Fairfax County Police helicopters are neither birds nor planes, but their crew got slightly more avian as they “live-tweeted” experiences from inside the hangar and helicopter through Twitter on Aug. 26.

The helicopter unit provides air support to officers on the ground, emergency rapid medical transport, search and rescue advantages and “other specialized air support as needed,” said a release from Fairfax County Police.

The department’s official Twitter handle @fairfaxpolice followed along with the helicopter crew from 11 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. and described the ins and outs of the job. Followers of the hashtag #ffx1tweet were able to ask questions of the crew themselves.