Originally Posted by
RotaryJ
The Police Aviation Scene it the UK has been dead recently... not even a dickie bird regarding the next leaders of NPAS!
Which I may add is due for deciding soon, (like June 2024 soon!)
If a new Lead Force cannot be established and West Yorks backs out from June onwards, who is responsible? Would NPAS be able to become a specialist separate force: e.g. like Civil Nuclear Constabulary?
I have also noticed that their maintenance contract with Airbus Helicopters is also due to expire towards the end of this year, with no set fleet replacement plan in place ready for when the ultimate deadline with AH ends, (whenever that will be!!)
There have been no meeting minutes from the last half of last year uploaded to the NPAS website.
Not to mention that there is currently a very capable POLU ready for active service again, just sitting and looking pretty. Meanwhile, two bases are offline because EMID and TVHB are being utilised elsewhere. I thought the whole purpose of getting POLU back online was to support the very tired fleet of aircraft!
I won't even get started with the machines that have wings also collecting dust at EMA!
What is going off?!
individual police forces are more interested in drone capabilities for many of the traditional surveillance tasks provided by the distinguished and in some cases vintage aircraft, given that drones maintain some degree of stealth as a pose to the sonic booms you can hear miles away. Especially when the met are in the air. Most forces have raised the criteria to request air support based on the fact they are refused increasingly. The split seems to have seen the met keep all three of their 145s anyway and one or two other regulars which must piss everyone else off, but they don't use the p68s so that's a bonus, maybe they have their own private fleet of rental p68 and "survey" aircraft.
I am very lucky, I experience daily interactions with many of npas's assets, especially the 145's they seem to hone in on the lights in the garden, I fear if we turn them off they'll get lost. It's almost as if the pilots do as they please in-between attendance of a call. Why do they all land in a field now ? It's as if they not only denied flight data in and out of stapleford they went as far as to redact it from historical flight going way back, conveniently missing all those hours spent over us, speak of the devil I can hear an ec145 incoming. I'd love to know what it is they want with me but at the same time it's actually very alarming to think of the possibilities. So please don't take it personally when you fly at me 70 meters white flashes over and over again. I'm taking pictures of you because I can only assume either someone is leading you up and round the circuit path big time or you seriously abusing your position and public funds. Someone must be authorising it. I'm talking on average 3 to 4 low passes directly over me dailey sometimes more and its very very well documented in video photograph and actual flight data including the past now removed data. Im sick of it, the pilots cannot fly a straight line, literally change course to and from so as to come over us and it's ******* irritating. There must be some other way to navigate. If you got something on your mind 56 st marys way as you well know is where I am. Feel free to get it of your chest before I got completely insane. Thanks in advance