December 2007

Airborne Law Enforcement Association, Inc.

ALEA  E-Newsletter

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Board of Directors Nominations – ONLY 1 WEEK REMAINING

The nomination period for candidates for the ALEA Board of Directors for the July 2008 – July 2010 term closes on December 15, 2007. The following offices are open for nomination:

VICE-PRESIDENT - Officer and Director of the Corporation

SECRETARY - Officer and Director of the Corporation

EASTERN REGION DIRECTOR - Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, West Virginia and Wisconsin

NORTHEAST REGION DIRECTOR - Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, District of Columbia and Europe

WESTERN REGION DIRECTOR - Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, the Western Pacific Rim and Asia

Attention Eastern and Western Region members – Your Region Directors have announced that they are not seeking reelection. This is an opportune time to be nominated to serve on your association’s Board.

Region Directors shall be nominated by members residing in that region, and the Director must reside in the region which he is nominated to represent. Nominations must be submitted by post, facsimile or e-mail and must be addressed to the ALEA Secretary. Please ensure nominations indicate the following: name of nominee, position person is being nominated for, and person making the nomination. Both the person being nominated and the person making the nomination must be current members and in good standing in ALEA. Nominations must be received or postmarked on or before Dec. 15, 2007. Confirmation of the nominations will be provided. The ballots will be distributed by mail on or about May 1, 2008. Election results will be announced on July 17, 2008 at the General Membership Meeting during the 38th Annual Conference & Exposition in Houston, TX.

Send your nominations to:
Martin L. Jackson, Secretary
Airborne Law Enforcement Association
411 Aviation Way, Suite 200
Frederick, MD 21701
E-mail: secretary@alea.org
Facsimile: (301) 631-2466

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Eurocopter Opens West Coast Support Facility

Photo: Russ Spray (President of Turbomeca USA), Captain Joseph Impellizeri (Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department), Anthony Baker (Vice President of Customer Support, American Eurocopter), Marc Paganini (President and CEO, American Eurocopter), Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster and Long Beach Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske.

At a grand opening ceremony last month, American Eurocopter celebrated the opening of their new West Coast Regional Support Facility in Long Beach, CA. The opening of the West Coast facility is part of the company’s overall plan to bring its maintenance and repair services closer to its customers and to improve customer support. Currently, there are more than 200 Eurocopter aircraft in the VIP, corporate, air medical and law enforcement markets on the West Coast.

One of the company’s law enforcement customers is the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. LASD Aero Bureau Captain Joseph P. Impellizeri was on hand at the event and said, “Throughout my professional career, I have interacted with countless community-based organizations and businesses. However, I can honestly say I have never seen a company more committed to its customers than American Eurocopter. The opening of West Coast Regional Support Facility is another indicator of that commitment.”

Source: American Eurocopter

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Austin Police Welcomes Air2

The Austin (TX) Police Department acquired a military surplus OH-58 last month, which will be known as AIR 2 and is the department's second helicopter.

APD got its first helicopter, AIR 1, in 2001, which was new and equipped with a thermal imager and a video camera. TFO Wuthipong “Tank” Tantaksinanukij remarked that AIR 2 is not quite as fancy as AIR 1 but will help tremendously with traffic enforcement and police pursuits. Air 2 will mainly serve as a back up and help take pressure off Air 1. "Just to give you an idea of how much we fly, it's got 5,000 hours on the airframe. This (AIR 2) is a 38-year-old aircraft, it's got 8,000 hours - you can see the short amount of time we’ve had AIR 1, we’ve flown quite a bit," said Tantaksinanukij.

Source: www.kvue.com

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Montana FWP Receives Aircraft

The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department, based in Missoula, acquired an OH-58 chopper last month. FWP traditionally has relied on contract air services to do its field research, but when the Montana National Guard changed to a new helicopter model in recent years, it donated several of its old Scout choppers to FWP.

The agency's aircraft division, based in Helena, now has a small fleet of planes, helicopters and full-time pilots for wildlife research, law enforcement and other tasks across the state. From late October to late November during big-game rifle season, the aircraft are grounded because low-altitude flights would spook hunters and the elk and deer they're chasing. But for the rest of the year, FWP flies nearly every day transporting FWP's wildlife and fisheries biologists into rugged mountains, high-country streams and remote prairies to do field research.

