The governor of Mexico’s Colima state has confirmed an order for a police-equipped Robinson R44.  However, politicians from the two main opposition parties Partido Acción Nacional and Partido Nueva Alianza are both aiming to make political mileage by comparing the state government’s pricing of the whole project at $1.2 million, and Robinson’s list price of a standard Police-fit aircraft at $686,000.

This just seems to be a typical situation where people outside the industry do not understand the full impact of additional equipment, an operations base and so on.

Colima is the second smallest state in Mexico by population, and fifth smallest by area.  The state has two airports. The Playa del Oro International Airport with domestic and international flights is located in the municipality of Manzanillo. The Miguel de la Madrid Airport is near the capital city, Colima, and is expected to be the base of their new helicopter.

Jeremy Parkin – HeliHub.com