BigBird7 Posted September 26, 2011 Report Share Posted September 26, 2011 I'm looking for a list of law enforcement aviation units that accept civilian pilots. I have: Maryland State PoliceFairfax countyDPS can anyone add to this list? Thank you! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helonorth Posted September 26, 2011 Report Share Posted September 26, 2011 Volusia County in Florida. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Posted September 27, 2011 Report Share Posted September 27, 2011 DHS - CBP Air Wing hires Civilians direct to the operation but you will become a Federal LEO during the process. I would call around to the units you are interested in. Unfortunately, many of the larger LE operators are staffed internally and not by civilians. One of the bigger issues as well is turnover... Most folks stay 10 to 20 years! I'm one of the lucky ones. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Pig Posted September 29, 2011 Report Share Posted September 29, 2011 DHS - CBP Air Wing hires Civilians direct to the operation but you will become a Federal LEO during the process. I would call around to the units you are interested in. Unfortunately, many of the larger LE operators are staffed internally and not by civilians. One of the bigger issues as well is turnover... Most folks stay 10 to 20 years! I'm one of the lucky ones. In law enforcement aviation these days, it seems the civilian pilot is the first to go. When your in a dept of sworn officers, the civilian pilot can be a lonely place to be when budgets start getting looked at. Especially if you are in a mixed sworn/civ unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brettjeepski Posted September 29, 2011 Report Share Posted September 29, 2011 Utah highway patrol i know hires civilian their current full time pilot was civilian trained and he flies their astar out of slc. great guy, did ems for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Pig Posted September 29, 2011 Report Share Posted September 29, 2011 Utah highway patrol i know hires civilian their current full time pilot was civilian trained and he flies their astar out of slc. great guy, did ems for a while. I was in Utah on a case and asked. Their preference is sworn. But if they lack any qualified trooper pilots, they will contract out to civilian pilots. But I dont believe they are full time employees of the UHP. That was what I was told by a UHP Sgt about 6 months ago. But who knows, he wasnt an air unit member. Rumors about how ASU operates, even within your own department can be pretty funny once the rumor makes its way back to the hangar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 In law enforcement aviation these days, it seems the civilian pilot is the first to go. When your in a dept of sworn officers, the civilian pilot can be a lonely place to be when budgets start getting looked at. Especially if you are in a mixed sworn/civ unit. We have 6 pilots. 4 civilian and 2 sworn. Main reason is for State medevac hour requirments. We dont have an aircraft availble for patrol guys to transfer up here and build time. Just too cost prohibitive. It would also be a big jump to fly the 429 with a fresh commercial certificate... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilot430 Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 Just FYI to all of those who may have read the previous post. I did not submit this post and just found out about it. I sincerely apologize if it offended anyone, in particular anyone at the UHP/DPS Air bureau. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Pig Posted October 6, 2011 Report Share Posted October 6, 2011 Are you a trooper? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocco Posted January 8, 2012 Report Share Posted January 8, 2012 The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office (Northern California) hires civilian pilots. They don't have sworn pilots. Their civilian pilot(s) is a county employee so they get county benefits. They fly a Bell 407 and do search and rescue, law enforcement missions, firefighting, and ALS medical transports. All of their rescues, which include mountainous terrain and the ocean are done by long line using vertical reference. They even do long line rescues at night. Their crew consists of a pilot, TFO (sworn Deputy Sheriff) and a paramedic. Check out their website (henry1.com) for more info and some videos of what they do. Defintately a well respected and highly trained unit that stays busy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badtransam97 Posted January 10, 2012 Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 Nashville PD hires civilian pilots. The requirements are 1000hrs TT with 500 turbine, and experience preferred in MD500 or OH-58. I am one of their civilian pilots, and work alongside the sworn guys just fine. I was worried there would be a "barrier" between the two groups, but havent experienced one so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldy Posted January 27, 2012 Report Share Posted January 27, 2012 I'm looking for a list of law enforcement aviation units that accept civilian pilots. I have: Maryland State PoliceFairfax countyDPS can anyone add to this list? Thank you! Add SkyKnight- LASD Lakewood, Ca.- 300C for many years now.Civilian pilot, LASD deputy Tactical Flight Deputy http://www.airliners.net/photo/Sky-Knights/Schweizer-300C-(269C)/0450179/&sid=e8bc77fb6c66c66bb5d49cfd6c41a554 http://www.lakewoodcity.org/49andcounting/Gallery_7/index.