Time Machine: Sky patrol

Many Cedar Rapidians remember the sound of helicopter rotors overhead and the bright spotlight that searched for lawbreakers during the 35 years that the Cedar Rapids “air force” patrolled the city’s skies.

The idea for a police helicopter program may have had its roots in 1967, when Robert Welty, a Cedar Rapids entrepreneur, decided his front yard on Grande Avenue SE was a dandy place for landing and taking off in his personal helicopter.

That led to a city helicopter ordinance that defined when and where helicopters could operate. Cedar Rapids was the first Iowa city to have such an ordinance.

While the ordinance was still being drawn up, interest rose in how cities could use helicopters.

An Iowa State University pathologist said a helicopter that could spray trees could be a way to combat Dutch elm disease. And a 1950s TV show, “Whirlybirds,” showed chopper pilots helping law enforcement round up criminals.

By February 1972, Cedar Rapids had acquired a surplus National Guard OH23C helicopter for $200, the cost of the paperwork. The three-passenger machine had cost the government about $52,000 when it was new, according to Mayor Don Canney.

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Canney listed a number of uses for the helicopter: search and rescue, traffic control, high-speed pursuit, emergency medical transportation and assistance in natural disasters, among others.

The chopper was given to the Linn County Civil Defense Agency and delivered to the Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport on March 23, 1972. The city of Cedar Rapids was responsible for the copter’s maintenance.

Four months later, Linn County Civil Defense Director Bill Bjorenson said two more surplus military helicopters had been donated to the agency by the federal General Services Administration. Surplus parts also were allocated for maintenance of the three helicopters.

The city had one mechanic to work on the choppers and two Civil Defense pilots who were qualified to fly them.

The city issued special permits to use the helicopters in September 1972. A news story reported public reaction to the city’s new acquisitions, saying, “The choppers have affectionately been dubbed ‘The Cedar Rapids air force,’ ‘Canney’s Copters’ and probably even harsher names.”

Canney’s response: “They’re tools — and valuable tools — just like squad cars or fire engines. If they save just one life or help prevent one major crime, they will be worth it, and people will see how important they are.”

The helicopters already had been used to search for a drowning victim and for missing persons.

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Other uses

Four police officers and two firefighters signed up for lessons to fly the helicopters. A National Guard helicopter mechanic who worked at the water department was transferred to take care of the city’s choppers.

In 1975, the Cedar Rapids’ Aviation Department, then with four choppers, became a separate unit, even though the helicopters were still owned by Linn County Civil Defense.

Cedar Rapids police were the most frequent users of the crafts, but the parks department used one to check on water levels in the river, and the planning department used them for aerial surveys in rezoning issues.

Heliport

The city was using an unopened segment of Interstate 380 at Fifth Street SW as a helicopter refueling site before establishing a municipal heliport and fueling site at the C Street SW landfill in 1979.

The Time Check-St. Patrick’s neighborhood donated a 58-by-63-foot Quonset hut for use as a hangar. Members of the Iron Workers Local 89 union dismantled the hut in two days to ready it for moving from J Avenue NW to the landfill.

But when the moving day arrived, the dirt road leading to the site was impassable. Several quarries were called, and by that afternoon, more than 600 tons of gravel had been spread on the road. The Quonset was reassembled in four days on a concrete base.

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Crashes

After 24 years of operation, the aviation department has six helicopters and two airplanes — and its first crash. In August 1996, a police helicopter crash-landed in a residential area.

Pilot Kevin Mason reported he’d heard the engine stall and was able to guide the craft away from a tree and a house. One blade of the Hughes 269 was broken and two were bent in the crash. The Jaws of Life was used to extract the injured pilot from the wreckage. The cause of the crash was not determined.

Another crash happened again in June 1997 when two pilot officers were injured in a crash shortly after takeoff when the helicopter hit a power line.

Round the clock

Police Chief Gary Hinzman in October 1985 announced he was moving the helicopter patrol to round-the-clock duty.

Three days later, the chief was reportedly “flying high” when the helicopter’s pilot spotted a burglar who’d just robbed a pharmacy on Johnson Avenue NW and pinpointed him with a spotlight.

Noted Assistant Police Chief Jim Barnes: “It’s got to be a sick feeling for a guy who hears that helicopter and then sees that light coming on him.”

Budget ax falls

The police helicopter program ended in January 2007, when City Manager Jim Prosser recommended cutting it to save money. The city council agreed. By then, the service was down to two helicopters.

“We’re losing a piece of history,” Fire Chief Steve Havlik said. “The helicopter has been here a long time, and it’s been a valuable tool for the police department and the citizens.”

Its last year of operation was funded from a reserve fund that had been earmarked to buy a newer helicopter. Efforts to interest Linn and Johnson counties in supporting a regional version of the aviation program fizzled.

In April 2007, the city put its helicopters and equipment up for sale, netting $860,182.

Comments: D.fannonlangton@gmail.com

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