Late march 2023 saw the arrival of Yorkshire’s new air ambulance G-YAAA a brand new Airbus H145 D3 Helicopter as a direct replacement for the charities existing H145’s later in the year G-YAAA will be joined by G-YORX another H145 D3 bring the fleet up to modern standards and providing the people of Yorkshire with the most advanced and safest helicopters available.
The two new helicopters come with a range of improvements with the most noticeable being a added 5th blade which aids in stability and patient comfort by reducing cabin vibrations and increasing the range of the aircraft without the need to refuel. Steve Waudby, Director of Aviation explains: ‘It is very exciting news for us to announce the arrival of our new H145 D3 Helicopter. The big difference you’ll notice is that this new helicopter has five rotor blades, which means it’s a lot smoother. It’s also slightly lighter, because the anti-vibration equipment has been removed, which means we can carry another half an hour’s worth of aviation fuel, allowing us to stay airborne and go to a lot more jobs before we must return to base to refuel’.
The new aircraft also has a redesigned medical fit in the cabin area which improves patient care with one of the new features of the aircraft being a new stretcher. Senior HEMS Paramedic, Sammy Wills explains ‘The stretcher keeps us self-sufficient. We no longer have to wait on the Helipad at major trauma Hospitals for a trolly to be brought to us, the new system allows us to just wheel our patients directly into the emergency department, getting the patient the treatment, they need, that much quicker’.
Yorkshire Air Ambulance is a charity and has serviced the people of Yorkshire for the past 23 years. For further information or to donate today, please visit www.yaa.org.uk.
