I was shown some pictures of HAWC2 the other night, on the Airborne Law Enforcement Association website. http://www.alea.org takes you to their main page, where you can click on 'pictures', then 'Calgary' on the resulting page.
The bird is a Eurocopter EC120, similar to Edmonton's Air-1. The rumor I hear is that the EC120 is rather favored over the MD520 (HAWC1) for a number of reasons, and is still rather quiet overall due to some neat designs.. the tail rotor has staggered blades, which serve to cancel out the noise from each other, and the three main blades are somewhat rounded rather than square-tipped, causing them to not "boom" through the air quite as loudly.
Radio wise, the machine has two Spectra mobiles, like HAWC1 does - one exclusively for Police channels, and one for Fire/EMS. However, in addition, HAWC2 has a third mobile that is programmed with RCMP frequencies as well as some other VHF mutual aid channels. Something neat that was pointed out to me in the pics on the ALEA website is that there is a second LCD panel in the back for the observer/ridealong(s), if any, slaved to the keyboard and LCD in front of the flight officer (in the left-hand forward seat).
They apparently cycle randomly between HAWC1 and HAWC2 depending on the need for repairs and overhaul, as well as other operational issues.
I think the paint job looks slick, myself!
The bird is a Eurocopter EC120, similar to Edmonton's Air-1. The rumor I hear is that the EC120 is rather favored over the MD520 (HAWC1) for a number of reasons, and is still rather quiet overall due to some neat designs.. the tail rotor has staggered blades, which serve to cancel out the noise from each other, and the three main blades are somewhat rounded rather than square-tipped, causing them to not "boom" through the air quite as loudly.
Radio wise, the machine has two Spectra mobiles, like HAWC1 does - one exclusively for Police channels, and one for Fire/EMS. However, in addition, HAWC2 has a third mobile that is programmed with RCMP frequencies as well as some other VHF mutual aid channels. Something neat that was pointed out to me in the pics on the ALEA website is that there is a second LCD panel in the back for the observer/ridealong(s), if any, slaved to the keyboard and LCD in front of the flight officer (in the left-hand forward seat).
They apparently cycle randomly between HAWC1 and HAWC2 depending on the need for repairs and overhaul, as well as other operational issues.
I think the paint job looks slick, myself!
