MedFlight Takes Safety to New Heights

MedFlight has just introduced a new helicopter, the Euro Copter 130, which will eventually comprise their entire fleet. Pictured above hovering over the Santa Maria replica, the Euro is capable of moving at 130 knots – technology that Christopher Columbus couldn’t have imagined.

This agile, light, single engine chopper can carry a pilot, patient and three medical personnel and has a roomy interior that provides greater access to the patient.

Equipped with all the National Transportation Safety Board’s recommended equipment, the Euro Copter comes complete with night vision capabilities.

Its Traffic Collision Avoidance System, Satellite Real Time Weather and voice, video and flight recorder gives the pilot added safety measures. Whether in the air or on the ground, MedFlight places patient safety first. A representative from MedFlight noted that while the Euro Copter 130 may be capable of 130 knots, their pilots will not be pushing the envelope in terms of speed.

MedFlight Soars To Aid Patients

© Larry Hamill

Ready to serve night or day, rain or shine, a MedFlight Mobile Intensive Care Unit (MICU), pictured above in Columbus’s Short North district, exemplifies the theme of the 2010 MedFlight calendar – Patients First.

© Larry Hamill

As a not-for-profit company, MedFlight maintains a fleet of eight helicopters and four MICUs and covers 10 counties within Ohio, providing transport for the critically ill and injured.

© Larry Hamill

Each year photographing for MedFlight’s calendar brings it own unique challenges, whether it be angling a helicopter just right over a snow covered Serpent Mound or being mindful of safety issues like the powerful effect of prop wash.

© Larry Hamill

In addition to transporting over 6,000 patients last year, MedFlight made over 250 community visits, including the Prom Promise drug and alcohol accident simulation event  to help educate teens about the perils of DWI.

We salute the pilots, drivers and medical crews who have made an impact in the lives of many, as well as the pilots who make these aerial photographs possible.