10 | NEWS First five EC135 for HEMS in Turkey THK Gökçen Aviation, the commercial company of the Turkish Aeronautical Association THK, has received the first five EC135s to provide medical airlift duties throughout Turkey. The new helicopters started operations in August. THK Gökçen Aviation and Saran Holding had placed an order for a new fleet of 17 EC135s and the contract was signed in May this year. The purchase agreement was signed by Prof. Dr Ünsal Ban, Rector of the University of THK, Aeronautics & Astronautics; F. Volkan Yilmazer, General Manager of THK Gökcen Aviation; Osman Yildirim, President of THK as well as Vice President of FAI; and from Eurocopter’s Luisa Alberti, Marquard Heimhofer, Peter Feyerabend and Reiner Heimbach (from left to right). THK Gökçen Aviation and Saran Holding will deploy a fleet of 17 EC135 to ensure HEMS in the framework of a five-year contract with the Turkish Ministry of Health. The remaining helicopters will be delivered in spring 2014. Eurocopter has
Eurocopter
been present in HEMS operations of the Ministry of Health in Turkey since 2008. A total of more than 1,100 EC135 have been delivered worldwide, and more than 500 of these helicopters are in the EMS configuration. The EC135 combines a wide, unobstructed cabin with good performance,
range and payload capacity – along with lownoise operations. The helicopter’s large sliding side doors and rear clamshell doors enable fast loading/unloading of patients. ››› www.eurocopter.com
Flying Doctors India launches service
Flying Doctors India launched its first air ambulance service on 8 June 2013 in the national capital New Delhi. The dedicated chartered aircraft is equipped with ICU equipment. The goal is to provide critical care to patients on air ambulance and repatriation flights. The air ambulance medical crew is the same
team of doctors who flew the Delhi gang rape victim to Singapore in December 2012. “Earlier, whenever we got a call, we would take a private aircraft, tape off the chairs and fit our equipment in. It was basically a temporary fix. Now we have a dedicated air ambulance ready for all emergency services,” Dr
Naresh Trehan of Medanta Medicity told the Delhibased Indian News Channel NDTV. With the air ambulance, Flying Doctors has taken a leap. According to the news report, the “response time” now “is just 20 to a maximum of 90 minutes”. Before that, it took doctors and medical crews three hours to prepare the aircraft. Another timesaver is the aircraft’s longer endurance level of up to seven-and-a-half hours, unlike earlier, when the aircraft would have to stop after 3 hours for refuelling. “This could perhaps mean a matter of life or death for a patient”, Dr Trehan says. However, hiring the aircraft it still not at low cost. It can cost at least 50,000 Indian Rupees per hour (approx. 600 Euros). The aircraft can cater to patients even in smaller cities with the air ambulance having rough field capability so that landing on unprepared landing sites is also possible. ››› www.flyingdoctorsindia.com ››› www.medanta.org
Nepal’s Shree Airlines with 8 Ecureuil orders Nepal’s Shree Airlines has placed an order for eight Ecureuil helicopters – comprising five AS350 B3e and three EC130 T2 – for use in SAR, aerial work, disaster relief missions and heli-tourism. Shree Airlines, a leading helicopter operator in Nepal, is increasing its fleet of Ecureuil helicopters after successfully operating one AS350 B3e which arrived in February this year. With the additional orders, Shree Airlines becomes the biggest operator of the Ecureuil fleet in the South Asia region with a total of nine aircraft, comprising six AS350 B3e and three EC130 T2. The AS350 B3e will be used in SAR, aerial work and disaster relief missions, whereas the
EC130 T2 is to perform tourism operations. First deliveries of the Ecureuil family aircraft for Shree Airlines will begin from early 2014. Both the AS350 B3e and EC130 T2 are members of Eurocopter’s rugged and proven Ecureuil family, and also are the latest members of their respective helicopter types. The AS350 B3e evolved from the high-performance AS350 family. Today, approximately 5,350 Ecureuils have been delivered in 130 countries to some 1,600 operators. These aircraft have accumulated close to 25 million flight hours. ››› www.eurocoptersea.com.sg
EC / J. Deulin
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