The agency has replaced the chopper's old camouflage green paint with bright yellow, blue and white colors that are easier to spot in the mountains if it goes down in an emergency.

Source: www.missoulian.com

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Bambi Bucket In Use For 25 Years

The Bambi Bucket, manufactured by SEI Industries, celebrated its 25th year last month. In 1982, Canadian inventor Don Arney had an idea for an aerial firefighting device that would allow helicopter operators to get closer to fires and deliver more accurate water and foam dumps. He envisioned a product that could be used to access virtually any water source, including water tanks, enabling pilots to spend less time traveling to and from bodies of water and more time attacking fires. After extensive trials and testing, a semi-rigid helicopter firefighting bucket constructed of ultra-durable flexible fabric was released.

Over time, a wide range of bucket sizes were introduced to complement almost any helicopter. The Bambi Bucket is now available in capacities from 72 gallons to 2,600 gallons, and three distinct types: the original Bambi Bucket, the powerful multi-dump Torrentula Bucket, and the new, lighter Aqualanche Bucket.

Source: www.sei-ind.com

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Boy Points Laser At Phoenix Chopper

A 13-year-old boy faces felony reckless endangerment charges after police say he pointed a green laser at a Phoenix Police Department helicopter last month. "I felt the beam and it stayed with us in the cockpit for an extended period of time and we were able to zero in on the area," said Officer Bruce Bates, a pilot for the Phoenix Police Department. With the use of an infrared camera and a moving map display, the pilots were able to pinpoint where the light was coming from and led ground units to the location, where the boy was taken into custody. It appears this is the first laser/aircraft related arrest in Phoenix.

Source: www.azcentral.com

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Aerosimulators and AeroComputers Form Alliance

Aerosimulators EU and Aerosimulators USA are pleased to announce a formal strategic alliance with AeroComputers, Inc., based in California. The result of this alliance is an enhancement of Aerosimulators’ Gimbal Imaging System Trainer (GIST), which debuted at HAI and ALEA this past year.

AeroComputers is a leader in providing mission management systems that integrate GPS-based moving maps, image collection and transmission, illumination and data storage. The system of choice for law enforcement will now be available and integrated into Aerosimulators GIST resulting in a total system simulation including GPS moving map displays replicated exactly as in the real aircraft. Aerosimulators is the only company to offer a full systems trainer for gimbal imaging systems such as Wescam and FLIR.

Source: www.aerosimulators.com and www.aerocomputers.com.

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FAA Investigates Balloon-Police Helicopter Collision

A Honolulu, Hawaii department store could face the Federal Aviation Administration’s wrath after a Honolulu Police Department’s helicopter tangled with the tethered balloon the store was using to advertise a sale.

The Honolulu Police Department Helicopter Section chopper was supporting ground units chasing a suspected thief last month when it clipped one of the lines holding the store’s promotion balloon over the store. The balloon is apparently a common sight in the area, according to the local news station. The tether got caught in the tail rotor and whipped the fuselage. Fortunately, the pilot was able to land the aircraft safely and, after inspection, it was cleared for flight to a repair facility.

Source: http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com

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Dubai Air Wing Orders Agusta Aircraft

The Dubai Air Wing and AgustaWestland signed a contract last month for two AW139 helicopters in VVIP configuration. The AW139 is continuing to gain market share due to it having the largest cabin its weight class and superior performance in hot and high environments. The AW139 is also the only all-new technology medium twin-engine helicopter in production incorporating all the latest safety standards.
The AW139 has found significant success in the Middle East region with orders for nearly 80 signed. Aircraft are already in service with a number of commercial, law enforcement and military operators.

Source: AgustaWestland

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Hawthorne Aircraft Resumes Responsibilities

The Hawthorne (CA) Police Department celebrated the return of its Air 55 helicopter last month with a barbecue luncheon. The helicopter was grounded for more than two years because the city couldn't afford the cost, which was about $250,000 a year..

Hawthorne police Lt. Keith Kauffman said the helicopter does the work of 15 to 20 officers. It’s equipped with forward looking infrared to help find suspects hiding in dark places. "It's almost always the first unit on scene to a call," he said. "It's very helpful for crimes in progress - robberies, burglaries, assaults and police pursuits."

