Aspirus acquires H135
Aspirus MedEvac, the air ambulance brand of Wisconsin’s Aspirus Health, has acquired a new Airbus H135 helicopter, to be stationed in the town of Woodruff
The twin-engine rotorcraft entered service on 5 December as ‘MedEvac Air 1’, when it traveled to its home base at the Aspirus-owned Howard Young Medical Center.
The aircraft has a Helionix avionics suite, with GPS navigation, communications, traffic advisory notification, terrain avoidance and synthetic vision cockpit systems.
Prior to launch, Aspirus crew members participated in training on crew resource management and the new aircraft’s configuration, as well as refresher courses on night vision goggles.
“In addition to the enhanced technical capabilities, the H135 offers increased size, weight and fuel capacity, that provides an increased flight range from the current aircraft, which it is replacing,” said Charles Kotke, Manager for MedEvac Air and North Region. “It also offers rear patient loading with a self-contained stretcher that makes getting the patients into the aircraft faster and more efficient.”
Elsewhere, California’s Sonoma County Fire District added a multi-role H135 for fire and medevac services to its fleet in October.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca was a Junior Editor at the Voyageur Group. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.