Editorials

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

A new option for aerial eye

By: Editorial

Posted: 01/6/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

THE Winnipeg Police Service needs to go back to the drawing board in its search for a crime-fighting ally in the sky. The department, backed by the city and the province, has decided a helicopter would be an invaluable resource, but new evidence suggests that a high-tech airship could provide the same or better service at less cost.

In a column on this page Tuesday, transportation expert Barry Prentice of the University of Manitoba explained that an airship could provide more effective and continuous aerial surveillance than a helicopter, which he described as old technology.

The helicopter proposed by the police service -- the Colibri EC 120 B -- would cost about $3.5 million, plus another $1.3 million a year to operate. By comparison, a small or mid-sized blimp might cost $3 million, but the annual operating costs would be lower, Prentice said.

Helicopters require daily maintenance, but airships need just one serious inspection every 1,000 hours, he said. The list of benefits in airship technology over helicopters goes on and on: less fuel burned, less noise, greater stability for mounting surveillance equipment and the ability to operate in an unmanned, remote-control mode.

They are not as fast as helicopters (225 km-h for choppers compared to a top speed of 140-km-h for airships), but the difference is not significant in the context of police surveillance and reconnaissance, particularly since a blimp is likely to be in the air for longer periods of time than a helicopter.

Airships are not designed for landing in dense urban environments, but they do have that capability. Prentice said they could rescue people from the top of a building in Winnipeg, but not from the side of a mountain.

The other advantage of an airship over a helicopter is its ability to carry payloads of up to 2,000 kilograms and to respond to emergencies outside Winnipeg and as far as northern Manitoba.

An airship, in other words, is far more versatile, flexible and green than a light helicopter.

The police and the city have so far failed to make a strong case for purchasing a helicopter, but if they are determined to add an aerial asset to their arsenal, then due diligence requires that they explore the option of acquiring an airship instead.

It may be that a helicopter is still the best choice, but the city should conduct a thorough study of both technologies and the potential impact it might have on the city's aerospace industries before a final decision is made.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 6, 2010 A8

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