Rotorhub
New helicopter for Chiltern Air Support Unit
Thames Valley Police, Bedfordshire Police and Hertfordshire Constabulary, the three forces that comprise the Chiltern Air Support Unit have approved the purchase of a new helicopter.
The new machine, a Eurocopter EC135P2, will be delivered in 2010 and replace the EC135T1 (G-CHSU) currently based at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire.
The project to acquire a new aircraft was undertaken in a joint purchase arrangement with police air operations units in Suffolk, Cheshire, North Wales and Central Counties. from around the country.
This multi-buy approach delivered a discount of approximately £0.3m per aircraft, price stability in the relevant currencies throughout the whole programme to the end of 2010, guaranteed part-exchange prices for the EC135T1 aircraft being replaced and a profit share programme in respect of any excess proceeds of sale.
When placing the order, permission was granted by the police authorities to fix the sterling cost of the aircraft at £4.614m. Had the currency lock not been applied at time of ordering, the aircraft would now cost £4.997m, based on current exchange rates.
The Home Office are providing 40 per cent of the cost from central funds. When this is taken into account, the net cost of replacing the aircraft is approximately £1.75m which is then divided between the Thames Valley, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire police forces.
Chiltern Air Support Unit Executive Officer, Doug Mackay, said: “The new aircraft will have the latest on board role equipment to further enhance the vital crime fighting and life saving role currently performed by the existing helicopter.
“The unit is involved in all aspects of emergency police work and beyond. Last year the two aircraft:
Attended 5,634 incidents
Was involved in 868 arrests
Helped recover £2,006,370 worth of property
Air-lifted 39 people to hospital
“Aside from the humane aspect of assisting the public, often in times of extreme need or danger, the use of the police helicopter has long since been proven to be financially viable. Just one illustration of this is that the aircraft can search an area which would take substantial ground resources days to accomplish, saving not only valuable time if a life is at risk but also the large costs of such an operation.”
To find out more about the work of the Chiltern Air Support unit have a look at the August-September 2008 digital edition of ROTORHUB magazine at: http://www.webmags.co.uk/mag.aspx?magcode=HME_B1_2007
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