InterceptRadio.com Forums

There newest helicopter will not be here until early 2008 and it is going to be a Bell 407 Long Ranger which is larger than the current Jet Ranger and has a 4 bladed main rotor instead of 2 blades.
Currently Air 4 (Komo) and Chopper 7 (KIRO) have Bell 407 Long Rangers which are faster and more powerful than the current King County Sheriff helicopters.

spd should look into getting there own air unit. they callon guardien a lot

FYI: Seattle PD was first to have any "air units" and has lost several ships and souls over the years. As far back as 1974 -- King County was in the position of "requesting" the use of the Seattle PD "Air Unit" on a daily basis. It comes down to the same answer: Money.

Wow, I don't remember the deaths. I do remember a bunch of hard landings. One of the last ones was near my house. The helo pilot had taken a female friend up and ended up on it's side near Union Bay in some marsh. That was the end of SPD and heol's. Weren't they called Air 1, 2, etc. About the same time SFD's first medic one was a converted moterhome about 25 to 30 feet long.

If I remember, the pilot and observer were killed when they collided with a small plane over Beacon Hill close to Boeing Field.

They were searching for a bad guy and the plane was landing at Boeing Field when the plane turned and the pilot was blinded by the afternoon sun collided with the SPD copter who was orbiting over the area.

I also on recall the incident on Union Bay as the pilot landed in the water and as he was lifting off, the pontoon got snagged on something and rolled the copter over on its side. The pilot later ended up working as a patrol officer for the Port of Seattle Police.

Watch in a couple of years PD while have unman air craft control by remote controll from the ground. Like the Air Force.

If I am correct the Bell 407 is not called a Long Ranger. The 206L is the Long Ranger! Anyway the 407 is the helicopter I want to fly here in the next couple of years when I have enough hours to be hired by a company that has one....

Did King County get a DHS grant to pay for the new helicopter?

As I recall they had a leased Long Ranger beginning about 1990 for the Goodwill Games and had it for a few years until their funding was getting tight. That's when they obtained various surplus OH-58 and UH-1's from National Guard units. Most of them were not airworthy but used for spare parts? As far as I know 2 of the OH-58's and one UH-1 were flyable. Two yrs ago they traded 5 parts helos to Northwest Helicopters in Olympia for a used Bell 206. That 206 seems to have had several previous owners and one hard landing at Grand Canyon, Az. back on August 22, 1982.

Kerwin

For your viewing pleasure.
Thanks to AREA51 for the photos.



With emergency pontoons inflated:




-Mike

_________________
flickr | mikegilbertphotography.com

Does King County have a back up helicopter for SAR

Guardian 2 is used for SAR and does get activated for SAR missions regularly....





Plus here is what I do on weekends.... And yes I am the one in the white helmet!

I thought Guardain 2 would have flair and a search light.

I maybe wrong but this is what I've been told by one of the former pilots of the King County Sheriff helicopters.

Guardian 2 does not have a FLIR (Forward Looking Infa Red) system or Nightsun (Searchlight) system as it is only used on SAR missions during the day.

SAR missions are to dangerous to perform at night in the type of terrain that Guardian 2 would be performing. Thats why when you here about SAR personnel looking for someone in the cascades, the search ends at night and will resume at first light in the morning.

Guardian 2 is not used for any chases or tracking due to the noise that the UH-1 Huey makes and the lack of speed the copter has.

Guardian 1 is the primary helicopter, Guardian 2 is used for SAR and Spec Ops missions like SWAT call outs and SWAT training missions..

How does Tac 30 (SWAT) use Guardain 2