Florida Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit to Expand Helicopter Fleet

The Volusia County, Florida, Sheriff's Office is expanding its helicopter fleet. Bell Textron announced the Sheriff's Office signed a purchase agreement for two Bell 407GXi helicopters for its Aviation Unit. That will bring the total number of Bell 407 aircraft to serve in the multi-mission special operations fleet to five aircraft, according to a press release.

The aviation unit, known as Air One, operates out of DeLand Municipal Airport in Orlando 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 265 days a year, to support the sheriff's office aerial operations to include law enforcement, search and rescue, fire suppression and monitoring, and special missions like SWAT team fast rope insertions.

“For more than 20 years, Air One has relied on the Bell 407 to complete life-saving missions in Volusia and other neighboring counties,” said Capt. Richard Fortin, Special Services Law Enforcement Operations Division for the Volusia Sheriff’s Office. “The Bell 407GXi was Air One’s choice aircraft when looking at growing our fleet and expanding our mission efficiency.”

What's On the Aircraft

The Bell 407GXi is outfitted with the new Rolls-Royce M250-C47E/4 dual-channel FADEC turbine engine delivering hot and high performance, fuel efficiency, and the ability to cruise at 133 kts/246 km/h. Garmin’s G1000H NXi Integrated Flight Deck, complete with high-definition displays and faster processors, offers increased brightness and clarity, faster startup and map rendering, as well as connectivity to tablets and smartphones.