Speed when it Matters
North Memorial Health Air Care’s fleet features eight Leonardo AW109S helicopters and one AW109E. The S models are all NVG capable, with the pilots recently adopting white phosphor goggles to aid their night missions.
“The AW109 is a very fast, very powerful aircraft and perfect for EMS,” Poynor says. “Our biggest concern is getting the patient to a facility as quickly and safely as possible to get the care that they need.”
The AW109 can cruise at 160 knots, though ground speeds greater than 200 knots are not uncommon in the typically blustery northern Minnesota winds. That’s more than a 20-knot advantage
over similar EMS aircraft in the region, and 100 mph faster than ground transportation. That gives them the capability to reach any part of the state within an hour after the call comes in.
Maintaining a widespread fleet of aircraft also presents challenges. Managing those challenges falls to the capable hands of Stephen Latham, Air Care director of maintenance. With nine aircraft at seven bases, he devised a rotation system that keeps all of the bases up and running during scheduled maintenance.
“It’s an ongoing rotation process that is working very well,” Latham says. His top priorities are keeping the crews safe and the aircraft in service. “Our two biggest challenges are geographical location and weather,” reflects Latham, echoing the pilots’ feelings about the dynamic Minnesota weather, especially during the wintertime.
North’s in-house AW109 flight simulator keeps pilots sharp at low cost and low risk. (photo: North Memorial Health Air Care)
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July/Aug 2021
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