PRIMARY USES OF AIR SUPPORT DIVISION. ASD provides a large tactical advantage to ground units conducting field activities. Some of the main examples of when ASD would be used are:

• Pursuits;

• Tactical situations for example help calls and setting up perimeters;

• Riots; and,

• Observation of crimes.

RULES AND REGULATIONS.

• At a bare minimum, one pilot is required for an air unit.

• If two aircrew are available for an air unit, one shall be a Pilot, and one a Tactical Flight Officer (TFO);

• For an airship to be used, there must be a minimum of 3 ground units, excluding the units transferring to the airship. Therefore, the most common allowance will be when 4 ground units are on-duty. If 1 unit transfer to ASD, this leaves 3 ground units available for field activities.

AIRCRAFT EQUIPMENT. All Department helicopters are outfitted with the following equipment:

• Weapon rack containing a carbine rifle and a sniper rifle;

• PA system; and,

• Fuselage camera equipped with thermal view and night vision functions.

FLYING OPERATIONS. All Department aircraft shall follow all DFA and ICAC guidelines, with the following exceptions:

• Units may patrol at an altitude of 200-500ft based on: visibility conditions; wind conditions; and, area conditions;

• Units may lower altitude to 100-300ft in event of emergency situations; and,

• Aircraft taking off/landing on government owned heliports and airports are only required to use basic take-off and landing communications.

Refuelling. All Department aircraft must make landings once 75% of fuel has been consumed to refuel. Different aircraft have different fuel capacities:

• Buckingham Maverick 1st Gen ~ 20 minutes of fuel

• Buckingham Maverick 2nd Gen ~ 25 minutes of fuel

• Buckingham Supervolito ~ 25 minutes of fuel

• Western Company Annihilator ~ 30 minutes of fuel

• Buckingham Swift ~ 30 minutes of fuel

• Buckingham Valkyrie ~ 20 minutes of fuel

• Mammoth Tula ~ 35 minutes of fuel

• Jobuilt Mammatus ~ 50 minutes of fuel

Take-Off Safety Concerns. Prior to take-off, ensure the following:

• There are no immediate hazards around the aircraft;

• The environment is safe to start the aircraft; and,

• The aircraft is in safe condition for flight.

Type of Flight. Air units shall “orbit” rather than hovering. This reduces the possibility of the air unit coming under fire during a tactical situation.

Note: Orbiting is the process of flying around the target area in a large circle shape.

ROLES OF THE AIRCREW. Depending on resourcing, there may be either 1 or 2 aircrew in an air unit. The first is a Pilot, with the second being the Tactical Flight Officer.

Pilot. The pilot focusses on flying the aircraft safely. They do not need to concern themselves with the tactical situation as much, unless they are the singular air crew on board in which case they act as both the Pilot and the Tactical Flight Officer. Because of this, it is best advised to have 2 aircrew present.

Tactical Flight Officer. The Tactical Flight Officer (TFO) has a lot more responsibilities when it comes to air operations. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Listens for calls and designates which calls the air unit shall respond to;

• Gives the Pilot the directions to head to the call;

• Identify threats/evidence/dangers to ground units and the pilot if necessary; and,

• Take over flight should something happen to the Pilot.

During an emergency situation involving the air unit, the TFO shall broadcast a help call and request FD to the area of the emergency landing. As soon as the situation is safe e.g. the air unit has successfully completed an emergency landing and some ground units are around to control traffic if necessary, they shall broadcast a Code Four transmission letting other units know the situation is under control.

FOOT PURSUITS.

Tactics used by Suspects. When suspects do not realise an air unit is following them, suspects will often:

• Take the path of least resistance;

• Go straight through a block;

• Double-back on themselves; and,

• Run until confronted rather than hiding somewhere.

Tactics used by Suspects with an Air Unit following them. Once a suspect realises an air unit is following them, they may switch their tactics to include the following:

• They will stop and go, rather than just continue running;

• Abruptly change direction while running;

• Try to move on the back of the air unit’s orbit; and,

• Run between buildings, out of sight of the air unit.

