Life Flight Network purchases four more Bell 407GXi helicopters

The operator said that ‘with the addition of these four aircraft, [it] will be the largest air medical operator of the Bell 407GXi in the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West’. It follows an order for 12 Bell 407GXis in 2021 – of which two have already been delivered, according to Ben Clayton, CEO of LifeFlight Network. The new order will expand the operator’s 407GXi fleet to 57 aircraft.

Clayton added: “The Bell 407GXi with IFR capabilities allows Life Flight Network to expand our performance and safety of operations to better serve our rural communities with air medical transport.”

Life Flight Network is one of the largest air ambulance providers in the US, operating across Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

The 407GXi features a Rolls-Royce 250-C47E/4 turboshaft engine with a dual digital full authority digital electronic control (FADEC) system. It has a maximum cruise speed of 246km/h, a maximum range of 624km, and a maximum useful load capacity of 1,043kg. 407GXi is also fitted with a Garmin G1000H NXi Flight Deck.

Fellow US air ambulance provider, Nebraska’s LifeNet of the Heartland, also acquired a 407GXi earlier this month.

Wyoming’s Teton County fundraising for permanent SAR helicopter

Elsewhere, Teton County, Wyoming, is seeking to raise US$6.6 million to acquire and outfit its first dedicated search and rescue (SAR) helicopter. The fundraising effort is being led by the Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation (TCSAR), a non-profit organization which provides SAR operations in the region.

The campaign aims to raise the sum before July 2023, with the aim of receiving delivery of the helicopter between July and October of the same year. Rescues would begin in October 2023.

To expediate the purchase of the helicopter, TCSAR has already paid an initial, non-refundable $350,862 deposit to the aircraft’s supplier – funded through the generosity of donors. While the supplier has not currently been named, the Jackson Hole News & Guide newspaper referred to it as a ‘French manufacturing company’.

If successful, the initiative would make Teton County the first county in the state with its own dedicated helicopter. The county government would be responsible for paying for the aircraft’s operational costs.

Under current arrangements, TCSAR leases a helicopter from a third party, typically between the months of October and May. A permanently stationed helicopter would enable TCSAR to offer aerial SAR services across the county all-year-round. The acquisition would also support TCSAR’s ability to tackle a growing number of life-threatening injury call-outs due to growing numbers of hikers, ramblers and assorted tourist types.

A similar fundraising effort is underway in Lake Tahoe on the border of the states of California and Nevada, to acquire the region’s first dedicated aerial firefighting helicopters.