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©Police Aviation Research Number 106 February 2005 IPAR Police Aviation News 106 February 2005 2 PAN – POLICE AVIATION NEWS is published monthly by INTERNATIONAL POLICE AVIATION RESEARCH 7 Windmill Close, Honey Lane, Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 3BQ UK +44 1992 714162 Editor Bryn Elliott Digital Downlink BMS - CAM A powerful ally Flir Systems Straight to the point Honeywell Observer Power in a box Powervamp Emergency Services On-line resource Police Aviation News Airborne Law Enforcement Association ALEA European Law Enforcement Association P.A.C.E. Earls Court in April London Air Show LAW ENFORCEMENT AVIATION CANADA BRITISH COLUMBIA: Approval has gone through for the Vancouver Police Department to obtain the Lower Mainland's first fully equipped police helicopter. Elsewhere in Canada helicopters have been used in Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto. The VPD has been lobbying for a chopper for nearly a decade. Specifications for the new Lower Mainland shared police helicopter are being finalised now. An announcement on funding and the operating regime is expected in the next few weeks. [Vancouver Sun/BCTV] The Abbotsford Police Board approved a trial period using a standard civil specification Robinson R-44 Clipper in the air support role. Abbotsford is in the west of Canada and close to the US border at Washington State. The helicopter will be devoid of most police role equipment for the trial. The attraction of the R44 for Abbotsford with its modest population of around 19,000 is that they are inexpensive to acquire and operate compared to many of the models that are currently in law enforcement use. [IPAR] GERMANY BORDER GUARD: Ryan International Corporation have sold their 9900BX Traffic Advisory Systems (TAS) and NVG Multi-Hazard Display’s (MHD) to the German Federal Border Police (BGS) for installation on the Eurocopter EC135 and EC155 helicopters operated by them. [Ryan] INDIA DELHI: India's Pawan Hans Helicopters made its first foray into the police aviation arena in January. The New Delhi-based company has begun a trial with the capital's police force deploying a Bell 206L LongRanger in the skies over Delhi for 15 days last month. [Flight] Police Aviation News 106 February 2005 3 IRAQ OPERATION TELIC: Three new-model BN2 Defenders are claimed to be on way to Iraq to serve with the British Army. The British Army's latest fixed wing aircraft, BN Defender 4S AL Mk1, has been chosen to fill the fixed wing Liaison & Light Utility role. The BN Defender 4S is the latest development of the Britten-Norman BN2T Islander aircraft that is in service not only with the British Army, but also with governments and law enforcement agencies worldwide. It meets the need to operate a lightweight aircraft from short airstrips in all weather conditions, by day and night. The requirement for 3 of the new aircraft stems from an Urgent Operational Requirement for Operation TELIC, which was endorsed on the December 18, 2003 and for which the first aircraft entered service with the Army on October 1, 2004 - just 9½ months later. The BN Defender can fly for longer, carry heavier loads and cover greater distances than rotor-winged aircraft. Capable of carrying up to 3,500 lbs. of modern surveillance equipment, the aircraft has an endurance of over 8 hours and can patrol 150 nautical miles of border for each flying hour, day or night, operating from low level up to 25,000 feet altitude. While its transit speed to patrol area is 160 knots, its search speed can be varied from160 knots down to a loiter speed of 70 knots. The stall speed: engines idle/flaps down, is just 47 knots. [www.britten-norman.com] Ed: The trio includes 4005 the prototype of the Defender 4000 and dating from 1993. This served with the police as G-SURV. At one time in 1998 it was leased to Police Aviation Services operating in a covert role. Since then it has been with Atlantic Air Transport at Coventry operating for Natural Environmental Research Council. The civil registration was cancelled last October when it joined the MoD as ZG995 4010 and 4012 both date from 1996 and after refurbishment became respectively ZG996 and 997. NETHERLANDS Virtually unnoticed one of the two early model MD900 Explorer helicopters being used on a temporary basis by the Netherlands Police force [KLPD] was withdrawn from service and returned to the manufacturer last May. It is suggested it was the 1996-build airframe N9213Q. Recently two ‘new’ aircraft have been added to the fleet. The first is confirmed as an Eurocopter BO105 PH-RPY, c/n S-544. The second has yet to be delivered. [A-B] Ed: Effectively the type nominally being replaced by the MD900, the venerable BO105, is now being brought in to act as a stop-gap replacement. To underline the contrast, this particular BO105 was formerly D-HADO a 1981 airframe