S.C. Sheriff Moves to Upgrade Aging Helicopter Fleet With High‑Tech Chopper

Beaufort County’s small fleet of helicopters is getting a crucial high-tech upgrade later this year, Sheriff P.J. Tanner says.

The department has made a down payment to purchase a used Bell 505 Jet Ranger X for $2.45 million, the sheriff said. Unlike the police’s current helicopters, the 2019 model has an autopilot system, according to Tanner, and it will come outfitted with an infrared camera, a searchlight and an advanced topographical mapping system.

The Bell 505 will replace one of police’s two Bell OH-58 Kiowa helicopters, which were manufactured in 1971 and are currently used in manhunts and search operations in the Hilton Head Island area. Beaufort County has the older helicopters “on loan” from the U.S. Army as part of the Pentagon’s 1033 Program, which provides surplus military equipment to state and local law enforcement, the sheriff said.

“We’re excited about getting (the Bell 505),” Tanner told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. “We’ve been kind of working on a shoestring, if you will, with the OH-58s. We love them, they’re great, but they’re 1971 models and things wear out.”

Tanner said his department will buy the helicopter using part of a proposed $4 million allotment from the county’s general fund. That amount will also go toward refurbishing a “dilapidated” hangar on Lady’s Island that currently houses the agency’s two older helicopters, Tanner said, although he anticipates having some money left over.

Officials have already approved $500,000 for the purchase as part of a capital improvement project, according to county spokesperson Hannah Nichols, and an additional $1.95 million budget amendment to fund the helicopter was passed during its first reading before councilmembers on Monday. Funding for the hangar project is expected to be proposed as part of the county’s 2027 budget, Nichols said. Modern tech is ‘big deal’ for Beaufort County pilots

New features like the Bell 505’s infrared sensor and autopilot system — along with its higher speed, increased fuel efficiency and room for more passengers — would give pilots more flexibility and precision during a manhunt or search for a missing child, Tanner said. He added that helicopters are especially helpful in efficiently surveying the thousands of acres of water and wetlands in Beaufort County.

“Even having the autopilot is a big deal,” Tanner said. “We live in an environment where we get some weather that’s strange from time to time, so having the autopilot is extremely important for safety for a pilot.”

The Bell 505 the sheriff’s office is purchasing was previously used as a training helicopter at Fort Campbell, according to Tanner, but he said the Army has left the chopper in good condition.

“Being able to get a helicopter that the Army was using, the fact it was well-maintained and it’s only got 3,000 hours (of flight time) at $2.4 million ... It’s a very good deal,” the sheriff said. Who is trained to fly the helicopter?

The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office has three trained helicopter pilots who fly the vehicles intermittently, according to Tanner, but that makes up a small part of their overall duties.

Tanner cited as an example Col. Neil Baxley, the unit’s chief pilot, who spends most days overseeing the sheriff’s emergency management division, 911 phone system and dispatch center. But if an emergency arises that requires a bird’s-eye view, Baxley is prepared to take to the skies, the sheriff said.

“Neil can fly every piece of open land within a couple hours and patrol all of it,” Tanner said. “It would take our patrol officers and marine patrol guys days to do what he can do in an hour.”

The sheriff’s office established its aviation unit in 2014, when it received its first OH-58 from the Army through the military surplus program.

“It’s not going to be overused; it’s going to be used appropriately based on the missions that we have,” the sheriff in a 2014 news conference introducing the helicopter, referring to cases like stranded boaters or missing person searches. He later added: “Hopefully in the next couple of months, it will be painted.”

The helicopter arrived in Beaufort County in a faded hue of military green, but Tanner had the aircraft painted black, white and yellow to match the markings of his department’s patrol cars.

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