Pilots gave a mini-demonstration Monday morning of the newest addition to the Pima County sheriff's Air Unit - an American Eurocopter.
The helicopter hovered over second base in Kino Stadium, making a slow 360-degree turn, before taking a couple of laps over the stadium and soaring away.
The $3.8 million chopper will replace a county helicopter that crashed in the Waterman Mountains northwest of Tucson in January 2011, killing the pilot.
Its high-performance design will make the Eurocopter the county's first rescue helicopter, said Deputy Tom Peine, spokesman for the Sheriff's Department. The previous helicopter was limited by Southern Arizona's extreme desert temperatures. The Eurocopter also has a hoist with a 500-pound capacity, a feature not included on the previous helicopter.
The Eurocopter can also hoist injured patients in a basket, Peine said.
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"It's perfect for the environment we have - the hot climate - and it can go to altitudes the other unit couldn't go to," he said.
In addition to search and rescue missions, the Eurocopter will be used primarily for border security operations and tactical support for the regional bomb squad and SWAT team.
Chief Jeff Piechura of the Northwest Fire District said the district has lent the Sheriff's Department a water bucket for the Eurocopter for use in fighting wildfires.
"The fire service of Pima County is very excited to have this versatile and effective firefighting and rescue tool added to our resource pool. We look forward to working with the county, not only in training, but in deploying the helicopter to critical incidents," Piechura said.
The Sheriff's Department having its own helicopter will cut the department's emergency response times, Peine said. In the past, when the department needed the aid of a helicopter, deputies had to contact the Arizona Department of Public Safety, U.S. Customs and Border Protection or Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and ask for assistance.
The county paid for the helicopter with money from an insurance settlement after the 2011 crash, federal grant funds for urban areas with potential terrorism threats and about $1 million in forfeited racketeering money.
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In addition to the new helicopter, the Sheriff's Department Air Unit fleet has two small planes used for the extradition of prisoners. It also has two Vietnam-era fixed-wing Helio-Courier aircraft for use in patrol operations.
American Eurocopter specs
The Pima County Sheriff's Department is the first law-enforcement agency in the country to purchase the Eurocopter AS350B3E for crime-fighting and public safety. The helicopter:
• Measures 42 feet long and 10 feet tall.
• Weighs 3,714.8 pounds empty, with a maximum weight of 5,225 pounds.
• Has a 35-foot main rotor that turns 386 revolutions per minute, and a 6-foot-10-inch tail rotor that turns at 2,044 revolutions per minute.
• Flies at a top speed of 178 mph.
• Holds 142 gallons of fuel.
• Can fly for nearly three hours.
• Comes equipped with a thermal camera, searchlight, moving map computer and a rescue hoist.
SOURCE: Pima County
Carmen Duarte contributed to this story. Contact reporter Kimberly Matas at kmatas@azstarnet.com or at 573-4191.
