat of the situation prevailing in the US helicopter sector where the home industry is being overshadowed by imports. In all things – airliners, helicopters and sport craft - duplicate production or assembly can be a political sop but it is not the same as home development and production of a winning design. Police Aviation News July 2012 18

Missing a light twin Which brings us to MD Helicopters. The company displayed two variants of its best selling 500 helicopter, one of the three examples Huntingdon Beach 520N in Reno for the week and the second being a more conventional MD500E operated by Pasadena PD.

What was missing was clear reference to the MD900 Explorer. The type has disappeared from the radar. It might be pointed out that the majority of US law enforcement has no inter- est in the light twin but both Bell and Eurocopter offer and sell them and the MD900 has sold into the US market before. This was a clear and deliberate exclusion from marketing – even the excellent technical presentation on the principles of Notar concentrated on the 520 and 600, neither of which has sold as many as the 900.

The manufacturers of the 900 fuselage – Turkish Aircraft Industries [TAI] – have not manufactured a new fuselage for two years. It is unlikely they will ever make another, there are a number of basic fuselages in stock in Mesa for future projects and Lynn Tilton the company CEO has thought out loud about producing ‘more’ of the MD product in house on US [or at least Mexican] soil.

At this point in time the project for the future remains a little unclear. When it first appeared in the mid-1990s the 900 Explorer was clearly a great and capable airframe that worried many of its competitors. What followed consigned the type to the backwaters of aviation his- tory. A design that did not immediately meet the requirements of JAR27 and required a major redesign to even get into its prime market was further afflicted by ownership issues and a natural suspicion of the Notar system, it struggled on but its development was never prop- erly funded. Where competitors prospered and sold 1,000s the Explorer sold only 100. The most recent production examples were dated and had little to offer potential customers. Its undoubted attraction of having the best cabin shape and size by far failed to outweigh its dated avionics. It is a niche machine very popular in some air ambulance markets but niche does not sell in great numbers and its current customers are already looking to dispose of the now ageing fleet.

The future Explorer, when it appears, will see a major alteration to its systems and it will then be relaunched. Whether the resultant helicopter will be early and strong enough to break back into a market that has long survived without the joys of Notar remains debat- able. The world has changed and the cabin that has long been the feature that placed the type on a pedestal is about to be matched by even newer products from AgustaWestland. The most loyal exponents of the Explorer in Europe, the original customer in 1994, Police Aviation Services ordered the AW169 at the Farnborough Air Show [below]. Police Aviation News SPECIAL EDITION 19

Eurocopter a major player Even as MD were temporarily re- treating from the market Eurocop- ter were extolling the joys of their entrant into the light twin market. With sales over 1,000 the EC135® has proven to be one of the most popular light twin-engine helicopters in the world, and it is known across the globe for its ease of maintenance and reliability. The global EC135 fleet has accumu- lated more than 2,400,000 flight hours. The aircraft’s unparalleled combination of performance, safety, comfort and versatility make it appealing to a variety of missions and markets, including airborne law enforcement. In recent years even the US LE community – firmly wedded to single engine operations – has mellowed to limited numbers of the available light twin helicopters.

The Broward County Sheriff’s Of- fice (BCSO) was the first law enforcement agency in the United States to operate the EC135. The BCSO utilizes the aircraft’s power and performance for both police patrol and air medical missions. “The EC135 is perfect for our missions. It provides us with the speed and the adaptive capabilities we need for our missions, plus it is cost-effective to operate,” said Sgt. Dale Owens, who recently retired from the BCSO aviation unit. “For our missions, I don’t think that there is another aircraft on the market that meets the economy of the EC135.”

Massachusetts State Police (MSP) also selected the EC135 to up- grade its fleet of four AS355® Twin Stars®. Twin-engine reliability and performance was a major factor in the decision for the EC135, but the aircraft’s cabin size was also a benefit. MSP utilises its EC135 in its mission to support state, local and federal agencies throughout the state with searches, transportation, fire support, aerial photography, and airborne command and control. MSP just received its second EC135, which was completed by Metro Aviation. Police Aviation News July 2012 20

Cessna 206—one solution is fitting an L3 Wescam MX-10 in a retractable mounting behind the cabin seating.

Each of the major manufacturers took similar sized exhibition spaces in the hall, but it is a sign of the times that in terms of airframes exhibited Eurocopter [or more accurately Ameri- can Eurocopter] swept the board with four airframes in the hall. With Farnborough on in the same week there was no opportunity for AW to show off its still scarce new helicopters, it did however bring along a military demonstrator for the AW139.

Among the exhibits the Cessna single was supreme. Three examples of the Cessna 206 were available for examination, two fairly standard examples in the exhibition hall and a much altered flight demonstrator at the airport.

Thanks to Soloy I was able to take a flight demonstration in a Soloy Cessna 206 turbine conversion The capacious cowling leaves configured for airborne surveillance. The type has room for air-conditioning—or already achieved some success in sales to a num- you can just open the window! ber of agencies, both local and Federal.

