Visitors Since 11/28/01

Helicopter Operations

The Sheriff's Office acquired a Bell 47G-3B-1 helicopter in July 1974 through the excess property program. The purpose was to augment the search and rescue and law enforcement functions for parts of the 3,000 square miles of road-less mountain terrain that is accessible by foot only. The helicopter was torn down, inspected, painted, reassembled and placed in service in September of 1974.

During the next 22 years the aircraft devoted 50% of it's flights to supporting search and rescue, 20% to assisting various law enforcement functions including marijuana eradication and 20% to assisting other eastern Washington county's needs involving, law enforcement, fire suppression, maintenance and training. To date, Chelan County is the only county in eastern Washington operating a helicopter program that continues to support other agencies during emergencies. Crews that work in support of the air operation are required to complete a basic/intermediate/advanced helicopter safety course instructed by this office.

The Sheriff's Office began supporting fire departments during wildfire events in 1978 with the use of a 60-gallon water bucket and by transporting fire fighters. After a 1978 wild land fire that threatened many homes and parts of Wenatchee, the Sheriff's Office, Chelan County Fire District #1 and Washington DNR entered into an agreement that made a Huey helicopter available for multi-agency use. This Huey had seating for 6 fire fighters, could carry a 250 gallon water bucket and was available for search and rescue missions requiring a larger helicopter.

In 1993 the office acquired two Bell UH-1H Huey helicopters which have seating for 10 passengers, the capacity for a 300 gallon water bucket and are operated by the fire district. In early 1994, the FAA decided the multi-agency agreement was illegal because different government agencies could not share costs. The fire district acquired a surplus Bell UH-1B and placed it in service just before the much-publicized 1994 wildfires. This helicopter was flown through August 1996, when one of the larger Huey helicopters was placed in service. In 1999 the UH-1B was sold to a private company.

The aviation program acquired a military version of the Bell Jet Ranger through a drug interdiction program, which it placed in service in mid-1996 to continue the support role. The Bell 47 was sold, and we currently operate one OH-58, have one flyable spare, and three for spare parts. The OH-58 has a turbine engine, three passenger seats and is almost twice a fast as the Bell 47. The helicopter costs $200 per hour compared to $600 per hour to rent the same civilian aircraft.

The pilot must have a minimum of 2,500 total flight hours of which 500 hours must be from mountain flying and 500 hours must be in this type of aircraft. Currently we have one pilot, that started the program and is a commercial/instrument rated pilot in single and multi-engine airplanes and helicopters with 13,000 total flight hours. The aviation program has not had an accident, incident, or injury in its history.

In 1998, the volunteers of the Chelan County Mountain Rescue group funded a retired Parks Canada employee whom had worked with a rescue system called Helicopter Sling Rescue System (Short-Haul) for 25 years, to certify a similar system for our use in rescues that have no landing area close. There are 10 mountain rescue volunteers that train one day per month. The system was utilized several times in 1999 and can complete rescues in 45 minutes with three people that would have taken 15 people 20 hours by ground means. The injury recovery times have reduced drastically using this system.

The helicopters and their pilots have saved countless lives, searched for fleeing felons, participated in the eradication of thousands of marijuana plants in eastern Washington and assisted in numerous fire suppression activities. They are a useful tool and are flown in response to calls for service, not for routine patrol.

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