Mark Huber is an aviation industry veteran who has worked in the flight training, aircraft sales, aircraft component, and airport development businesses. He has flight time in more than 50 different and diverse aircraft, including helicopters, aerobatic aircraft, vintage warbirds, jet fighters, business jets and turboprops, and transport-category aircraft. He has jumped out of several of these—on purpose—with a parachute. His defense and aviation journalism has been published in a variety of national and international periodicals.

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Mark Huber

A trio of Leonardo AW139s flying for the Victoria, Australia police has amassed 10,000 hours in the last three years, making them the most heavily used of the 149 AW139s tasked to law enforcement worldwide. Collectively, the Victoria police helicopters flew 1.1 million nm, were dispatched 30,000 times, assisted in 3,000 arrests, and completed 60 winching tasks. The aircraft are fitted with &nbsp;infrared cameras, mapping systems, and object-detecting software, among others.
StarFlight Victoria, which was started by Australia's LifeFlight and the Linfox Group, delivered the helicopters to the police and support their operation. Over the three-year initial deployment period, StarFlight provided 50,000 hours of maintenance for the fleet on a 24/7 basis with services and materials that included 34 heavy inspections, eight modifications, 50 main landing gear tire changes, and 288 gallons of engine and gearbox oil.&nbsp;
"The contribution these helicopters, and the support teams behind them, make to the Victoria Air Wing’s capabilities is incredibly significant,” said StarFlight Victoria director Ashley van de Velde. “This milestone reflects the collective effort from Victoria Police and StarFlight.”&nbsp;
More than 1,100 AW139s have been delivered worldwide since the helicopter was certified in 2004.

News and issues regarding all manner of civil and military rotorcraft and their powerplants, including helicopters, tilt rotors and unmanned air vehicles.

Australian Police AW139 Helicopters Lead Hourly Use by Law Enforcement

A trio of Leonardo AW139s operated by the Victoria police have flown 10,000 hours in the last three years.

Aussie Police AW139s Lead Hourly Use by Law Enforcement

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