YESTERDAY a plastic bag was delivered to my house. The Yorkshire Air Ambulance are collecting old clothes to sell to keep their service operating.

I have always failed to understand why, while the police helicopter is funded out of public money, the Air Ambulance has to organise charity events to raise cash to keep operating. The Air Ambulance is just as, or even move vital than, the police helicopter.

The job done by the police helicopter could be almost as well done and at considerably less cost by a specialist twin-engined aircraft such as the Cessna 337 Skymaster or the Brittan Norman Islander.

The main advantage of a helicopter is that it can, and does, land practically anywhere but the police helicopter seldom does so, it usually acts as an airborn observation point, a job that could be done equally well by an aircraft.

The aircraft would be able to carry as much or more equipment and people and would have a much greater endurance.

Furthermore, when the helicopter needs re-fuelling it has to return to its own base or the nearest large airfield because it is turbine powered.

An aircraft would only have to head for the nearest flying or gliding club of which there are six in this area.

Mike Usherwood,

Mendip Close,

Huntington, York.

Updated: 10:10 Wednesday, October 16, 2002