Huntington Beach : ‘Quiet Knight’ to Patrol City Skies in Near Silence

The Police Department’s new $500,000 “Quiet Knight” helicopter will take to the city skies for the first time in the line of duty Monday, officials said.

The Hughes 500E, the first “quiet” helicopter to be used in law enforcement, is equipped with a state-of-the-art tail rotor that provides a near-silent flight, according to Lt. Robert Morrison, chief of the Police Aero Bureau.

The Police Department’s helicopter division flies most of its 3,000 hours a year at night, Sgt. Bill Van Cleve said, and residents should find the chopper’s quiet technology far less disturbing than that of conventional models.

The “Quiet Knight” can fly up to 170 m.p.h. and has the ability to arrive at the scene of a call anywhere in the city within 30 seconds, officials said. The helicopter also has a brighter, more efficient lighting system that projects 10 times more light than the department’s older models.