Friends of Durham Tees Valley Airport visited the Tees Valley division of National Police Air Services at the airport on Friday, 4th December. Our hosts for the evening were Pilot Eddie Doyle, and Tactical Flight Operators Alex Campbell and Paul Jeavons.
The visit began with a short video presentation on what NPAS do and how they operate, followed by a talk from the crew and a Q&A session, during which it hit home just how big a loss this service will be when it’s axed because of Government cutbacks during 2017.
Finally we visited the helicopter itself in their nice new heated hangar, where we were allowed ‘freedom of the helicopter’ with the exception of the pilots seat. We had great fun operating the three-in-one camera on the front and using the mapping computer in the back as well!
All in all it was a fantastic evening and a bit of an eye opener as to how diverse their role is and how the very advanced technology at their disposal keeps the region safe 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!
Photo credits: David Thompson / Richard Bowater, thanks to David Thompson for help with the report.