Common Hiding Spots. Suspects will often try to hide somewhere when they know an air unit is following them. These spots include, but are not limited to:

• Inside/under vehicle;

• Inside/under houses;

• In bushes and under trees;

• Rooftops with trees;

• Stairwell landings;

• Inside garages; or,

• Between buildings that are close together.

Tactics used by Suspects to leave a Perimeter. When confronted with a perimeter, suspects may attempt to get past it using the following methods:

• Change their appearance;

• Walk out and attempt to blend in;

• Leave in a vehicle which they might’ve stolen or carjacked;

• Leave in a taxi; or,

• Dial 911 and attempt to refocus police resources elsewhere.

VEHICLE PURSUITS. It is the air support’s responsibility to:

• Assist and coordinate field activities;

• Monitor and broadcast pursuit information; and,

• Advise ground units of road hazards or any unsafe conditions.

Ground Unit Risks. Air units shall notify ground units if they are taking unnecessary risks during the vehicle pursuit.

Communications. The TFO should be calm, clear and concise when transmitting radio messages.

The TFO should not assume that the Pilot can see the suspect vehicle, so the TFO shall make sure to notify the Pilot of the location/direction if necessary.

Tracking. Upon arrival to a pursuit, the air unit shall advise the incident commander of the number of units in pursuit, and request if tracking should be initiated. Exigent circumstances may exist which require units to remain in pursuit. These include, but are not limited to:

• The suspect(s) is armed;

• The suspect is wanted for murder; or,

• It is a hostage situation.

Whether tracking or not, the air unit shall continue to broadcast relevant information regarding the pursuit.

COMMUNICATIONS.

• Pilot will tune into the ATC frequency for all air activities. If there are no other aircraft tuned into the ATC frequency, the airship Pilot may choose to remain in RTO; and,

• The TFO shall tune into RTO to establish communication with ground units.

Note: The Pilot and TFO shall use in-game voice chat to communicate.

In RTO, the airship shall use the callsign “AIR <division/area number>.”

Example. An airship assigned to Vespucci Division would use the callsign “AIR 14.” An airship assigned to Paleto Bay and Chiliad State Wilderness would use the callsign “AIR 19.”

In ATC frequency, the airship shall use the aircraft registration as their callsign.

Example. An airship sporting the tail number N662PD would broadcast themselves as “November-Six-Six-Two-Papa-Delta.”

Everything below this line is not needed, however it adds to the RP if you wish to learn a bit more about flight radio usage.

Note: The below information was collected from a little research and so it might not be 100% accurate.

AIRCRAFT CALLSIGNS. Pilots shall use the aircraft registration e.g. N234B would be "November, two, three, four, bravo." Pilots may choose to use their aircraft type or model as a prefix for their callsign, whilst also removing the "N" from their callsign e.g. N234B could be "Helicopter, two, three, four, bravo."

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL CALLSIGN. Would be the abbreviation for the landing site + "GROUND" or "TOWER" e.g. LSIA ATC could be "LSIA TOWER."

READBACK. To make sure that you have understood an instruction from the ATC, you should readback any important messages. This may include:

• Taxi instructions

• Level/speed/heading instructions

• Runway/landing pad in use

• Any clearance e.g. take off, landing

Contacting Air Traffic Control. The Pilot shall contact Air Traffic Control (ATC) using the following format:

• Name of facility/airport

• Your full aircraft identification

• If operating on an airport surface, state your position

• The type of message to follow OR the request itself if it's short

• The word "Over" if required

PHONETIC ALPHABET. Pilots shall use the NATO standard phonetic alphabet when contacting ATC.

FIGURES. When broadcasting figures such as altitude up to 9,900:

Example 1: 500 feet would be "five hundred feet"

Example 2: 4,500 feet would be "four thousand five hundred feet"

When broadcasting figures over 9,900, the digit before the thousand shall be separated:

Example 1: 10,000 feet would be "one zero thousand feet"

Example 2: 16,500 feet would be "one six thousand five hundred feet"

DIRECTIONS. Heading - direction the aircraft nose is pointing.

SPEED. Speed shall always be broadcast as "Knots."

PREFLIGHT. There are multiple things which Pilots should do before taking off.

• Gain the most recent weather forecast

• Fill out preflight paperwork and flight plan

DEPARTURE.

