Upgrades for Air Evac Lifeteam fleet
Air Evac Lifeteam officials recently announced the organisation’s commitment to upgrading its more than 130 helicopters with autopilot and stability augmentation systems and glass cockpits.
Air Evac Lifeteam officials recently announced the organisation’s commitment to upgrading its entire fleet of helicopters over the next three years. The company, headquartered in O’Fallon, Missouri, announced that it will equip its stable of more than 130 aircraft with autopilot and stability augmentation systems and glass cockpits.
Seth Myers, president of Air Evac Lifeteam, said this is the next step in Air Evac’s commitment to safety: “[The] autopilot and stability augmentation system enhances flight safety by reducing pilot workload and increasing flight stability. Since we adhere to visual flight rules, this new system, together with the [glass cockpit], will allow the pilot to focus on other things outside the aircraft.”
Tony Bonham, senior director of flight operations for Air Evac Lifeteam, said the newly upgraded systems are most valuable in an inadvertent instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) event: “It’s difficult to maintain control of the aircraft in the clouds or fog, snow or rain, or thick smoke. In the case of an inadvertent IMC, the aircraft will fly itself. The system will keep the aircraft upright.”
Air Evac Lifeteam’s team of pilots undergoes hands-on training every four months. By mid-August, more than 90 of the company’s pilots had been trained on the new system.