Supervisors accept donation of helicopter flight simulator

Real estate professional and Rancho Santa Fe resident Dario DeLuca offered to donate his personally-owned helicopter flight simulator to the County of San Diego for use by Sheriff’s Department deputies training for the Sheriff’s Aerial Support To Regional Enforcement Agencies (ASTREA) program, and the San Diego County Board of Supervisors responded by accepting DeLuca’s generosity.

Due to the $139,000 approximate value of the donation, Board of Supervisors approval was required for acceptance, but that occurred on a 5-0 vote September 16 which also authorized Board of Supervisors chair Greg Cox to sign a letter of appreciation to DeLuca on behalf of the Board of Supervisors and the county.

“The new flight simulator will be a tremendous addition to the Sheriff’s Department aviation unit,” said Supervisor Dave Roberts.

ASTREA operates seven helicopters: five primarily for law enforcement support and two utilized mainly for firefighting or search and rescue operations. Deputies who are chosen for the helicopter pilot program receive training to become capable of piloting all of the available airframes in the ASTREA fleet and to become proficient in handling a variety of missions. The training includes emergency procedures, flight review, external loads, water drops, hoisting, and night

vision goggles.

The donated FLYIT simulator system includes a full-size cockpit, a projector, monitors, and a computer system. It is housed inside an air-conditioned 18-foot trailer which operates using 110 volts and 20 amps. The trailer will be housed inside the ASTREA hangar at Gillespie Field in El Cajon and will be operated solely by certified flight instructors who are assigned to ASTREA and who have completed the training course from FLYIT simulators or service technicians from FLYIT. Pilots will be trained to respond to inadvertent entry into hazardous conditions, and air crews can also practice approved methods of recovery in a flight simulator environment.

The $7,000 estimated cost for software upgrades and training, as well as future maintenance expenses for the simulator, will be funded by the ASTREA operating budget.