Tony G. of Las Vegas with an LVMPD MD500 patrol helicopter.

Just a little over a year ago I was surfing the net and somehow Googled the phrase "police helicopter pilot."  To my surprise the #1 hit in all of Google was a particular page on a helicopter website, that said some pretty one sided and negative things about police helicopter pilots. 

I Googled it again and sure enough, same negative page, #1 hit on Google.  Now this person/website is entitled to their opinion of course.  But I wondered how many young people out there, who might have an interest in becoming a police helicopter pilot, was searching on this same phrase and coming up with the same negative results.

After a bit of contemplating I threw my hat into the blogging arena, searched out some decent blogging software and launched Police Helicopter Pilot.com.

It was not long before I started receiving a handful of emails and feedback on the site.  And one of the very first emails came in from a young man, Tony Gambarian, in Las Vegas NV. 

Tony's emails were well written and filled with enthusiasm for helicopters as well as a stated goal of one day becoming a pilot for the Las Vegas Metropolitan P.D.  In fact I think his first email was a big "Thank You" for starting such a website.  Tony is in fact the type of young person I was thinking of, when I decided to give that negative web page a run for his money. 

I am happy to say that this blog holds the #1 spot in Google for not only "police helicopter pilot" but also the phrase "police pilot" and is generally on page 1 of Google for the phrase "police helicopter."  So at least young people like Tony have a source for positive information in the world of police helicopters and law enforcement aviation.

Since receiving that first email from Tony I was able to connect him with one of the officers in the LVMPD Air Unit, who was gracious enough to give Tony a personal tour of their hangar (thanks Officer R. H.).  It is my understanding that Tony has gone on to apply for a position in the LVMPD Cadet program, and even got to go on a ride- along with the Air Unit. 

While I am not in the business of arranging ride-alongs (hold those emails) I am happy that I could at least help Tony, and others like him, take steps to realize their goals and dreams one day.  Keep up the good work Tony, and I am sure you will be an outstanding candidate for the air unit when you take your seat for that interview a few years from now.