SOURCE: www.dailybreeze.com

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Saudi Arabia Signs Contracts for Helicopter Program

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Interior ((MOI) and Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. have signed contracts for 16 S-92 multi-mission helicopters, 15 S-76 multi-mission helicopters and nine Schweizer 434 training helicopters. The procurement represents a major expansion and modernization of the MOI helicopter fleet.

The program has been on a fast-track procurement with deliveries beginning as early as March 2008. To accommodate that, it includes a provision for operations, maintenance, logistics and training, which will allow for the expeditious entry of the aircraft into service. This will help bring the unit into full service rapidly and, in turn, enhance its ability to respond to critical missions, including search and rescue, fire fighting, medical evacuation and emergency medical service patient transfer missions, in addition to security and traffic surveillance missions. These aircraft can be quickly configured for each mission.

"The Middle East has become a significant region for S-92 helicopters and Sikorsky is excited about the potential for this program becoming the model for other aviation programs in the Kingdom," said Sikorsky President Jeffrey Pino.

Source: http://money.cnn.com/news/

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Heading South? It’s Not Too Late For ALEA’s Southeast Region Seminar

In addition to an outstanding line-up of classes for this year's Southeast Region Safety Seminar, ALEA will team up with the Helicopter Association International (HAI) to present Steve Bassett's very popular one-day course on pre-accident planning entitled "Crisis Management 101". This class will take place on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 from 8 am to 4 pm at the host hotel. A special discounted price of $225 for ALEA members is offered for this class and members can sign up now on the ALEA website.

Among the educational classes offered during the seminar will be an update on the ALEA Safety Program introducing "Safety Management Systems" as the most recent safety management philosophy adopted by the FAA and the International Helicopter Safety Team (IHST); a very entertaining as well as educational class on aviation risk management presented by one of ALEA's most popular instructors; a report from an FAA security representative on air traffic security and how TFRs can be used to support law enforcement operations; a new presentation on aviation human factors, taking us from concept to the cockpit and presented by an Embry Riddle instructor who was a former law enforcement pilot; a very interesting and captivating class on the complexities of today's digital cockpits presented by the author of a recent Air Beat article on glass cockpit technology; and, an insightful look at the hazards and precautions needed when mixing law enforcement flight operations with the news media aircraft to be presented by a retired law enforcement pilot who is now flying part-time for the news media.

All of these classes focus on new and emerging technologies and hazards facing the aviation law enforcement community whether you fly helicopters or fixed-wing in an urban or rural environment. Don't delay in registering. Additional information is available online at www.alea.org/upcomingevents/Regional Safety Seminars/Southeast Region or by contacting Southeast Region Director Mark Cherney at mcherney@alea.org or Education Program Manager Jim Di

Giovanna at edcoordinator@alea.org. See you there!

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Women Wanted for Air Beat Magazine

The editorial team of Air Beat Magazine is looking for female pilots, unit commanders, tactical flight officers and maintenance technicians to be a part of the March-April 2008 edition. If you, or another ALEA member at your unit, would like to participate in this exciting issue, please contact Lisa A. Wright via email at airbeat@alea.org.

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For rates and availability, contact:

Jennifer Thornton
ALEA Ad Sales Representative
Ph (918) 274-3874
Fax (918) 274-8450
E-mail: jthornton@alea.org

Get Your Organization's News Online

Send your press releases, company logos and photos to:

Lisa Wright
Editorial Director
airbeat@alea.org

Join Our Mailing List

ALEA’s Monthly E-Newsletters are designed to help keep you informed on the very latest information in the airborne law enforcement industry.  Our E-Newsletters are distributed by email, as an additional benefit to our membership. Anyone may join our mailing list.
 

This newsletter is published monthly by the Airborne Law Enforcement Association (ALEA), a public benefit, non-profit California corporation. The ALEA is comprised of air crew and air support personnel in law enforcement and others who support, promote, and advance the safe and effective use of aircraft by law enforcement agencies.

© Copyright 2007 by the Airborne Law Enforcement Association. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this newsletter in whole or in part without written permission from the Editor is prohibited. Product and corporate names mentioned in this newsletter are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the ALEA.

Airborne Law Enforcement Association, Inc.
411 Aviation Way
Suite 200
Frederick, MD 21701
Phone (301) 631-2406
Fax (301) 631-2466