This issue includes a review of HAI Heli-Expo – it was a productive conference; the sessions provided great learning opportunities, and meeting the exhibitors allowed the AirMed&Rescue team to find out more about the latest products on the market.

This month’s magazine is the Firefighting Special Edition, and I’ve been investigating the scale of the Australian bushfires in order to write a special report on the response of aerial firefighters across the globe. The numbers alone are staggering – 46 million hectares of land burnt, one billion animals killed, and 34 lives lost, firefighters amongst them. The sheer scale of the tragedy is hard to comprehend, but speaking to experts from Erickson and the NSW Rural Fire Service provided valuable insight into the impressive skills and experience required of the pilots to perform these vital jobs.

Pilots are also in the spotlight for the nighttime firefighting feature I’ve written for this issue – developments in night vision technology have led to successful trials of such operations in Australia and California. I spoke to Coulson Aviation, Kestrel Aviation and others to find out more about the potential nighttime firefighting holds for the future.

Meanwhile, contributions this month include insights into the options available to operators who need to hoist multiple victims at the same time, medevacs from extreme environments, and how the aviation industry and its suppliers are addressing climate change concerns with new products and carbon offsetting initiatives.

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