As it stands we're paying millions to keep a helicopter sitting on the TARMAC for 21hrs per day 365 days of the year
Skyhigh, why are you persisting in talking in these emotive terms? The issues have been explained to you by some of the country's most knowledgable and experienced Police and AA pilots - why are you incapable of taking any of these issues on board?
Your only posts on pprune are to threads you've started, all about aviation in Northern Ireland and all with an emotive bias; you don't seem to like Belfast City Airport much either!
Your figures are inaccurate but, let's say the PSNI ASU costs £2 per person per annum in NI; is that such a vast amount? Many people contribute more a month to AA charities and more of your taxes could be spent on completely worthless schemes.
So, if you have a beef about how your taxes are spent, then you should embark on the democratic process, lobby your local councillor, your MP, maybe stand for office yourself.
Coming to a website where the very people who set up ASUs and fly for the police and AA organisations and asking questions is laudable. However, you should then accept the answers to those questions since they were pretty much unanimous. You have not told us your interest in this matter (and I ain't buying innocent tax-payer) and neither have you given us technical and logistical reasons why you think a joint Police/AA WOULD work in NI. Get a bigger helicopter?
How about a PSNI ASU/NI AA chinook? Please could you at least respect and understand the viewpoints on this forum by taking the time to understand a little about helicopter operations. Thank you.
Cheers
Whirls