Rotary Flight Training
RIVERSIDE (CNS) – The Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s proposed contract with a Costa Mesa-based helicopter school to handle all of the department’s flight training needs for the next five years at a cost of $960,000.
In a 5-0 vote without comment, the board signed off on Bianco’s request to retain the services of HeliStream Inc. until January 2030.
The company was first selected by the county in 2017, then again in 2019. The last HeliStream agreement was submitted to the board without seeking competitive bids from other prospective vendors, as was the recent one.
“HeliStream specializes in air operations training for law enforcement agencies,” according to a sheriff’s statement posted to the board’s agenda Tuesday. “Government entities such as the Drug Enforcement Administration, San Jose Police Department … San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway Patrol all utilize HeliStream for flight training.”
Sheriff’s Aviation Unit Executive Lt. Caleb Curtner said the company is the only one in the southwestern United States that provides focused training aboard the Airbus H-125 and H-145 helicopters. The county owns two of the former and one of the latter. It also operates three Airbus AS350-B3s.
The unit currently staffs nine commercially rated chopper pilots and a deputy who is in training, according to Curtner.
“These helicopters serve various functions including day and nighttime patrol, specialized support flights and search and rescue operations,” the sheriff’s department stated.
The agency said HeliStream will provide recurrent training for the rotary pilots to ensure their skill levels meet baseline standards, as well as offer night vision goggle training, high-altitude ops courses, emergency landing procedures refreshers, turbine transition and instrument flight rules classes on a regular basis.
“Riverside County residents and businesses benefit from the expertise of highly trained helicopter pilots who provide aerial law enforcement support and search and rescue missions,” the sheriff’s department said.
The last crash involving a sheriff’s helicopter occurred during a training flight at Hemet-Ryan Airport in August 2014. The aircraft was destroyed after slamming into the tarmac during a simulated engine-out landing. The two pilots escaped with minor injuries.
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