A well equipped aviation unit is one of the most valuable assets a law enforcement agency can have and Orange County has one of the best.  The Sheriff's Office first "slipped the surly bonds of earth" in the mid 1950's with a pair of fixed winged aircraft.  Since then the unit has evolved into one of the premier law enforcement airborne units in America.      The unit currently has a Bell 407 helicopter, three Bell OH-58C helicopters, and a Cessna T206H Stationaire in its operational inventory.  The 35 year old OH-58's were acquired through a military surplus program at a cost of $500 each and have logged over 18,000 flight hours since being put into service.  Worth noting is the fact that the Sheriff's Office participates in two federal programs that allows the agency to purchase parts for the surplus helicopters, fuel, flight suits and other miscellaneous items directly from the military at tremendously reduced prices... sometimes pennies on the dollar.      The Aviation Unit's multifaceted mission includes surveillance flights, active searches for criminal suspects, searching for lost or endangered individuals, disaster assessment, and airborne support to Orange County Fire Rescue during major fires.  The  unit also plays an active and key role in activities relating to homeland security details and providing aerial security/surveillance during presidential and other dignitary visits to the county.    When the unit isn't providing support for Sheriff's Office activities it often is called to assist other Central Florida law enforcement agencies who do not have an aviation unit of their own.   The unit continuously looks for ways to acquire the latest technology without impacting the agency's overall budget.  During the past four years the unit secured $775,000 in grants to purchase Forward Looking Infra Red (FLIR) camera systems, GPS moving maps, flight helmets, searchlights, and night vision goggles.        The Sheriff's Office takes the training of its personnel seriously and the Aviation Unit is no exception.  The unit has three flight instructors and all of its pilots hold multiple ratings and are certified to fly rotary and fixed-winged aircraft.  In addition to the 1,109 training hours logged by the unit during 2006 the entire unit benefited from the emergency procedure training provided by the Bell Helicopter factory twice during the year.  The unit recently acquired a new internet based computer system that trains and tests pilots on a regular basis throughout the year.  The intensive training has paid of with an unprecedented safety record and the unit being presented with the first ever International Association of Chiefs of Police Aviation Safety Award.