PW_4_2024

Article

Flying High Down Under Spike Elliott , Secretary - General In March of this year Helen and I had a meeting in Canberra to attend (non IPA), so we decided to extend our visit and turn the visit into a holiday.

I submitted a Travel request to both Sections Australia and New Zealand with our itinerary, and I’m pleased to say that both sections replied quickly, offering advice and arranging visits. Our first port of call was Sydney. We walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge - not the Bridge Climb, we did that in 2016 - I am in awe of the bridge and every time I see it I get a little emotional! We also visited the Opera House. Our main hobby is walking, so we managed to take part in various walks, including the Sydney City Trail, Bondi to Malabar Coastal walk and the Spit to Manly walk. We flew to Auckland on the Friday and then drove down to Rotorua, where we took part in the Rotorua Walking Festival, a two-day walking event. Day one takes you through the forest and the Redwood trees and day two is predominantly around the town and through the natural hot springs, with the strong smell of sulphur. When we visited before we booked one of Section New Zealand’s IPA houses. Unfortunately due to the many visitors to the area they were fully booked so we opted to stay in an Airbnb. After the walk on Sunday, we drove back to Auckland. We had been invited by Mike Di Leva of Region 1 Section NZ, to a tour of their Air Support ‘Eagle’ Unit, Mike is a Tactical Flight Officer (TFO) with the unit. Mike picked Helen and I up from our hotel and took us to the ASU. This was formed in 1988 and was originally based at Mechanics Bay on Auckland’s Waterfront, before moving to Onehunga in 2019. They operate three Bell 429 Helicopters aptly named Police 1, 2 and 3. The aircraft are equipped with gyro stabilised binoculars, which are used to counter the effects of vibration in the aircraft. Forward looking infrared (FLR) camera, night vision equipment, and a night sun spotlight. Eagle also has a comprehensive array of VHF and UHF radio equipment for communication with Air Traffic Control, Police, Fire and other agencies. For navigation the aircraft is fitted with global positioning system (GPS) equipment which is integrated into a mapping program. We were given a presentation on the unit and its primary role which is an Airborne Observation Platform. The Eagle crew consists of a civilian pilot and 2 TFOs. After our ground tour of the hanger and looking at the aircraft and equipment in detail (Helen and I are both retired RAF so were in our element) Mike had arranged for us to go “Airborne” on a routine patrol sortie. So after a flight safety briefing donning life jackets, we took our places in Police 1, with Riley the front TFO and Paul the Pilot up front. Helen and I sat next to Scotty the rear TFO, and it was lift off! We did a circuit of the coastline with the crew pointing out places of interest, before flying over the

city itself and looking down on Auckland’s Sky Tower, which stands at 328m high and is very impressive. We were Airborne for about 50 minutes before landing. After saying our farewells and exchanging souvenirs, Mike had arranged for Helen and I to visit the Maritime Unit in Auckland. We were shown the different types of vessels they use but the main vessel is the twin-hulled Deodar III, the unit has a very large “Beat” which covers 3,700 square kilometres, which includes the greater Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames. We finished our visit with a spot of lunch after which Mike dropped us off at our hotel. We can’t thank Section New Zealand and Mike enough for our experience, one Helen and I will remember for a long time to come.

Spike, Helen and Scotty (rear TFO) aboard Police 1

Spike, Helen, Mike and Police 1

12

POLICE WORLD Vol 69 No.4, 2024