Another Police Helicopter

[patric]

Tulsa bought a police helicopter with the promise of no more deadly high-speed pursuits after a family was killed in 1990
(https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/history/throwback-tulsa-40-block-police-pursuit-left-3-dead-in-1990/article_a5cf3605-fa37-52ac-9dbd-ef0d9ffb2e04.html).

This month, Tulsa added a third helicopter.


TULSA, Okla. — A new helicopter is their eye in the sky.
It is an Airbus AS 3503B, or in simpler terms, a really fancy helicopter.

"No longer is night a cloak for the bad guys," Chief helicopter pilot Byron Barnhart said.
That is thanks to what they call the "night sun," a spotlight with the power of 40 million candles, and the $600,000 camera up front.

While Barnhart is in the air, he "can see you just as plain as we're seeing you now," he said during an interview with 2 News Oklahoma.
"It's not just humans. Barnhart says the camera can pick up the VIN of cars. They typically fly 500-700 feet in the air."

Unlike the older white one, the black paint job is meant to match new squad cars, but that's not all.
"We are trying to make the aircraft a little more stealthy," Barnhart said.

The final bill was about $5 million.
https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/an-outstanding-bird-tulsa-police-department-debuts-new-helicopter

Might explain what has been flying around at night without a collision-avoidance ADS-B transponder.

[dbacksfan 2.0]

Interesting. I looked up the tail number on Flight Radar 24 and Flight Aware and it shows a couple of flights around Shreveport, one of which was from Shreveport to Tulsa, and then three or four short flights around Tulsa. All of these were April 11th and 12th and nothing since.

Looking at departures and arrivals for TIA there's not much if anything between about 10 PM and 2:30 AM. I don't know how much traffic there is out of Riverside after dark, so the air space is quite empty over Tulsa at night. It could be that they broadcast their transponder to ATC but it's not publicly relayed. I know that when F-35's and others fly out of Luke AFB just west of where I live they don't relay their transponders to either Flight Radar or Flight Aware but they do transmit to local ATC. because they do cross the far western edge of the pattern over Phoenix.

I don't think legally TPD could fly dark, no lights or transponder, regardless of what the traffic level is over Tulsa.

[Red Arrow]

Might explain what has been flying around at night without a collision-avoidance ADS-B transponder.

How do you know they are flying without ADS-B?

[Red Arrow]

Interesting. I looked up the tail number on Flight Radar 24 and Flight Aware and it shows a couple of flights around Shreveport, one of which was from Shreveport to Tulsa, and then three or four short flights around Tulsa. All of these were April 11th and 12th and nothing since.

I don't know about Radar 24 but pretty much anyone can ask to Flight Aware to not show their flight data to the public.

Looking at departures and arrivals for TIA there's not much if anything between about 10 PM and 2:30 AM. I don't know how much traffic there is out of Riverside after dark, so the air space is quite empty over Tulsa at night.

There isn't enough traffic at Riverside to keep the tower open all night.

It could be that they broadcast their transponder to ATC but it's not publicly relayed.

Probably the case.

I know that when F-35's and others fly out of Luke AFB just west of where I live they don't relay their transponders to either Flight Radar or Flight Aware but they do transmit to local ATC. because they do cross the far western edge of the pattern over Phoenix.

The military has some transponder modes not used by civil aviation.  I don't know if the police have access to that equipment. Transponder/ADS-B signals are radio.  I don't think you can really determine who/what can receive them.

I don't think legally TPD could fly dark, no lights or transponder, regardless of what the traffic level is over Tulsa.

I cannot fly at night without lights.  Not sure about police/military etc.   Arrangements can be made to fly in Class C airspace (Tulsa Int'l) without a transponder and without ADS-B.

Transponder and ADS-B are not required to fly at Riverside if your plane does not have an electrical system.  Think older planes like J3 Cub, Taylorcraft, Aeronca Champ.  They do have to talk to the Riverside tower, usually with a hand-held radio with its own battery power.

