Helicopter

Helicopter Unit (Air-One)

Police Helicopters can be required for a plethora of responses and can be deployed at any time should there be a distinct need for it. This will be detailed in full further in this document.

The Helicopter Unit is a useful tool in the LSPD Fleet that is able to perform surveillance, track and identify vehicles and perform emergency drop off and evacuation to name a few tasks, All from the sky.

Use of ANY Police Helicopter by a NON-AUTHORISED PARTY can result in a number of outcomes, of which the worst is DEATH. As such, ONLY QUALIFIED PILOTS will be cleared to operate a Police Helicopter in ANY scenario.

Helicopters MUST be used in a SAFE manner.

Misuse of Air-One by ANY QUALIFIED PILOTS will result in the following:

• First Offence - Warning, Grounded for 48 hours.

• Second Offence - Grounded for 1 week.

• Third Offence - Re-Sit the Helicopter Unit Certification.

• Fourth Offence - Blacklisted from Helicopter Unit Certification.

Depending upon the situation that has caused the offence, it is at High-Commands discretion to escalate to any of the mentioned punishments as they deem fit.

Unauthorised use of a Helicopter by anyone who is not a qualified pilot will result in internal disciplinary measures determined by High-Command. This can lead to a potential Felony Charge of “Operation of an Aircraft without Certification”.

Helicopter Units

Helicopter Units should, where possible, contain a Pilot and a Co-Pilot operating under the callsign of “Air-One”. The Pilot will be responsible for the flying and control of the helicopter whilst the Co-Pilot, who does not need to be Air-One Certified, will be responsible for communications and use of the helicopter's mounted Camera.

The Pilot in charge of the helicopter should ensure that they are of sane enough mind to operate the vehicle and are feeling in a good physical condition. They should ensure that they are not overly stressed and that they have consumed enough sustenance to maintain their concentration for the duration of the flight. The Pilot should, before take-off, ensure that the vehicle is in a safe to fly state, with no visible damage to the vehicle before then ensuring that the vehicle is fuelled appropriately for the task they are about to undertake. The Pilot will set their Radio Location to “A1P” for Air-One Pilot.

The Co-Pilot should also ensure that they are able to complete the flight similarly to the Pilot, ensuring they are not stressed and have consumed enough sustenance. The Co-Pilot will set their Radio Location to “A1C” for Air-One Comms/Co-Pilot.

It has been recommended by Medical Director Jessie Nairdwood, that ALL QUALIFIED PILOTS visit St Fiacre Hospital to receive a prescription of Omega 3 tablets to aid with stress relief.

A Pilot should remain above ALTITUDE TBC (within City Limits) and ALTITUDE TBC (outside of the main City Limits)

The Pilot is responsible for ALL PASSENGERS safety, including ensuring that they have their seat belts and harnesses attached at ALL TIMES DURING FLIGHT.

A Helicopter Unit can carry a Police K9, however this is at the discretion of the K9’s Handler and provided that the K9 has passed the necessary tests prior to the incident.

A Helicopter Unit can also be used to transport an arrested suspect to a Police Station for processing should this be required. However there should be units on stand-by to receive the suspect at the receiving Police Station.

The Pilot is responsible for judging if a Helicopter is safe to fly. Aircraft should be grounded in extreme weather such as Lightning Storms, Low Fog and other scenarios where the pilot's visibility or ability to control the vehicle is hindered. Safety is key.

A Helicopter Unit can be landed, in extreme circumstances, on non-designated helipads. This is only acceptable if the following criteria are met: Within City Limits - If on a road, the road MUST be blocked completely from flow of traffic

- If in a Car Park, the Car Park MUST be cleared by ground units to ensure it is safe to land

Outside of the Main City:

- If on a road, the road MUST be blocked completely from flow of traffic

- If in a Car Park, the Car Park MUST be cleared by ground units to ensure it is safe to land

- If in the Marshes or on a Mountain, a flat area of land capable of supporting the helicopter must be found and identified to ground units who should then clear and confirm that it is safe to land.

In the event there are no ground units available to confirm, use of the Mounted Cameras infrared heat camera is permitted to ensure there is no life in the area. The Helicopter should not then be landed on a public road.