formerly with the Hamburg Police until it was Police Aviation News 106 February 2005 4 replaced by EC135s late last year. It is believed that the second airframe [potentially PH-RPX] is also an ex-Hamburg BO105, D-HARU c/n S-425 may fit. The Editor requested additional information from the KLPD early last month. To date there has been no reaction. It is noteworthy that neither MD900 was assigned a Netherlands registration and yet the first ex-German BO105 has been assigned the next registration in an existing police sequence. It might be presumed that the premature disposal of the BN2 Defender fixed wing fleet two years ago has greatly increased the pressure on the remainder of the fleet. Both ex-Hamburg Bolkow’s are younger than the existing Dutch fleet. None can carry the heavy surveillance equipment once carried by the BN2s. The deadline for the MD contract remains March 1 this year. MD should deliver at least two of the specially developed, extended tail, a/c fully certified by that date. If not it should mean the end of the contract. Similar ‘ultimatums’ have been announced several times and not carried through. SWEDEN COAST GUARD: Bombardier Aerospace announced last month that Field Aviation Company inc. of Toronto has contracted to acquire three Bombardier Q300 aircraft for conversion to the maritime surveillance mission for the Swedish Coast Guard. Field Aviation is the prime contractor to the Swedish Coast Guard for its next-generation fisheries and environmental surveillance system. L-3 Communications Integrated Systems of Greenville, Texas will provide sensors and sensor integration. Deliveries to the Coast Guard are scheduled for 2007. Field Aviation/Bombardier The sensor package includes surveillance radar, forward looking infra-red (FLIR), side looking radar (SLAR), infra-red ultraviolet line scanning, radio wave micrometer and other systems for environmental monitoring. The Noise and Vibration Suppression (NVS) in the Bombardier Q300 was of paramount importance because the aircraft will be conducting missions of long endurance and a quiet and comfortable working environment is critical. The contract marks the first order for a special mission version of the Q300, but Bombardier Dash 8-200 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) are now approaching 60,000 flying hours with Surveillance Australia on behalf of Australian Customs. The US Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency for maritime patrol has selected the Bombardier Q200. [Field] Police Aviation News 106 February 2005 5 UNITED KINGDOM CUMBRIA: The police in Cumbria gave up air support operations years ago when the airworthiness of their Cessna 337 was found to be compromised by modifications fitting a camera system. Since then the police have called in assistance from the police air units based in the NorthEast and Lancashire. When severe floods hit the area recently it was an air ambulance operated by Great North that ended up in coming to assist the police and other emergency services in the rescue and support operations during the flooding. The 33-years old BO105 G-WAAN Pride of Cumbria, Carlisle United – water polo? which was provided after a huge fundraising effort by local people was brought into operation to help even though it was officially off-duty over that weekend. Pilot Jim Martin [a former police pilot] and an aircrew paramedic offered the helicopter to the emergency services when the floodwaters hit. They flew key personnel, including Cumbria’s Chief Constable Michael Baxter, to emergency contact points so they could start to co-ordinate Gold Command [the rescue and response operation control]. Staff from the Environment Agency was also flown to film Hartside Summit the extent of the flooding so that they could monitor levels in order to try and protect more property from potential damage. In an area where ground communication were severely restricted G-WAAN alone flew 19 sorties that weekend. A man with severe head injuries was flown direct to Newcastle General for a brain scan when because the local hospital was unable to undertake the task. Two more helicopters run by the Great North Air Ambulance Service, the recently delivered MD900 and the AS355F1 were also scrambled to assist in the region BO105 G-WAAN and AS355F1 on standby from Teeside and Blyth and were on stand-by to help where they could. At one point a taxi cab system was operated on the Sunday when Carlisle Hospital (CIC) had to transfer emergency patients to either Newcastle or Whitehaven. The CIC was on standby power and unable to do scans or some surgical procedures, including an emergency caesarean which one lady urgently needed. In addition there were two Sea King SAR helicopters from RAF Boulmer [202 Squadron] and another from Prestwick based at Carlisle airport. They did several winch sorties.

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