New Midlands Air Ambulance helicopter unveiled at RAF Cosford
[gallery] The Midlands Air Ambulance today took delivery of the first helicopter it has ever owned.
The new helicopter was launched at RAF Cosford, ready to begin its active service as an emergency rescue aircraft.
The new £4. 5 million helicopter replaces one of the charity's three leased aircraft.
The UK's largest and busiest air ambulance service, Midlands Air Ambulance currently leases three EC135 helicopters from Bond Air Services, but will be replacing the RAF Cosford aircraft with the new, state-of-the-art EC135T2e helicopter.
The aircraft was flown into the Shropshire air base where it will be based.
Midlands Air Ambulance chairman Brendan Connor said: "The new helicopter has been entirely funded through public donations, demonstrating the incredible support our vital life-saving service receives from local communities,"
The helicopter was initially built at Eurocopter in Germany and was delivered to Bond Air Services in Staverton in December.
While at Bond Air Services it has been painted and fitted with pre-hospital medical equipment, plus additional equipment for potential night flying between lit helipads and night Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) operations.
To celebrate of the arrival of the new helicopter, the charity is also launching the #GoMAA appeal, which aims to raise an additional £250,000 to enable the service to extend its winter flyer hours to 12 hours a day.
At present the three Midlands Air Ambulance helicopters only operate during daylight hours, which are naturally reduced in the winter months.
The extra funding will enable the service to attend more incidents into hours of darkness on a daily basis, ultimately helping to save more lives across the region.
