A new Robinson R44 Raven II Police Helicopter patrols above the City of San Bernardino through a contract with airborne law-enforcement specialist California Aviation Services. Deployed to support the city’s anti-crime program, Operation Phoenix, the R44 Raven II Police Helicopter is on duty 40 hours a week. Following the success of Fontana, the City of San Bernardino is now the second city within San Bernardino County to utilize an R44 Police Helicopter in their law-enforcement programs.

“The R44 is a great way to get an aerial program off the ground. It’s affordable, fast, and has a good maintenance profile,” says Captain Steve Klettenberg, San Bernardino Police Aviation Division and Administration Services. While the county sheriff had always been accommodating about providing San Bernardino with air support, the city wanted a helicopter dedicated to their police program and Operation Phoenix. To achieve these goals the city contracted with California Aviation Services to supply a new R44 Raven II Police Helicopter, experienced police pilots, fuel, maintenance, and insurance.

“With its bird’s eye view, the R44 makes a very effective command platform especially during car chases and searching for criminals. It’s able to direct ground units in advance of the chase so they can clear the way of civilians. Equally important is that the R44 makes it a lot safer for responding ground units by giving them the lay of the land, what the situation is, where the criminal is,” explains Captain Klettenberg.

According to California Aviation Services’ Leo Bell, the R44 Raven II Police Helicopter addresses the law-enforcement needs of the City of San Bernardino better than getting helicopter support from the county sheriff.

“The sheriff covers a really large area and needs a variety of helicopters, while the city basically needs a flying squad car for night patrols, surveillance, and ground support,” explains Bell.

The R44 Police Helicopter cruises at 130 mph, carries three people, and is equipped with state-of-the-art policing technology including the FLIR Systems Mark II infrared sensor, Spectrolab SX-5E searchlight, Flight Management Systems’ Moving Map system, FM police radios, public address speaker/siren, and Lo Jack receiver.

FMI: www.robinsonheli.com