Helicopter

When people think of Wiltshire Air Ambulance – they immediately picture our helicopter.

To the untrained eye, it might look like every other one you’ve ever seen.  But this one’s been selected for both our needs and that of our patients.

The nature of our job means we need to respond quickly, but also be able to land on motorways or in small spaces.

We’ve got all the kit on board that you’d normally find on a land ambulance, but it’s been specially adapted so it’s smaller and more portable.

Some of the people who’ve been saved by our skilled crew on board the helicopter

For those of you who want to know the technical stuff…

We use a McDonnell Douglas 902 Explorer - capable of a ground speed of around 140mph which can fly, in its current configuration, for around 90 minutes.

Normally we’ve got two people in the cockpit and just two seats in the rear to make room for a permanent stretcher.  It’s a twin-engine helicopter that has no tail rotor, which means less noise when flying.

We lease it from Police Aviation Services – they’re responsible for sending pilots to cover for sickness and providing a replacement helicopter if the Explorer needs repairs.