Dear Editor,
I am so happy that Gerry Gouveia is bringing the helicopter issue to the forefront. The government has wasted millions of dollars on this deal. They have been clearly misled or not properly advised. This helicopter was sitting on the ground for almost 13 years before it was purchased. Dr. Roger Luncheon seems impressed that the helicopter will be fitted with “Infrared Search-lights that could light up a football field”. First of all, there is no such thing as an infrared searchlight, it’s just a big flashlight lighting up the ground.
Furthermore, it is very easy to hide from in the dark. I can assure you that a platoon of men can hide from a Nightsun Searchlight in a field with any cover — bush, trees, water etc. The only equipment that one can’t hide from is FLIR Forward Looking Infra Red. It can pick up body heat in the darkest night through any bush and is used widely by law enforcement in the USA. The money wasted here could have been used to equip at least one of the helicopters with the proper equipment.
Meanwhile it must be noted that it was the government that was impressed with the little “Toy” helicopters and acquired two of them, one given to the GDF crashed and the other is rotting away in the hangar at Timehri and hasn’t been flown for over a year as the pilots think it’s unsafe. (This Rotorway Exec 162F was introduced with much fanfare as a new investment by Go-Invest – see the article in the Chronicle dated 9 June, 2005).
There is a multi-million dollar Bell 412 helicopter rotting away in the Tacama savannahs. Now guys where are we really going? Dr Luncheon wants the nay-sayers to look out for the results. There will be no positive results! It makes me angry to see how stupid we can be.
The Twin Engine Bell 412 operated by the GDF had an engine problem while in Tacama, they decided to build a flimsy shed over the helicopter and cover it with a tarp. The shed collapsed on top of the chopper causing extensive damage to the blades and the top of the helicopter. It has been sitting in the sand in Tacama for over a year. This helicopter equipped with FLIR and night vision is what is needed. We have one already…it’s rotting away in the bush!
Yours faithfully,
Capt Miles Williams
Naples FL
