Thursday afternoon, Suzette went for a two-hour ride in a helicopter, courtesy of the San Jose Police Department.

She won the ride in an auction benefiting the San Jose Museum of Art, where she volunteers as a docent.

Taking off from the NASA area of Moffett Field, two SJPD officers hosted her on an aerial tour of San Jose, during which they flew over our house. Sadie and I didn’t realize that she was overhead, otherwise we would have run outdoors, barking with excitement.

Officer Mike Sullivan of the SJPD Air Support Unit piloted the craft, accompanied by Sgt. Dave Strunk.

“It was a quiet time for crime,” Suzette reported. “But even though there were no live gun battles, the flight was productive.

“The crew was testing a strut-mounted camera which they use for visual and infrared tracking. It worked perfectly up to 2500 feet, sending a live video feed to a communications center on the ground.”

Suzette thoroughly enjoyed the excursion. “The passenger section isn’t all glass like the helicopter we rode on our Africa safari,” she said, “so I didn’t feel like I was suspended in mid-air.”

She was particularly impressed by the police officers, who, she said with a smile, “Were gracious, charming and helpful to an old lady.”

Tags: Flying, Gallery, Helicopters.

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