One last thought for now... ADS-B is not required for all airspace in the USA.

[dbacksfan 2.0]

Thanks Red. Not being a pilot, my knowledge is limited, just going on what I know from people that are or have been pilots.

I try not to draw any comparisons between Tulsa and Phoenix since the airspace is so vastly different. I will say that I don't remember seeing any aircraft flying at night without any anti collision lights. At one time I lived near Deer Valley Airport which is the base for Phoenix PD Firebird helicopters, Maricopa County Sheriff Dept as well as a few medivac operations and don't remember seeing them fly dark. I have had Phoenix, Mesa, MCSO, fly orbits and overflights and have not seen them dark. That's not to say they haven't, just my own observation. I do know that all of the LEO helicopters here have FLIR, so that gives them a "stealth" mode so to speak. Maybe that's one of the new features TPD has. For several years the quiet option was the Hughes/MD 500 NOTAR, but they all moved to larger helicopters for search and rescue operations.

ADS-B not being a requirement makes sense. You can't make it one size fits all. But a new aircraft, I would think, has it built in, and from what I have read it's an automatic system.

Phoenix PD flies Airbus H125, Mesa flies MD 530F, MCSO fly Bell 429, with DPS flying three Bell 407 and two Bell 429 that are paramedic status.

[Red Arrow]

I try not to draw any comparisons between Tulsa and Phoenix since the airspace is so vastly different.

Probably beyond the interest of most here but....
Yes, Phoenix is a lot busier than Tulsa.  Phoenix is Class B airspace, think Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas-Ft Worth, Los Angeles.  Requirements to fly there are more strict than places like Tulsa (Class C airspace).

I do know that all of the LEO helicopters here have FLIR, so that gives them a "stealth" mode so to speak. Maybe that's one of the new features TPD has. For several years the quiet option was the Hughes/MD 500 NOTAR, but they all moved to larger helicopters for search and rescue operations.

NOTAR was a no tail rotor system which is quieter than having a tail rotor.  Maybe a bit of stealth. Still difficult to hide the main rotor sound unless you are in Hollywood. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOTAR
FLIR (Forward Looking InfraRed) is a camera system, kind of, sort of like night vision.  Nothing to do with quiet.  It's been around for a while.

ADS-B not being a requirement makes sense. You can't make it one size fits all. But a new aircraft, I would think, has it built in, and from what I have read it's an automatic system.

ADS-B is a requirement, just not everywhere.  Getting a temporary exception is probably easier in Tulsa than some place like Phoenix, etc.  Most airplanes have been converted to be equipped with ADS-B Out (You transmit your info) and I cannot imagine a factory built airplane without it.  Maybe some homebuilts won't have it, depending on where they want to fly.

ADS-B allows equipped aircraft and ground vehicles to broadcast their identification, position, altitude and velocity to other aircraft and ATC. This is called ADS-B Out. Being able to receive this information is known as ADS-B In.

"ADS-B Out is an evolutionary step in communication between the aircraft and other airspace consumers. Current transponders enable ATC and other aircraft to know your aircraft's relative position and altitude. ADS-B adds important information to help project and prevent traffic conflicts by estimating intent," explained Jake Biggs, Textron Aviation's aftermarket engineering manager.

"ADS-B requires extremely accurate, three-dimensional position reporting to reduce reliance on ground-based radar to allow tighter separation standards. The advantage to all airspace users is an extremely accurate understanding of traffic and where it is going," Biggs said.

https://txtav.com/en/journey/articles/articles/adsb-out-explained

Identification will include the N-Number and type of aircraft (Cessna 150, Beech Baron, Lear Jet....) so the Air Traffic Controllers will have a good idea of the capabilities of your aircraft.  I believe it shows up automatically on the ATC radar screen rather than having the controllers manually enter the info.  ATC in Tulsa still assigns a Squawk code for the regular transponder when you contact Tulsa Approach Control if you are just flying around.  If you are on a route, talking with controllers, you will already have a squawk code.
ADS-B doesn't work without WAAS (fancy, more accurate than your car) GPS.