• Get approval to start the engine

• Get taxi approval (if necessary)

• Get clearance for take off

Note: If told to "line up and wait," then you must wait at the designated location until you are given clearance for take off.

Clearance. Shall use the word "Cleared" in connection with taking off or landing. In all other exchanges, the word "Approved" shall be used.

Runway/Pad Designation. Shall use pads or runways during a message.

After Departure. Does not give clearance for take off.

Hold Position. Hold your current location.

Degrees. Added to any headings ending in zero to avoid confusion with flight levels.

POB. Persons on board.

Clarification of instructions. If unsure, always request the instructions to the reclarified.

Instruction to taxi. Helicopters may either "air taxi" or "ground taxi."

Instruction to hold. If a helicopter is instructed to hold, they may either hover or touch down temporarily until they are approved to carry on with the taxi. If touchdown is not approved, they shall be instructed to "hold in the hover."

Going around. If you have to go around before touching down i.e. because of a sudden hazard.

Example 1 (requesting departure info and engine start)

Aircraft: "LSIA Tower, November-One-Two-Three-Bravo, radio check One-One-Eight-Point-Seven-Two."

ATC: "November-One-Two-Three-Bravo, LSIA Tower, readability 5."

Aircraft: "November-One-Two-Three-Bravo, requesting departure information and engine start."

ATC: "November-Three-Bravo, surface wind 4 knots at 200 degrees, Quebec-November-Hotel-nine-nine-zero millibars temperature. Hold engine start."

Aircraft: "Surface wind 200 degrees 4 knots, Quebec-November-Hotel-nine-nine-zero millibars. Hold on engine start. November-Three-Bravo."

ATC: "November-Three-Bravo, LSIA Tower, engine start approved."

Aircraft: "Start approved, November-Three-Bravo."

Example 2 (requesting taxi after having already made contact with ATC)

Aircraft: "November-Three-Bravo, at runway two-two, requesting taxi for shutdown."

ATC: "November-Three-Bravo, taxi to pad 2."

Aircraft: "November-Three-Bravo, taxi to pad 2."

Example 3 (requesting clearance for take off)

Aircraft: "LSIA Tower, November-One-Two-Three-Bravo, radio check One-One-Eight-Point-Seven-Two."

ATC: "November-One-Two-Three-Bravo, LSIA Tower, readability 5."

Aircraft: "November-One-Two-Three-Bravo, requesting departure information."

ATC: "November-Three-Bravo, surface wind 4 knots at 200 degrees, Quebec-November-Hotel-nine-nine-zero millibars temperature."

Aircraft: "Surface wind 200 degrees 4 knots, Quebec-November-Hotel-nine-nine-zero millibars. Ready for departure, request right turnout heading three-three-zero degrees."

ATC: "November-Three-Bravo, hold your position. After departure, right turn approved, climb not above altitude one-thousand feet until zone boundary."

Aircraft: "Holding. After departure right turn approved, not above altitude one-thousand feet until zone boundary, November-Three-Bravo."

ATC: "November-Three-Bravo, cleared for take off."

Aircraft: "Cleared for take off, November-Three-Bravo."

Example 4 (Landing)

Aircraft: "LSIA Tower, November-One-Two-Three-Bravo, overhead, joining for Area Whiskey pad 4."

ATC: "November-One-Two-Three-Bravo, LSIA Tower, area whiskey pad 4, descend to altitude one-thousand feet."

Aircraft: "Area Whiskey pad 4, descend to one-thousand feet, November-One-Two-Three-Bravo."

Aircraft: "November-One-Two-Three-Bravo, on final approach."

ATC: "November-Three-Bravo, continue approach."

Aircraft: "Continue approach, November-Three-Bravo."

ATC: "Area whiskey pad 4 cleared to land, wind is 5 knots at one-eight-zero degrees."

Aircraft: "Area whiskey pad 4, clear to land, November-Three-Bravo."

EMERGENCY.

• "Mayday Mayday Mayday"

• Callsign

• Type of aircraft

• Nature of the emergency

• Intention of the person-in-command (mostly the Pilot)

• Present position, flight altitude and heading

• Any other useful information e.g. POB