Huntington Beach : New Police Helicopter to Fly Quietly and Fast

Residents won’t have to lose any more sleep to the noisy whir of police helicopters patrolling at night.

Police say their newly purchased $414,000 helicopter, with a state-of-the-art tail rotor, makes the chopper’s flight virtually silent.

The department is the first in the country to use the new silent helicopter, said William Reed, city public information officer. Delivery of the helicopter is expected late this week, and the machine should be fully operational two weeks later, he said.

“If you were inside a house you would not be likely to hear it,” said Reed, who added that the machine’s manufacturer, Hughes Helicopters Inc., claims it is quieter than a car driving down a city street.

Huntington Beach’s police helicopter division flies most of its 3,000 hours per year at night, but future night flights will be confined to the new silent helicopter, with the department’s remaining two helicopters used for day patrol, he said.

The City Council allotted $410,000 for the new helicopter, Reed said, and two older police helicopters were sold to help pay for the new machine and the cost of outfitting it with sirens, lights and a police radio, Reed said

In addition to its quiet operation, the new helicopter can fly up to 170 m.p.h., nearly twice as fast as conventional 90-m.p.h. helicopters, Reed said. The helicopter’s speed will enable it to reach the source of a call from anywhere in the city in 15 to 30 seconds, Reed said.