BECAUSE I have no wish to walk around Huntington naked, I regret I cannot donate any old clothes to the Great North Air Ambulance, despite receiving a bag through my door.
I am often puzzled by the fact that while the ratepayers pick up the tab for the police helicopter the air ambulance is a charity.
Do the police really need a helicopter because almost all the jobs it does could be done equally well by a specialist twin-engined light aircraft such as the Cessna 337 Skymaster or the Brittan Norman Islander/Trilander.
The police helicopter seldom lands but serves as an airborne observation platform. The air ambulance always has to land.
The basic cost and the operating cost of a Cessna or Islander would be considerably less. Helicopters are turbine powered and have to go to a major airfield or an RAF station to refuel, whereas a piston-engined aircraft can refuel at practically any flying or gliding club.
Finally, please reassure me that the police helicopter has never been used to take the Chief Constable to a function even if it were authorised as a "liaison visit".
Mike Usherwood,
Mendip Close,
Huntington,
York.
Updated: 09:55 Friday, April 09, 2004
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