above:: GSP’s first helicopter, a Bell 47 right: Landing at the State Capitol
opposite: Chief Pilot Greg Mercier hovers the units newest Bell 407 as the GSP Swat Team hooks up for SPIE training.
HISTORY Believe it or not, the Georgia State Pa-
trol Aviation Division began organizing in the early 1970’s. The first helicopter pur- chased was a military surplus Bell 47. In 1973 Colonel Herman Cofer, Commis- sioner of the Department of Public Safety at that time, published a memorandum so- liciting applicants for Aviation personnel and pilots. So with one helicopter, one air- plane, one supervisor and three pilots, the GSP Aviation Division was born. The unit was originally headquartered
at the Georgia Department of Air Trans- portation Hangar located at the Fulton County/Charlie Brown Airport in Atlanta, Georgia in 1975. Shortly thereafter, the unit moved into a mobile home for office space and then into the Georgia Army Na-
26 June 2012
tional Guard hangar facility at the Fulton County/ Charlie Brown Airport. The unit remained at this location until June of 1995, when the Aviation Division head- quarters moved to the Cobb County/Mc- Collum Airport in Kennesaw. As of this writing, in July, 2012, the Aviation HQ will again be located at the Fulton County Airport located about ten miles west of
downtown Atlanta. The Kennesaw Hangar will remain as a field hangar for support to NW Georgia.
GROWTH As the usefulness of aircraft became
more apparent, the Georgia State Patrol Aviation Division continued to grow since
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