The nature of the work undertaken by each is dictated by their respective manoeuvrability and range. During a pursuit operation, following bank raiders for example, the role of the supporting aircraft is simply to keep ground forces in touch with what's happening on the ground, and to give the appropriate directions.
The helicopter will come into its own in situations of crowd control and traffic management. It is envisaged that it could even be used to help divert traffic and people at large scale events like the All-Ireland Final. A helicopter can also be used during operations where radio contact is impossible - in the mountains for example. By using the 'chopper as a relay point, full radio coverage is possible. Five police forces have already adopted it in the UK. The major attractions of the AS N are the high power provided by its two Turbomeca Arrius 1A turboshafts, which develop a maximum takeoff power of shp kW , the low vibration level noise is always a complaint from residents over whose houses many helicopters pass , and the spacious uncluttered cabin that allows mission-specific equipment to be integrated while retaining excellent visibility.
The equipment provided for police work in Britain usually comprises a thermal imaging camera and TV camera package mounted under the machine's nose, to which night searchlights and loudhailers can be attached. All AS Ns used by police forces feature a purpose built instrument panel combining high levels of visibility with ergonomic placement of controls and the TV monitor. The Greater Manchester Police have recently pioneered the use of a radio video down-link that transmits images from the nose mounted thermal imager back to the police control room.
This equipment has also been adopted by the Met Police. The AS N Squirrel has a maximum takeoff weight of 2, kg in internal payload configuration, and 2, with a cargo sling.
It can accommodate one pilot and between four and six passengers, but this depends on the tactical equipment onboard. It is believed that the fit-out specifications requested by the Force were quite high, and will include all the latest communications equipment, including encrypted radio links.
It should also be fitted with a PA system, search light, TV camera, night vision facilities, microwave down-link for images, stabilised binoculars and the latest in computerised moving map technology. It is also understood that the helicopter will have some form of light armour under the seats and around the engine bay, to protect both it and its crew from ground fire. It may also have a wire strike protector, which lessens the chances of the rotors becoming snagged in overhead power lines. The Defender is larger than one of its sister aircraft, the Islander, which will be familiar to anyone who has flown to the Aran Islands, as this is the aircraft used by Aer Arann.
The Islander is renowned for its ability to land 'practically anywhere', and the Defender continues that tradition. Indeed the Cheshire police force, currently being featured on Sky television's 'Coppers' documentary series, have an Islander at their disposal. The Defender is a high wing monoplane of metal construction and fixed tricycle undercarriage - rugged and simple to maintain.
Its fuselage is rectangular in section and is manufactured from aluminium alloys. The aircraft structure is designed to have exceptional fatigue life over 40, hours and all aircraft parts are protected against corrosion. The high wing configuration provides a maximum unobstructed field of view. Then the helicopter moves round to get a better view of a large white object.
It could be two or three people. The powerful night-sun searchlight is switched on. Then a mist comes down and the helicopter is forced to return to base at Baldonnel.
They are frustrated, but the weather rules. In the five months since it started operations the Garda Air Support Unit has been involved in 1, tasks. One hundred and seven people have been arrested as a result of joint operations with Air Support and gardai on the ground.
Seven missing people have been found and 65 vehicles recovered. On a daylight flight yesterday it was possible to focus on one street, using both daylight camera and thermal imager. The thermal image could show which car had parked most recently by the heat of the engine. Those houses that had their heating on could also be picked out.
The twin Squirrel helicopter accounts for most of the tasks, with the fixed-wing Defender aircraft, referred to as Alpha Sierra One, used for longer flying operations outside Dublin. They have started compiling a video of successful operations for training gardai on how the air unit works. One of the videos shows the thermal imager picking out a white figure on a river bank as two other figures move towards it.
All three move away from the bank together. This was the rescue of a disturbed woman from the bank of the Liffey on a cold night last month.
Gardai were searching the banks after a call that a woman had been seen in a distressed state. Located by the helicopter hovering over the Strawberry Beds, the gardai in the air talked their colleagues on the ground to the woman. In a daylight operation on a Sunday morning a BMW is shown speeding down the M50, passing cars on the inside lane before hitting the verge and crossing the central reservation on to the opposite dual carriageway.
Two men jump out and run across fields, followed by the helicopter. A voice in the helicopter directs gardai into the housing estate. One of the youths is caught in a back garden.
The other hides behind a shed until he is arrested. The garda on the ground gives a thumbs-up to the helicopter. Fifteen men and one woman, four sergeants and 12 of garda rank, make up the unit, led by Supt Nacie Rice. The helicopter and plane are flown by Air Corps pilots assigned to the unit.
The camera is on a pod at the front of the helicopter. At the rear there is a night sun-torch, said to be powerful enough to light up a football pitch.
They work in shifts from 7 a. Both aircraft are able to communicate with individual gardai, patrol-cars and stations. An encrypted radio signal is used for secure contact with Garda units like the Emergency Response Unit. They do not patrol in the helicopter as it can only fly for hours on a tank of fuel. Two videotapes, a master and a back-up, record operations from the sky. The master is sealed as evidence to be used in any court proceedings, and the copy can be shown to gardai on the ground in advance of a prosecution.
It is a different kind of policing. As the voices from the air, the unit gardai are not part of the camaraderie of a station, where a successful operation might be celebrated that night.
You get the rush, but it's in a different form.
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