Dale County's Jet Ranger 206 Helicopter has been taking to the skies for civilian use, decades after its military career came to an end.

Now, some new equipment will offer even more opportunities for the chopper.

News 4 was at a demonstration on Wednesday.

The helicopter has been around since 1973, and over the years, has seen several cutting edge additions. The latest one takes the bird’s eye to the ground level.

She’s been taking off since 1973, offering first military personnel and most recently law enforcement the opportunity to observe a scene from thousands of feet above.

For some time now, the pilot has been able to see what’s on the ground, but now, people on the ground will have the same opportunity to see exactly what they see.

This is made possible by the helicopter’s new microwave video transmitter, beaming down video to the people below.

Tom Guidry, with Broadcast Microwave Services said, "They can watch what was going on [before], but they have to communicate that back to the people in the field; but now, that data is instantly shared."

That data is instantly shared to law enforcement personnel through the Wiregrass; as the helicopter assists in numerous searches and manhunts, many at night, where every passing second gives a new opportunity to find a missing person, or apprehend a suspect.

Dale County Sheriff Wally Olsen said, "Other sheriff’s offices throughout the area, they have resources that we don't have and they share in those resources with our community. I see we should share our resources with them.”

Houston County Sheriff Andy Hughes said, "Eyes on the ground; you can't put everyone in the helicopter at the same time, so if you've got eyes on the ground that can see what the helicopter is seeing, then you can make a better decision based on the information that you can have.”

The system can be live stream damage video for the EMA, in the event of severe weather. Or, it can stream a suspect’s vehicle so people know who to look for. So, it appears you can teach an old chopper new tricks.

Houston County EMA Director Clark Matthews says the microwave transmitter was paid for by a Region-2 Homeland Security Grant.