Police Aviation News November 2010

Police Aviation News November 2010 13
(PFD) and Multi-Function Display (MFD), software version 7.0, WAAS Beta III GPS Receiver,
integral TSO C-194 Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning System (HTAWS),
integral Flight Management System (FMS), and Analogue Interface Unit (AIU). The system
is fully NVG-compliant.
DELAWARE: Last month the State Police marked its 40 th Anniversary with an ‘open
House’ event held at its base, the Sussex County Airport on Rudder Lane in Georgetown.
2010 marks the 40 th anniversary for the DSP Aviation Section and the 25 th anniversary
of the Trooper-Medic programme.
DSP launched itself into the airborne law enforcement arena in 1956 by renting a single engine
Cessna airplane. Troopers were assigned to the airplane on a daily basis to assist the
ground units with various law enforcement responsibilities.
It wasn’t until 1970 that DSP formed an Aviation Section using grants from the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration to acquire a Bell 206B JetRanger.
Since that time a number of aircraft have come and gone including further examples of the
Bell 206, the Huey, 407 and 412 as well as single and twin-engine fixed wing airframes.
Currently a committee is reviewing the operation and is expected to recommend new aircraft
to replace two ageing Bell 407’s.
MARYLAND: The state of Maryland has awarded a $72M contract to the lone bidder to
provide six helicopters to begin the replacement of the Maryland State Police emergency
medical fleet. The Maryland Department of Transportation, which ran the procurement process
on behalf of the state police, received no bids other than Agusta's despite seeking offers
from four helicopter manufacturers.
The value of the contract could more than double over the next three years because the
state also received an option for the purchase of six more aircraft at a cost of $11.7M each
plus an inflation adjustment.
AgustaWestland has announced that the contract has been signed and that the initial six
AW139 helicopters for the Medevac fleet programme will commence delivery in 18 months.
These aircraft will be produced at AgustaWestland’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania production
facility.
This will transition the fleet from the existing Dauphin helicopter fleet, which numbered 12
until the September 2008 crash of a rescue helicopter in Southern Maryland reduced it to 11
operable craft. The helicopters in the existing fleet range from 11 to 21 years old.
State procurement officials invited representatives of four leading helicopter manufacturers
— AgustaWestland, Eurocopter, Bell and Sikorsky — to discuss the state's requirements
and the possible purchase price. The four companies supplied estimates ranging from
$14.9M to $18.3M per helicopter.
In the end game though only AgustaWestland replied to the tender bid. American Eurocopter
filed a bid protest in September 2009, contending that the result had been "preordained"
by the bid's specifications. The transportation department denied the protest and the company
did not appeal.
Sikorsky, said the company's S-76 helicopter didn't meet the state's bid specification and
Bell did not bid. [Baltimore Sun/AW]