Use in Scenes

Helicopter Units can be deployed when the Incident Command decides it is a necessary requirement, however it will always be deployed for the following:

• Fleeca Bank Robbery (Provided there are 4 Ground Units(Cars) in pursuit)

• Paleto Bay Blaine County Savings Robbery (Provided there are 4 Ground Units(Cars) in pursuit)

• Pacific Bank Robbery (2 Helicopter units can be used for this if the helicopter and pilots are available. Secondary Helicopter will identify as “Air-Two”)

• Street Racing (Provided there are 4 Ground Units (Cars) also in pursuit)

• Surveillance (Provided there are 4 Ground Units (Cars) available on active patrol)

• Rescue (If there are no Helicopter trained EMS available)

• Any Operations approved by High-Command

Helicopter Units can remain in the air for 15 minutes at a time before they are required to land back at a designated Helipad. The Helicopter Unit should then remove themselves from the Helicopter for a period of 5 minutes to stretch their legs and ensure that they are capable of continuing in with the active (Aircraft is refuelled, they are not feeling too stressed etc.). Once this 5 minute period has elapsed and provided all is well, the Helicopter Unit may re-engage with the active.

If a Helicopter is damaged or crashed as a part of an active, this is going to be out of action for a period of 24 hours to enable mechanics to repair and maintain the aircraft.

The Pilot of a crashed aircraft will also be requested to take 24 hours rest from piloting to ensure they are fully recovered and will require sign off from EMS before being deemed “Fit to Fly”.

If both available Helicopters in the LSPD Fleet are put out of action, there will be NO Helicopter Unit assistance available on ANY active scenes until the time period has elapsed.

Training

Prospective Helicopter Pilots will be required to go through a number of tasks to prove they are able to handle and control a helicopter safely both in and away from pursuit scenarios. They must also prove that they are able to operate both the Helicopter as a pilot AND as a Co-Pilot.

• Taking off and Landing - Prospective Pilots will need to demonstrate that they can take off and land safely, without issues or technical failures. (This will take place at LSIA or Sandy Shores Air-Field where there is an open space. The prospective pilot will be taken to this location by a Certified Helicopter Unit FTO before they are given control of the craft)

• Travelling across the state - Prospective Pilots must demonstrate that they can have a clean flight around the state of Los Santos whilst touching base at several of the landmarks around the city. The route will be given to you by a Helicopter Unit Certified FTO and timed. You must complete this in less than TIME TBC ONCE SPEEDS ARE RESOLVED, safely and without issues to pass this section. The route will include obstacles that will require avoiding as well as more open areas to gather speed.

• Managing an Emergency - Prospective Pilots must be able to safely guide the helicopter to the ground in the event of an emergency. They must also demonstrate that they can safely bail from the aircraft in the event of an extreme emergency. This will be conducted in a safe environment away from harm.

• Camera - Being able to operate the camera on the Helicopter and maintain Comms during a chase. The prospective pilot will be paired with an already certified Helicopter Unit pilot and given the role of keeping Communications during a chase. They will have 5 minutes to prove that they are able to complete this task, allowing for a maximum of 3 VCB’s.

• Practical use - Once the Prospective Pilot has completed the above, they will be tasked with piloting Air One during a mock “Bank Heist” with an already Certified Helicopter Unit FTO as passenger doing comms. The Expectation is that the Prospective Pilot will maintain the chase for 15 minutes declaring, without prompt, “Air-One has X amount of time in air” before then removing themselves from the chase at the end of the 15 minutes and demonstrating that they are capable of performing the tasks required in the 5 minutes of down-time.

These are general guidelines and can be amended as the situation depends. It is not an exhaustive list and therefore common sense should also be used in ALL situations.

Common Helicopter Controls

As a Passenger:

Action	Keybind
Activate Helicopters Mounted Camera	E
Toggle Camera Vision Mode	Right Mouse Button
Toggle Camera Spotlight	H
Lock Camera on to Vehicle	Space
Toggle Vehicle Information Display	Q
Increase Spotlight Radius	Caps Lock
Decrease Spotlight Radius	Left Shift
Rappel from Helicopter (Rear Seats)	X

As a Pilot:

Action	Keybind
Ascend (Go Up)	W
Descend (Go Down)	S
Turn Left	A
Turn Right	D
Go Forwards	Numpad 8
Go Backwards	Numpad 5
Lean Right	Numpad 6
Lean Left	Numpad 4
Forward / Backwards (Alternate)	Hold Left Mouse Button + Move Forward / Backwards
Lean Right / Left (Alternate)	Hold Left Mouse Button + Move Left / Right