Unveiling of the new San Diego County Sheriff’s Department Helicopter Tuesday, January 28th at Sheriff’s ASTREA Base in El Cajon
Sheriff’s ASTREA is a regional asset that has been providing support to the department and partner agencies in the county since 1971. It currently has ten helicopters. It averages 2,000 missions a year to support patrol, fire, as well as search and rescue calls around the clock. Two more helicopters will be added to the fleet in the summer
• This is a patrol helicopter, but can be equipped with a bucket to help with water drops during a fire.
o It is not a hoist helicopter, but it has sliding doors so it can hover just above the ground.
• Cost: $5.4 million
• Among the new features include high tech displays which give the pilots critical flight information at a glance for quicker information, response and increased safety.
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We can fly at night with improved heat detecting/infrared camera. Increased zoom capabilities. Better GPS location on the camera image to help deputies on the ground. This enables the helicopter to fly higher and reduce noise over a search area.
• The crew is made up of a pilot and a Tactical Flight Officer (TFO). The pilot flies the helicopter. The TFO communicates with ground personnel, operates the search light, public announcement system, infrared camera, map system, etc.
• The helicopter can carry a total of seven people.
• This helicopter replaces an aging fleet of MD500 helicopters. The oldest patrol helicopter we have was built in 1981 and we retired it in lieu of expensive repair.
• The helicopter was certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in April 2019.
• Including this helicopter, ASTREA has a total of ten helicopters in its fleet.
• We are also in the process of purchasing two additional BELL 407 GXi helicopters.
• Learn more about Sheriff’s ASTREA: https://www.sdsheriff.net/astrea/index.html