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Pig Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 (edited) If Im not mistaken though, arent they all part-time contract pilots with Sky Knight? Meaning your not going to make a living working for Sky Knight. Could be wrong. Edited February 7, 2012 by Flying Pig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldy Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 If Im not mistaken though, arent they all part-time contract pilots with Sky Knight? Meaning your not going to make a living working for Sky Knight. Could be wrong. I know the Chief Pilot is a full time guy. Not sure about the rest. If you have 500 hours TT and 100 hrs R44 time, one of our local PD's is looking for civilian pilots right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Pig Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 ^I saw that hiring announcement. That would be a hoppin city to fly for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helidad Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 Rialto/Fontana area gig would be lots of night flying due to the gangs out there... and if you don't enjoy wind, need not apply... very easy airspace and the mechanic is my mechanic so the ship is tip top I can assure you that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Pig Posted February 8, 2012 Report Share Posted February 8, 2012 I do FTDA's at Western twice a year in their D Model. Good times when its windy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjl2001 Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 (edited) A few years ago I spoke with every LE agency I could find in Florida, and there were one or two agencies that told me they used civilain non-sworn pilots. Unfortunately, I can't remember now who those agencies were. I spoke with a crewmember from Fairfax County PD at Heli-Expo earlier this month, and indeed she said they used civilain pilots. As I recall the position was open to sworn officers, but the insurance program they were under had high hour requirements. Due to that they have trouble finding qualified officers, so then they turn to civilian applicants. I remember thinking the hour requirement was astronomical (to me anyways), maybe 2,000? I'm also pretty sure I was told ALL their civilian pilots were prior service military, and a couple had A LOT of flying experience. Very friendly and helpful crew though when I was asking a million questions about their unit. I'll include the results I got from a search of ALEA's database, querying units where "Helicopter PICs are pilots required to be sworn LEOs:No" Calgary Police Service Mohave County Sheriff Office Royal Canadian Mounted Police - Vancouver Kern County Sheriffs Department Placer County Sheriff's Department Garda Air Support Unit Manatee County Sheriff's Office Maryland State Police Desoto County Aviation Unit ALBUQUERQUE POLICE DEPARTMENT Washoe County Sheriff's Office New York State Police Bryan County Sheriff's Office Charleston Police Department Virginia Airborne Search & Rescue Squad I was going to ask, but think I just figured it out, FTDA = Full TouchDown Autorotation? Edited March 1, 2012 by rjl2001 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 I spoke with a crewmember from Fairfax County PD at Heli-Expo earlier this month, and indeed she said they used civilain pilots. As I recall the position was open to sworn officers, but the insurance program they were under had high hour requirements. Due to that they have trouble finding qualified officers, so then they turn to civilian applicants. I remember thinking the hour requirement was astronomical (to me anyways), maybe 2,000? I'm also pretty sure I was told ALL their civilian pilots were prior service military, and a couple had A LOT of flying experience. Very friendly and helpful crew though when I was asking a million questions about their unit. We have 6 pilots. 4 Civilian and 2 sworn. The two sworn have been with the unit for over 25 years. We don't train officers up through the ranks anymore for 2 reasons. 1st is the fact it is a huge step to go from a commercial certificate and 150 hours in to a Bell 429. Insurance would never have it. Next is Virginia EMS requirements. The State of VA requires 1000 hours PIC and 200 night to qualify to fly medevac. Back in the day when we had a 206 (1980's) we used to fly traffic... Sworn pilots would fly this daily and build about 6 - 7 hours per day. This added up and they were able to get the State medevac mins. Of our 6 person pilot pool. 3 were trained in the military. 2 Army and 1 Navy. The other 3 including the sworn officer are civilian trained.... Including myself. Flying is about 10% of the job... The other 90% is personality! I was bummed that I couldn't make it to Heli Expo but someone has to stay here and work.... If you have any other questions about the unit feel free to PM me. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Pig Posted March 2, 2012 Report Share Posted March 2, 2012 (edited) ^Your guys' old 407 sits about 200 yards from me now. Clean bird. Yes, FTDA =Full Touch Down Auto Edited March 2, 2012 by Flying Pig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 Awesome! I am going to PM you my email... Any chance you could snap me a cell phone pic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Pig Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 (edited) Sure thing. Edited March 5, 2012 by Flying Pig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddiebauer86 Posted August 15, 2012 Report Share Posted August 15, 2012 Nashville Metro PD still hires civilians and I have it in good authority that they are looking to hire again very soon. They also have a posting up and are looking for a civilian mechanic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Pig Posted August 16, 2012 Report Share Posted August 16, 2012 (edited) Ive talked to a couple Nashville Pilots. They seem pretty content. OH-58's and 500's so you have a little variety. The overall mission seemed a little dull. Basic city patrol orbit work. I am told the civilians seem to move on every couple of years. Edited August 16, 2012 by Flying Pig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Pig Posted October 10, 2012 Report Share Posted October 10, 2012 (edited) ... Edited October 10, 2012 by Flying Pig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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