In February 2007, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) took delivery of a new AS350 B3 from Eurocopter Canada’s plant in Fort Erie, Ontario. It is the seventh AS350 B3 to be added to the RCMP’s fleet of 38 fixed and rotary wing aircraft. An eighth AS350 B3 is now on order.

The honor of flying the RCMP’s seventh AS350 B3 to its K Division base in Edmonton, Alberta, was given to Kathy Stewart. She’s the I/C (In Charge) Helicopter Pilot at K Division.
Its aerial jurisdiction covers the entire province of Alberta, an area of 661,848 square kilometers.
At the south end lies the United States; at the north end, the Canadian Arctic!

The duties of the RCMP’s K Division helicopter unit are many. At a moment’s notice, they may be called in to aid a ground pursuit, provide aerial support to the RCMP’s emergency response teams, effect a search and rescue, combat drug trafficking, shoot aerial photos of a crime scene, or assist with mountain radio repeater work.
“We fly day and night missions around the province,” says Stewart; “performing both scheduled and rapid response work.”
For the past 13 years, K Division had been flying a Bell LongRanger IV. Although a good machine in its own right, the LongRanger found it challenging to fulfill all of K Division’s varied missions.
“For instance, when we were flying the LongRanger at altitude in the hot summer months, we really noticed the decline in power,” Stewart says.

Thanks to its 847 shp Turbomeca Arriel 2B turbine engine with FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine Control), the AS350 B3 has power to spare for high altitude, hot weather work.
It also has room for 6-7 occupants, a maximum weight capacity of 2,250 kgs/4,960 lbs, and a fast cruising speed of 140 knots (279 kph). K Division’s new AS350 B3 is equipped with advanced technology, including a FLIR color/infrared camera, Nightsun searchlight, and moving-map display.
After arriving in Edmonton, K Division’s new AS350 B3 spent two weeks in the hangar being prepped for operational flights. Since then, Kathy Stewart and fellow pilot Chris Gaunt have been flying their new aircraft, and thoroughly enjoying its many capabilities.

“We just used it the other day for an aerial pursuit of a suspect, and are about to fly to 3,000 meters to land a technical crew atop a knife-edge mountain ridge,” she says.
“That’s a very tricky situation where the AS350 B3’s extra power and excellent visibility makes our job easier and safer.”