Peoria Plans for Second $3.8M Helicopter
By Philip Haldiman
As officers go through training to operate Peoria’s first public safety helicopter, a second $3.8 million helicopter is proposed for the fiscal year 2026 budget that council is expected to consider in the next month.
The proposed budget also includes about $230,000 for two new positions to be assigned to the air unit, as well as about $1 million planned for training and maintenance costs.
City officials say adding a second helicopter to the air unit will increase mission capabilities, increase overall longevity of the air fleet and reduce downtime during maintenance of a single aircraft.
But some residents were opposed to the purchase of the first helicopter, and say the second purchase is not a good use of taxpayer money, especially with air service already provided by Phoenix Police and Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, if available, as well as the availability of technology like drones.
“This is a tool,” Mayor Jason Beck said during a regular council meeting on March 25. “This asset, this tool is meant to bring (first responders) home. That is what I care about. I care about saving their lives more than anything else. I hear the smirks and I hear little comments and stuff like that. I see the little parades of articles on social media.”
Growing The Aviation Unit
Peoria’s aviation unit currently is in the training phase and is expected to be fully deployed by April of next year.
Officers said the city has been able to save $700,000 in training costs thanks to mutual aid and support from Phoenix and MCSO, as well as received training credits from helicopter manufacturer Bell that helped pay for pilot certification.
Officials say the two new proposed officers will provide adequate staffing for the unit to accomplish the missions assigned to it by the Peoria City Council.
They will include a civilian aircraft mechanic and an administrative assistant II to support the city’s Metro Unit, which includes the aviation unit.
The proposed administrative assistant position will provide clerical support to the air unit and other units. These duties will include purchasing needed equipment, payroll support, travel arrangements for out-of-town training, local training reservations and clerical support to the command staff of each unit and directly to the commander of the division.
Since the helicopter became operational in August 2024, officials said it has gone on 113 calls for service, 95 of those categorized as priority calls.
The air unit has assisted with seven missing persons and 13 crimes in progress.
“It’s amazing to think that we’re still not fully deployed and to think that we’ve already saved lives and made critical arrests and those things. So when the chief talks about force multiplier the proof is in the pudding,” said Deputy City Manager Travis Cutright.
High Maintenance
Due to a lot of moving mechanical parts, heavy vibrations and the catastrophic nature that could result from failure, helicopters require a significant amount of maintenance, both scheduled and unscheduled, that could cost in excess of $1 million.
Since its operation in Peoria, so far the copter has had 20 days worth of unscheduled maintenance.
Police say a helicopter can be out of commission for up to four months due to scheduled maintenance. For example, after 300 hours of use it would need seven days of scheduled maintenance. After 3,000 hours, it would need 56 to 81 days of scheduled maintenance.
Officials site this drop in service as a need for the second aircraft.
A second aircraft will increase the time line of costly maintenance overhaul by splitting operational hours between multiple aircraft delaying mandatory maintenance further into the program’s operation, according to a budget report.
“At the time of engine overhaul, an aircraft would be down for months during repair and a second aircraft will be critical in maintaining operation,” the report states.
Joe Clure, Peoria resident and executive director of Arizona Police Association, said the obvious benefits of having a second helicopter are the increased availability of air support, allowing more consistent coverage when one helicopter is down for service, which provides increased public safety.
“Second, extending the life of the aircraft, having a second air unit allows you to manage flight time/hours thereby extending the time between required service intervals,” he said.
But former Peoria Police Chief Art Miller said this is precisely why taxpayer dollars should not be spent on purchasing helicopters for the city.
Miller, who is running for mayor in the 2026 election as a Mesquite District resident, said he doesn’t see police helicopters as a major law enforcement tool specifically for the city, especially when, previous to the first purchase, Peoria had access to Phoenix, Maricopa County and Mesa helicopters.
A 2023 public record request by Peoria Independent from Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office revealed the agency responded to only seven calls of service from Peoria in the previous year-and-a-half.
Helicopters are good for search and rescue, but drones are more efficient and cost effective, Miller said.
“Helicopters are outdated,” he said. “Drones, they are the way to go. Drones can be operational in minutes. And for under $1 million you could get full drone deployment over the whole city.”
Peoria resident Susan Muha agreed other technologies could serve local law enforcement.
“The future in policing and fire technology continues to be in drones,” she said. “Failure to contract and work together with the MCSO helicopter unit for policing and rescue work is a lost opportunity to learn, gain experience quickly and save money.”
Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on X @philiphaldiman. We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
