On April 18^th STAR Flight christened two new helicopters and pressed them into service on that date.  The new EC-145 aircraft represents the latest in technology and innovation from American Eurocopter and their arrival has been widely anticipated.  The aircraft were placed in service and busy responding to a wide variety of calls immediately.  Within 30 days the new aircraft had responded to each of the missions that STAR Flight can respond to including the new Neo-Natal mission as well as fire-fighting.  A few short weeks after the opening date, STAR Flight responded to a difficult rescue mission near the U.S / Mexican border which gave the pilot and crew ample opportunity to use all of the new equipment on the aircraft.

From Fall 1998 until April 2006, STAR Flight employed two EC-135 helicopters.  Consequently, pilots and crews were well versed in the operation of American Eurocopter products.  So what is the difference?  Why do we have new helicopters?  What can we do now that we were not able to do before with the older aircraft?

Mechanically, the new aircraft is very similar to the older EC-135.  Where the EC-135 maximum weight topped out at 6251 pounds, our new aircraft weighs in at 7905 lbs.  The Aircraft flies at about the same speed which varies between 115 knots and 130 knots depending on load.  The engines and gearbox arrangement are nearly the same as the 135’s.

Electronically, the EC-145 has a 21^st century cockpit installed which is considered to be a “Glass” cockpit.  Essentially, an old cockpit would have individual round gauges for each reporting parameter such as engine oil pressure or turbine power output.  The new aircraft is able to display all of that information collectively on a few computer screens which are re-programmable should a single screen fail.  Additionally, the pilot enjoys a very active and tightly controlled Automatic Flight Control System or AFCS.  This along with Stability Augmentation System makes the aircraft much more stable in flight which reduces the workload on the pilot.  These systems are then tied to a first rate Garmin GPS system for navigation.  Finally, the system is considered to be “fully coupled”.  This means that prior to take-off, the pilot can pre-program the system with a destination along with a desired altitude and airspeed.  The pilot would make a standard takeoff and then “Arm” the system.  At this point, the autopilot would takeover and execute the climb-out to the programmed altitude, accelerate to the desired airspeed, and navigate directly to the programmed waypoint………all without any further input from the pilot.  If the destination is an airport with an approved instrument approach, the autopilot could also fly the entire published approach and descend to within fifty feet of the runway where the pilot would take manual control and land the aircraft.  As most of our flights are to a “Scene” and not an airport, we do not exercise an automatic approach very often.  This type of “coupled” system is exactly the same that all airliners employ.  The overall benefit is the reduced workload for and stress on the pilot.  This translates directly to the “REAL” benefit and that is the maximizing of Safety for our customers and crews alike. 

The most important difference for the crew is the size of the cabin where the action takes place.  Our medical crew’s have a much larger operating area to maneuver within.  Where the EC-135 had a drop ceiling at about where a patient’s waistline would be, the EC-145 maintains a high ceiling all of the way to the rear of the cabin.  This allows the medical crew’s to access more of the patient in-flight if the need should arise.  The extra room also allowed STAR Flight to expand its mission to include the carriage of a Neo-Natal team and the very large and specialized equipment required of that mission.  The medical crews also enjoy the use of a new rolling stretcher that can be taken directly to the patient instead of having to use a backboard.  In the overhead of the cabin is a retractable moving map system that shows the exact location of the aircraft on a map that is moving in real time.  Additionally, the 145 employs a “Sky – Connect” system that automatically updates the actual aircraft position every five minutes at the communications center.  This allows our dispatchers to know, within a five minute window, where the aircraft is at all times.

For rescues, the EC-145 will employ a new electrically operated hoist.  This equipment alone will help reduce the time needed to respond to a water or land rescue.  Where the older aircraft would have to first locate a victim and then find a place to land and deploy a rescuer on a short-haul line, then take-off and air-taxi the rescuer to the victim, the new aircraft can make an approach directly to the victim once he or she has been spotted and a clear approach path has been identified. 

Night flying has changed dramatically for STAR Flight crews.  Where both old and new aircraft have a very bright search light called a “NightSun”, our crews now are assisted by a state of the art Night Vision Goggle or NVG system.  This allows the crews to see terrain features and potential obstacles even on the darkest of nights.   While enroute to a scene call, the crew also enjoys the use of a dedicated weather RADAR and lightning strike locater.  This enables the crew to see for miles in front of the aircraft and spot severe weather between the aircraft and the scene.  The crew can then make a dedicated and timely decision to either continue the mission, to fly around the weather when it is feasible and can be safely performed, or to abort the mission altogether if weather conditions are threatening.  Again, this system maximizes the safety of our customers and crews immeasurably.

Find out more about our new Night Vision Goggles ...

To tie all of these new features and capabilities together, STAR Flight pilots and crewmembers have received extensive training in the actual employment of the new EC-145 aircraft and all of its systems.  We have but one goal at STAR Flight:  That is to respond as quickly as possible to the need of the residents and visitors of Travis county and central Texas, and provide that assistance with SAFETY as our top priority.  Our customers deserve nothing less.

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