Mr. Arthur Raynor of Warwick has submitted a report to Government on how Bermuda can get its own helicopter and train people to use it.

"Time is not on our side,'' but "we can achieve this,'' Mr. Raynor told The Royal Gazette yesterday. "The longest journey begins with the first step. My goal is to be one of the first pilots, and ultimately to head the department.'' Mr. Raynor, 39, who has spent 16 years with the Bermuda Fire Service, has lobbied the Government since the early 1980s to address the Island's search and rescue needs in preparation for the closure of the US Naval Air Station.

As long ago as 1981, he wrote to former Premier the Hon. Sir John Sharpe, who then headed a committee examining Bermuda's search and rescue responsibilities.

In preparing the report he submitted to Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan's Base committees in January, Mr. Raynor interviewed Harbour Radio, Marine Police, helicopter pilots, rescue divers, and emergency medical technicians, among others. Overseas, he contacted five top American flight schools, Texas-based helicopter manufacturer Bell Textron, and avionics makers. He also visited the US Coast Guard station at New York, which serves Bermuda.

Acting only as an interested private citizen, he also drew on his own knowledge as a lifelong helicopter enthusiast with a large collection of books, magazines, and videotapes about the aircraft.

Government could respond to the closure of NAS Bermuda by hiring a private contractor like Canadian Helicopters Ltd. of Newfoundland or Cougar Helicopters Inc. of Nova Scotia, he said.

"But what happens in three to five years down the road if a company goes under? We're back in the same spot of not having people ready.'' If Government acted now, it still had time to set up Bermuda's own search and rescue service at a reasonable cost, he said. Ideally, four pilots and a four-person flight crew would be divided into two teams for 24-hour service, 365 days a year. While two helicopters would be ideal to allow for repairs and maintenance, Bermuda could start with one, he said.

On average, the US Navy responded to less than one search and rescue incident a month. To help justify the cost of helicopters, Bermuda could also use them to fight drugs, rush people to hospital, fight fires, quell civil disturbances, take tourism photographs, and patrol Bermuda's fishing zone, Mr.

Raynor said.

A Government committee should at once select potential pilots, mechanics and flight crews, choose a flight training school and a helicopter, and make transition arrangements with the Navy, he said.

If Bermuda decided to hire a contractor, it should be a short contract to allow for the training of Bermudians.

"I believe Bermudians can do everything,'' Mr. Raynor said. "You name it, and we can do it.'' Mr. Raynor, who hopes to get his pilot's licence next year, said myths abounded about helicopters.

Major ones concerned cost and how long it took to learn to fly.

Brand new, Bell 212 helicopters like those the Navy used started at about $3 million. But good, safe, second-hand craft were available for as little as $450,000, he said.

A private helicopter licence could be earned in four to five weeks, and a commercial licence in six months, Mr. Raynor said. Experience was the important factor, but if Bermudians were quickly trained to fly, they could work alongside the US Navy before the pull-out occurred in September of 1995.

In Bermuda, there were at least two dozen qualified pilots with both helicopter and fixed-wing experience ranging from 50 to 3,000 hours, he said.

There were also Bermudian mechanics on the Island and abroad who would jump at the chance to work on a new search and rescue team, he said.

He recommended a flight simulator to help train Bermudians and improve their skills. Depending on the type, their costs ranged from about $350 to $370,000, with a mid-range simulator available for $75,000, he said.

While he admitted to a personal bias, Mr. Raynor felt the search and rescue service should be put under the wing of the Bermuda Fire Service.