Metro Aviation has delivered two EC145e air medical-outfitted helicopters to Flight For Life, which will replace aircraft at its Waukesha and Burlington, Wisconsin bases. One of the EC145e helicopters, which is a new type for Flight For Life, is on display at Booth 7736 this week at Heli-Expo.
Both helicopters are outfitted with Metro’s standard critical-care medical interior, Genesys Aerosystems HeliSAS autopilot, and are certified for operation under instrument flight rules (IFR). The aircraft also are equipped with the Outerlink Global Solutions IRIS real-time datalink and tracking technology, which includes a combined voice, video, and flight data recorder.
“Working with the team at Metro Aviation was fantastic,” said Flight For Life executive director Leif Erickson. “The IRIS system in these aircraft will provide us with so much more information during flight operations and is precedent-setting for us in terms of safety.”
Metro lent support to Genesys and S-TEC to obtain an FAA supplemental type certificate for the aircraft in 2019. With IFR flight clearance, the helicopter incorporates autopilot and stability augmentation technology to decrease pilot workload, according to Metro Aviation.