[Hoss]

How do you know they are flying without ADS-B?

Are you unaware of this?

Even those aircraft with LADD flag (Limiting Aircraft Data Display) still get shown on this.  I'm noticing most military aircraft don't show up especially the Guard drills.  But some trainer a/c do show up.  It's peer-to-peer with people having ADSB receivers and GPS locators feeding data into a map online.  It's likely what services like FlightRadar24 and FlightAware use.  They will strip those a/c with the flag ON, but adsbexchange is a raw ADSB viewer.  Obviously they don't provide flight schedules, but you do get callsigns if they are commercial.

[Red Arrow]

Are you unaware of this?

Yes, I was unaware of "this". 

Thanks

[patric]

The previous craft are based at the Osage casino airpark on 36th Street North, but they are eventually moving to a new hangar at 66th Street North near Sheridan.

[patric]

Just spotted south of St Johns, no ADS-B.

[Red Arrow]

Just spotted south of St Johns, no ADS-B.

Might still be squawking Modes A & C.  Tulsa Approach/Departure will know where they are with A & C, just not quite as accurate as with ADS-B.  Police probably don't want regular folks tracking them.

[dbacksfan 2.0]

It showed up for a while on 4/23/24 flying from near the fairgrounds north to Yale & Dawson where it orbited. Possibly going through familiarization flights. I wouldn't buy into any nefarious intentions as to why it doesn't show up all the time.  

[patric]

Might still be squawking Modes A & C.  Tulsa Approach/Departure will know where they are with A & C, just not quite as accurate as with ADS-B.  Police probably don't want regular folks tracking them.

There are folks who legitimately need to know what else is in the sky, like medical life flights, media, drone operators and pretty much every general aviation pilot.
DJI Air 3 and Mavic 3 drones, for example, include an AirSense ADS-B receiver which flash a warning on your controller whenever a manned aircraft is operating nearby.

[Red Arrow]

There are folks who legitimately need to know what else is in the sky, like medical life flights, media, drone operators and pretty much every general aviation pilot.
DJI Air 3 and Mavic 3 drones, for example, include an AirSense ADS-B receiver which flash a warning on your controller whenever a manned aircraft is operating nearby.

Drone operators are required to yield to manned aircraft but knowing where drones are would also be useful information for manned aircraft.  Equipping all drones with ADS-B Out would evidently overload the airspace system but there is an ADS-B Out available for (I guess, larger) drones.  
https://uavionix.com/product/ping200x/   I believe any transponder would be required for to get the biennial function check, same as transponders for manned aircraft.

As I understand it, recreational drones are limited to 400 ft AGL.  Most general aviation isn't that low.  

Remember though that in spite of misleading information, ADS-B Out is NOT required in all airspace nor in all manned aircraft.  A lot of planes have it that don't actually need it because of the airspace they usually fly within.  
In the Tulsa area, ADS-B Out is required within a 5 mile radius of Tulsa Int'l Airport and within a 10 mile radius of TIA when above 2300 ft MSL.  ADS-B Out is not required at Tulsa Riverside Airport.  Actually, even a transponder is not required for aircraft without an engine driven electrical system.  Think J-3 Piper Cub, Taylorcraft, early Aeronca Champ and a few more I cannot think of at the moment.

[patric]

Drone operators are required to yield to manned aircraft but knowing where drones are would also be useful information for manned aircraft.  Equipping all drones with ADS-B Out would evidently overload the airspace system but there is an ADS-B Out available for (I guess, larger) drones.

FAA actually doesnt allow that. Instead UAV are required to broadcast their serial number and position from takeoff to landing using Remote ID, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-F/part-89
 

As I understand it, recreational drones are limited to 400 ft AGL.  Most general aviation isn't that low.

Yes, but it happens.