Swingwing07- I am glad you find the links helpful and I wish you all the luck with your career with CBP!

Larry,
We had a MD500 with A/C but we removed it after it proved to be not up to keeping the cockpit cool on the summer days we have here in Arizona. We would prefer to just fly with the doors off and have the added visibility than to sit in our own sweat inside a 95 deg cockpit. I am sure that if the temps were 80 or below it would work fine but we found it to be not worth the expense or the added weight on the airframe. Mike

I have been flying for almost ten years but just got my CFI last year for my job. I really enjoy it!

RV7Guy is right on there! I can only speak to my department that hires and trains from within the department. The Pilot is a cop first and has a stake "in the game" so to speak. The pilot has likely been on the ground in the exact spot the Officers are from his own experience on Patrol and can think like a "bad guy" when it comes to hiding and fleeing the area. It is important to the Officers on the ground that the Air Support guys know what they are up against. I know that a competent pilot could do the law enforcement job without being an Officer without too much training but the experience as an Officer is almost impossible to duplicate. That said, I know that many departments operate with dedicated, private citizen, non-sworn pilots with great success. The argument for and against civilian pilots will continue as long as there are both doing the job. I have nothing against non-sworn pilots doing the job. I have only worked for a department that hires from within. Thanks, Mike T.

I play guitar too! Poorly but volume and distortion is a great equalizer. : ) I like to ride dirtbikes and do anything outdoors from yardwork to camping.