Most of the flying is very short, because with a cruise speed of around 135 knots, the EC135 can cover a lot of ground quickly. The job also involves a large number of take-offs and landings, usually on unsurveyed off-airfield sites, and often in extremely difficult situations. 

Sometimes it is impossible to land near to the patient, so I have to put down as closely as possible to drop off the Paramedics.  In desperate circumstances timing is critical, since lives can be saved if a patient is delivered to hospital within the ‘golden hour’ – in those cases a pilot must have the ability to think fast.  You never know what kind of environment you’ll have to land in.  It’s back to low-level reconnaissance – checking the size, surface, slope of the landing area.  Also the position of the sun needs to be taken into account, since landing into a low winter sun can be extremely difficult.  Sometimes you just can’t tell what the landing site is like until you get really close; then you might realise that the slope is extremely steep…”