Ed Van Winkle

Vice President, Law Enforcement Sales & OEM Projects

Ed Van Winkle served for 20 years with the Gainesville Police Department (GPD) in Gainesville, Florida, and retired as a Captain in 2008.

While at GPD, Ed performed a wide variety of operational assignments, including aviation, patrol, detectives, narcotics and SWAT. During his career, Ed served as the department’s Narcotics Unit Commander and SWAT Commander. He was also Unit Commander of the Alachua County Sheriff's Office/Gainesville Police Department Joint Aviation Unit.

Ed has extensive experience in Special Operations and the application of aviation assets to support specific agency goals and objectives.

After retiring from GPD, Ed was the Law Enforcement Sales Manager at Airbus Helicopters. Inc. (formerly American Eurocopter, LLC) for nine years. In this role, Ed worked closely with city, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies to determine which aircraft would best meet their mission requirements. During his time at AHI, the company delivered over 140 law enforcement aircraft valued at $500 million.

Ed Van Winkle is an active commercial helicopter pilot and flight instructor (CFII), as well as a fixed-wing pilot. Ed's in-depth flight experience and technical knowledge, combined with his strong customer focus, have distinguished him as a leader in the law enforcement aviation community.