The newest helicopter in the LifeFlight of Maine fleet sits on the landing pad at CMMC.
The control panel of the aircraft is chock full of advanced avionics and LED displays that make for better and safer experience for the crew and patients.
The main rotors and top of the new helicopter. The new helicopter has an auto-pilot mode that is more sophisticated than the last model, making operation and landing safer.
The pitot tube in the front of the aircraft is a flow measurement device used to measure fluid flow velocity, basically acting as a speedometer. The new helicopter can reach 173 mphour, about 17 mph more than the previous model, reducing response times.
LifeFlight of Maine flight nurse Josh Gibbs, left, and flight medic Cam Linen, right, look out of the newest helicopter in the fleet as it sits on the landing pad at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston earlier this week. The new helicopter offers the crew more room to work with patients.
Lifeflight of Maine flight nurse, Josh Gibbs, clamps the radio communication switch onto a ring that allows them to include or isolate their communication with the pilot so they can concentrate on flying while the medical team works on a patient.
Lifeflight of Maine pilot Helge Melvaer adjusts his helmet on the tarmac at CMMC.
Lifeflight of Maine flight medic, Cam Linen, straps into the newest helicopter in the fleet during a demonstration at CMMC in Lewiston on Tuesday afternoon, April 6.
LifeFlight of Maine pilot Helge Melvaer sits in the seat of the newest helicopter in the fleet as it sits on the landing pad at CMMC. "It might look like the old one," he says, "but it's completely different. Everything is new in this machine."
Directly overhead between the pilot and co-pilot is a series of circuit breakers and other controls. Among the improvements in the new helicopter is the ability to receive vertical guidance from GPS, which allows the aircraft to operate low-level precision instrument flight routes.
The front of the helicopters pre-flight checklist.