Well known for installing turbine conversions into a number of piston and turbine aircraft over the years – the best known example is probably the Bell 47 – Soloy have taken a standard piston Cessna 206 and removed the Lycoming piston engine, replacing it with a Rolls-Royce 250 familiar in a number of police helicopters. In addition a number of changes were made to the pilots instrumentation and to create a work station in the rear cabin to improve the capabilities of the rear observer, adding an underwing sensor turret, larger fin area and wing fences to ensure the handling remained acceptable. The whole is designed to be attractive to agencies facing limited funding and elements can be altered to meet the individual customer needs. The Soloy can mount turrets as large as the L3 Wescam MX-15 but local funding issues will usually result in something significantly smaller. The flight test aircraft was fitted with one of the smaller FLIR Systems turrets and even that is a substantial presence under the port wing. Police Aviation News SPECIAL EDITION 21

The other two 206 airframes displayed alternative mounts of sensor turrets, one with a turret re- tracted into the rear fuselage and a second with a miniature mount attached directly to the wing support struts.

The rear seat is positioned on a turntable that allows the single seat to face forward or towards the right side entry door for ease of entry and egress. It allows the sensor screen to remain flexible attached on the left side of the cabin. As, at 6 feet 5 inches, the Editor is taller Plenty of room in the back and built and larger than the majority of po- for comfort but a lowered headroom tential operational rear seat observ- towards the rear can make it difficult ers it is difficult to assess this sys- for taller observers. tem as a source of comfortably undertaking the surveillance task for many hours. Suffice to say that sensibly the observer should be under 6 feet in height if a helmet is to be worn.

The area around Reno suffers from the effects of fairly strong afternoon winds and ther- mals, these can significantly buffet light aircraft operations and the team from Soloy chose to fly the demonstration mission for the Houston PD as early as possible in the afternoon. In the event the flight did not take off as early as intended and faced some of the expected severe buffeting during the 40 minutes airborne. In the event it was not as severe as pre- dicted, the rigid wing damping out much of the effect. Some more modern aircraft rely upon more flexible sailplane designs employing composites and they can transmit even more of the buffeting to the crew – the old ways can be best under some circumstances. The additional power conferred by the turbine engine lifted the 206 into the sky briskly and relatively quietly – the headset cut much of the cabin noise but it remains loud, just a different kind of noise. Police Aviation News July 2012 22

Cessn’a own Sentinel keeps the airframe fairly standard and relies upon a strut mounted sensor

Rather than exhibiting the complete airframe in the static the GippsAero Airvan team were in the exhibit hall with the under fuselage pod that forms the core of their airborne surveillance system. Recently a LE configured Airvan was delivered to an Australian customer.

The prime difference the company is offering to the law enforcement industry is a clear and spacious utility cabin without the cluttering effect of retractable surveillance pods and per- manent seating. A similar idea was tried on UK police EC135 helicopters a decade ago to remove role equipment from the cabin area, that additionally conferred some certification advantages but ultimately fell from favour.

As currently configured, and subject to equipment weight, the Airvan pod is fitted with a retractable sensor pod of the customers selection that can be driven by a variety of means, can retract at a tilt or vertically and be sealed up with a selection of doors. This configuration leaves ample additional space within the confines of the pod outline that might allow additional systems or even baggage to be transferred from the cabin. The sensor work station would of course be cabin mounted when in use. The idea is seen to have merit among other rival operators and GippsAero are already in talks with other manufacturers about transfer- ring the design to other types.

Police Aviation News SPECIAL EDITION 23

The second Bell 429 for Fairfax County, Virginia

The importance of the training element of annual get-together to the US airborne law enforcement community is best illustrated by the Huntingdon Beach air unit. While taking the flight in the Soloy 206 I saw two police marked MD520N parked at the side of the airfield. Nothing too new there but they were from Huntingdon Beach ASU near Los Angeles hundreds of miles away. They were off their patch and had been part of a consortium that broke up last year. Had the unit broken up and sold the aircraft to a new owner in Arizona? Huntington Beach is alive and well after the demise of the ABLE consortium. It seems that all three of their 520s flew to Reno for ALEA training with Orange County providing cover in their absence. One airframe was on the MD booth.

On display in the Convention Center Hall STOP PRESS: During the ALEA Conference, Dia- AgustaWestland AW139M Demonstrator mond Airborne Sensing signed a purchase contract Bell OH-58 Kiowa Washoe County Sheriff, AZ for one DA42 MPP GUARDIAN with Clarity Aerial Bell 206 Los Angeles Police, CA Bell 429 Fairfax County Sheriff, VA Sensing LLC. The GUARDIAN is the new generation Cessna 206 Civil Air Patrol of the twin engine Diamond surveillance and map- Cessna 206 Demonstrator ping aircraft that utilizes innovative and fuel-efficient Enstrom Demonstrator Austro Diesel engines and burns only 7 gallons per Eurocopter AS350 Texas Dept. of Public Safety Eurocopter AS350 Placer County Sheriff hour while patrolling. Eurocopter AS350 Ontario Police, CA Eurocopter EC120 Fresno Police CA Flight Design CTLE Tulare Sheriff’s Office, CA Quest Aircraft Kodiak Demonstrator MD500E Demonstrator/Development MD500E Pasadena Police CA MD520N Huntingdon Beach CA Robinson R66 Demonstrator Sikorsky S300 Demonstrator