Police Enstroms
Thanks E of R ... Yes I did ... and very hard wth some minor success. 'Twas around 1974 when, if I recall correctly, no UK police force had a helicopter ASU. So, as part of my sales campaign, I headed off first to Kidlington and then to Glascow to demonstrate the Enstrom type to the Strathclyde police force and then to Thames Valley at Oxford where I demonstrated to the Chief Constable who went by the name of 'Big Gee' ... being a Mr Gregory.
Neither units took up helicopters at that time, but almost immediately John Crewdson of Helicopter Hire, Southend, gained an interest from the London Metropolitan police. I was asked to demonstrate the type ... the overweight F28A in those days ... being G-BBRS I think. BRS for my boss Betram Roy Spooner of Spooner Aviation, Shoreham. The Met took up a contract with John Crewdson's company and I was tasked with doing some of the early flying. I have a pic of G-BBRS flying along the Thames with the POLICE logo. In 1976 I used the more powerful 'turbo' 280C Shark, G-BENO. I think the Met may have been the first force to use a helicopter full time.
Later I was tasked direct by the Surrey Police at Mount Browne, Guildford to fly an IR search mission and succeeded in locating a lost toddler very late in the evening at Farnham. I actually landed alongside the traffic lights on the crossroads in the centre of the town, having been instructed to do so by my police officer passenger who flashed his 'Home Office' authority card to make the landing legal. Having seen the site recently, a landing wouldn't be sensible now.
Then of course the big twins came on the scene, B222s at Luppitts Hill so no more use of an Enstrom piston single. I know Starspeed's, David Voy did much police flying while with Helicopter Hire and once suffered an engine-out over London. Being a good autorotator (both pilot and helicopter) Dave put the machine down safely and undamaged in the congested area. We are talking about the mid to late 1970s here.
The best known police users of Enstroms were the Pasadena Police who were staunch operators of the Enstrom marque using the type from the 1970s right up to a few years ago, maybe they still do. Nick Agusta was the CP in those days and put 10,000 hours on an Enstrom 28C-2 model.
I know ... I'm a mine of useless information! (but this is a nostalgia post)
Dennis Kenyon.