Support Your
Midlands Air Ambulance Charity
We have three helicopters - two EC135 helicopters, with the call signs G-OMAA and G-HWAA, and one H145 helicopter named G-RMAA.
The charity’s two owned helicopters, G-OMAA and G-RMAA, are located at Strensham in Worcestershire and RAF Cosford in Shropshire respectively. The third helicopter, G-HWAA, is leased from Babcock Mission Critical Services and based at Tatenhill in Staffordshire.
We also have back up vehicles at each base so the aircrew can respond when the helicopter offline. This could be during times of bad weather.
In addition, the charity has two critical care cars - one covers Birmingham and the Black Country area, which operates between 7am until 7pm daily by a critical care paramedic. The second critical care car is based out of the Strensham airbase, and covers incidents across Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire between 2pm and 2am daily. As this car attends incidents into the night, it is manned by two critical care paramedics.
All MAAC vehicles have been specially adapted to carry out lifesaving missions, enabling our aircrew to treat patients at the incident scene before they are transferred to the most appropriate specialist hospital for their injuries. A pilot and two paramedics or flight doctors occupy the aircraft, along will full life-support medical equipment.
Each air ambulance mission costs on average £2,950 and each mission by critical care car £288.
Located in Strensham in Worcestershire.
The Eurocopter EC135 (now Airbus Helicopters H135) is a twin-engine civil light utility helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters (formerly known as Eurocopter). It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules (IFR) and is outfitted with a digital automatic flight control system (AFCS). First flying on 15 February 1994, it entered service in 1996 and 1,300 have been delivered up to January 2018 to 300 operators in 60 countries, accumulating over 4.5 million flight hours. It is mainly used for helicopter emergency medical services then for corporate transport, law enforcement, offshore wind and military flight training.
|
|
EC135 Helicopter |
|
Top speed |
140 knots (161mph) |
|
Maximum take-off weight |
2,950kg |
|
Cost |
£4.5 million |
|
Length |
12.16m |
|
Height |
3.35m |
|
Width |
2m |
|
Fuel capacity |
710 litres |
|
Fuel consumption |
250 litres per hour |
|
Operational endurance* |
1 hour 48 mins |
|
Operational range* |
234nm |
The H135’s (formerly known as EC135) high endurance and extended range enables this helicopter to perform a full range of mission requirements, while carrying more payload over longer distances than any twin-engine aircraft in its class. The H135’s superior payload-range performance offers an impressive 3,303 lb in useful load.
Incorporating a modern cockpit and avionics – as well as Airbus Helicopters’ Fenestron® tail rotor and bearingless main rotor – the H135 is recognized for its high performance and outstanding maneuverability. As one of the quietest helicopters in its class, the H135 is approximately 7 db below ICAO standards. This level represents a perceivable noise reduction of approximately 50 percent compared to older-generation helicopters in the same category – which is of particular importance to customers regularly flying over cities and in densely-populated areas, including emergency medical services and law enforcement agencies.
|
|
EC135 Helicopter |
|
Top speed |
140 knots (161mph) |
|
Maximum take-off weight |
2,950kg |
|
Cost |
£4.5 million |
|
Length |
12.16m |
|
Height |
3.35m |
|
Width |
2m |
|
Fuel capacity |
710 litres |
|
Fuel consumption |
250 litres per hour |
|
Operational endurance* |
1 hour 48 mins |
|
Operational range* |
234nm |
Located in RAF Cosford in Shropshire.
Designed to deliver excellent performance throughout the flight envelope, Airbus’ H145 is the latest member of its 4-tonne-class twin-engine rotorcraft product range – with designed-in mission capability and flexibility, especially in high and hot operating conditions. Compact in size, this helicopter’s small footprint and large, flexible cabin make it the aircraft of choice for a variety of civil missions.
The H145 joins Airbus’ multi-purpose EC145/BK117 family, from which some 1,100 rotorcraft are in service worldwide – logging a combined total of more than four million flight hours.
Bringing a large cabin, a compact airframe, and powerful engines, the H145 responds to a multitude of mission needs.
Enhancements incorporated in the H145 include Airbus’ innovative Helionix® avionics suite and 4-axis autopilot; increased performance through its Safran Helicopter Engines Arriel 2E; an anti-torque system with the latest version of the company’s signature Fenestron® shrouded tail rotor; and a new tail gearbox as well as an upgraded main gearbox.
|
|
H145 Helicopter |
|
Top speed |
143 knots (164mph) |
|
Maximum take-off weight |
3,700kg |
|
Cost |
£7 million |
|
Length |
13.64m |
|
Height |
3.45m |
|
Width |
2.4m |
|
Fuel capacity |
904 litres |
|
Fuel consumption |
300 litres per hour |
|
Operational endurance* |
2 hour 30 mins |
|
Operational range* |
325nm |
Equipped with the same advanced medical kit and equipment as our helicopters. It has been operational since June 2018, and covers Birmingham and the Black Country, operating daily between 7am and 7pm. The car is manned by a specialist critical care paramedic.
|
|
BMW X5 |
|
Top speed |
150mph |
|
Cost |
£60,000 |
|
Length |
4.9m |
|
Height |
1.6m |
|
Width |
1.8m |
|
Fuel capacity |
85 litres |
Equipped with the same advanced medical kit and equipment as our helicopters. It has been operational since May 2019, and predominantly covers Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, operating daily between 2pm and 2am. Due to the car being operational at night, it is manned by two critical care paramedics.
|
|
BMW X5 |
|
Top speed |
150mph |
|
Cost |
£60,000 |
|
Length |
4.9m |
|
Height |
1.6m |
|
Width |
1.8m |
|
Fuel capacity |
85 litres |