Helicopters over the city ~ All the time now

[R_Cowgirl]

The factory that builds Black Hawk helicopters is down by Camelback mountain. I mentioned casually to a friend visiting from Wales one day that we had a lot of helicopter traffic all of a sudden. He said, Oh, that might be our boys training. They do go over the city and practice looking at stuff and hovering, but they also go out over the low and high deserts.

PPD helicopters are looking for people. I'm happy about that. One day I was sitting in my BF's back patio enjoying an adult beverage with him and watching the stars. Suddenly a guy jumped right over his wall and ran towards us. When the bad guy spotted us (and my BF's trusty sidearm) he made a wise decision, turned and jumped over the next wall. Shortly afterwards the helicopters came by. We jumped up and down and pointed in the direction the guy had gone and the helicopter took off in that direction.

As one of my PPD friends has said, the average person has NO IDEA what goes on in their safe little world after the sun goes down. We don't see the drug deals, the drop houses, the domestic violence, the assaults and all that happens on the seamier side of life. We only read about it in the paper or see the stats. I still get chills when I realize that one evening not long ago I left a dance class and drove within 4 feet of a dumpster that contained the remains of a woman who had been cut into pieces and dropped there. I saw the news the next morning and felt a chill up my spine.

Maybe if you have questions, you can ask to go on a ride-along, or take a class in Citizens On Patrol to find out why these "annoyances" are happening. If I were a bad guy and heard the helicopter, I'd get the hell outta dodge. So whenever I hear the noise, I say a silent prayer of thanks for people who are watching out for me.

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by R_Cowgirl

As one of my PPD friends has said, the average person has NO IDEA what goes on in their safe little world after the sun goes down. We don't see the drug deals, the drop houses, the domestic violence, the assaults and all that happens on the seamier side of life. We only read about it in the paper or see the stats.

That canard gets thrown around waaaaaaay too much.

It's so broad, that *anything* the police do can be "excused" with it.

The "average" Phoenician who doesn't :
/ buy-sell or consume drugs
/ hang around in bars
/ date other men's wives

isn't in hardly any danger of being a crime victim.

They don't need round the clock "protection" by a force of commando's in MRAPS.

It's absolutely correct that I don't know about drop houses, drug deals, domestic violence, assaults, car chases, or poodle thieves in my area - those things don't concern me, and I don't knowingly place myself in situations that turn into felonies - nor does the "average" Phoenician.

The issue with the chopper isn't that the city has one, nor is it about *reasonable* use of it.

It's about it being dispatched (possibly for a very good reason), and then hovering around at extremely low altitude for an hour at a time. After more than a couple passes, any "chase" is over - put the toy back.

Cops and Ambulance drivers *routinely* cut their sirens when traveling through residential neighborhoods late at night. If a helicopter has to remain in a certain area, gaining just a little altitude makes a huge difference to the people they're flying over.

It's the decent thing to do.

Step two for affected residents of Phoenix is actually much easier than PPD prolly thinks it is.

No more toy!

It really would only take a few hundred angry people showing up at council meetings to cut the funding for the chopper entirely. Even a dozen or so grumpy & sleep-deprived residents could organize something like that in a fairly short period of time.

[West Phx Native]

Originally Posted by R_Cowgirl

The factory that builds Black Hawk helicopters is down by Camelback mountain. I mentioned casually to a friend visiting from Wales one day that we had a lot of helicopter traffic all of a sudden. He said, Oh, that might be our boys training. They do go over the city and practice looking at stuff and hovering, but they also go out over the low and high deserts.

PPD helicopters are looking for people. I'm happy about that. One day I was sitting in my BF's back patio enjoying an adult beverage with him and watching the stars. Suddenly a guy jumped right over his wall and ran towards us. When the bad guy spotted us (and my BF's trusty sidearm) he made a wise decision, turned and jumped over the next wall. Shortly afterwards the helicopters came by. We jumped up and down and pointed in the direction the guy had gone and the helicopter took off in that direction.

As one of my PPD friends has said, the average person has NO IDEA what goes on in their safe little world after the sun goes down. We don't see the drug deals, the drop houses, the domestic violence, the assaults and all that happens on the seamier side of life. We only read about it in the paper or see the stats. I still get chills when I realize that one evening not long ago I left a dance class and drove within 4 feet of a dumpster that contained the remains of a woman who had been cut into pieces and dropped there. I saw the news the next morning and felt a chill up my spine.

Maybe if you have questions, you can ask to go on a ride-along, or take a class in Citizens On Patrol to find out why these "annoyances" are happening. If I were a bad guy and heard the helicopter, I'd get the hell outta dodge. So whenever I hear the noise, I say a silent prayer of thanks for people who are watching out for me.

Blackhawks are not made in Phoenix, they are made in Stratford,Connecticut. What you are seeing is Blackhawks flying out of the Az Army National Guard base next to Papago Park.

The only military helicopter made in the valley is the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.

[Keralee123]

I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU MEAN!! I am in the same area and there are helicopters all the time! I am staring at one right now that is doing nothing! It's just been idle for 30 minutes!