Tag Archives: police

Hampshire Police’s Helicopter

Late one afternoon, while getting ready to leave the Bournemouth Aviation Museum, I saw a helicopter flying some pattern work across at the airport. Given that it was painted black, I assumed it was a police helicopter. I took some distant shots of it and then continued with wrapping up my museum visit. When I was done, they were still flying around the pattern, and I figured I would head to the other side to see if a better shot would be possible.

As it turned out, they were flying almost over the road on the other side of the runway. I ended up shooting almost straight up which was not the ideal angle. Still, it was a chance to shoot slightly different shots than I might have normally gone for. As it turned out, they landed after this approach, so I had only just got there in time. After running on the ground for a while, they departed off to the east.

A Police Mi-17 That Might Fly?

When we landed in Nairobi, I was walking across the ramp and saw a very clean looking Mi-17 helicopter.  It was marked up as belonging to the police service.  The person I was chatting to told me that this helicopter and its hangar was very expensive but never actually got flown.  Apparently, it might be a bit of a waste of time and money.  Not sure whether that is true or not but that was what I was told.  It certainly did look very shiny.

Vancouver Police RIB

The floatplanes may have been my main focus when I was at Brockton Point in Stanley Park but they certainly weren’t the only activity in the harbor.  Plenty of boat traffic was on the move.  The Vancouver Police were also on patrol.  They had a RIB that they were zipping about on.  I watched them head out towards Lion’s Gate Bridge without getting a shot but, when they returned, I figured they deserved my attention.  A speeding RIB is a cool way to travel and this one looked like it had enough power for plenty of speed!

I’m Sure They’re Not Looking at Me

B11I1953.jpgWhat does it say about having a guilty conscience that you immediately wonder whether you are the person being watched?  Police helicopters come in all shapes and sizes.  Some are hand me downs from the military.  Others are old civil types.  Some departments have the budget for modern types.  It varies wildly.  I was out shooting in Las Vegas when this helicopter came heading straight for me.  Admittedly, he was coming from a long way off and I was really just in his path but, as I pointed the camera up at him, I couldn’t help but think that he was looking at me looking at him.  Did I do anything wrong?  I don’t think so.  He kept going so I was probably okay.

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