Urban Aeronautics has agreed to provide Hatzolah Air with four of its CityHawk VTOL aircraft to be used for emergency medical service (EMS) operations. The companies have not specified the terms for the agreement announced on January 5 or confirmed the purchase price for the aircraft.
Israel-based Urban Aeronautics says it will complete type certification of the hybrid-powered CityHawk within three to five years so that operations could begin by 2025. The agreement, which builds on a memorandum of understanding signed in August 2020, also means that Hatzolah Air will be Urban Aeronautics’ sales representative and distributor for the EMS market.
Hatzolah Air is a New York-based charitable group that provides emergency medical and rescue flights for patients with a fleet of fixed-wing aircraft. It views the CityHawk as an alternative to helicopters, with a cabin that the manufacturer says will be 20 to 30 percent larger than those available in existing rotorcraft.
The company intends to use the aircraft for first-response missions in urban areas. The main passenger-carrying design for the CityHawk will be adapted to accommodate a pilot, a patient plus a companion, two emergency medical personnel, and life-support equipment.
According to Hatzolah Air president Eli Rowe, there is a potential market for 800 copies of the EMS version of the aircraft. “We are excited to become not just the worldwide distributor of Urban Aeronautics’ air ambulance CityHawk, but its first customer as well,” he commented.
The CityHawk is to be powered by Urban Aeronautics’ Fancraft ducted fan technology developed for the company’s existing Cormorant unmanned aircraft, which is intended for missions such as carrying cargo. It is expected to have a range of between 125 and 175 miles. The manufacturer plans to introduce a hydrogen-powered version at a later date.
