Eagle Copters announced today the first air medical conversion of a Bell 407 to the Eagle 407HP. This conversion is the first of its kind within the air medical space and brings the Eagle 407HP’s proven success on utility missions to new markets. AirLife Denver and their FAA part 135 operator, Air Methods, have partnered with Eagle Copters to bring increased performance and reliability, especially in high altitude environments, to their fleet of helicopters.

Part of HCA-HealthONE, AirLife Denver serves as the critical care air and ground transport for the system of hospitals that includes eight hospitals, seven freestanding emergency departments, and a variety of additional access points in the Denver-metro area.  AirLife has completed more than 62,000 missions over its 35 years of operation. The air medical provider is one of the busiest and largest air medical programs in their region, with over 3,000 transports per year. AirLife’s location of operation is ideal for proving the Eagle 407HP’s ability to operate in hot and high conditions.  AirLife Denver’s rotor and fixed wing aircraft are operated in partnership with their FAA Part 135 certificate holder Air Methods.

“Being the first air medical operator to configure to the Eagle 407HP is a significant milestone for AirLife, but more importantly for the communities and patients that we serve,” states Brian Leonard, Director of Business Development for AirLife Denver.

Boasting the latest in next generation technology, the Eagle 407HP features the Honeywell HTS900 engine with a dual centrifugal compressor, cooled turbine blades and nozzles, and a Dual Channel FADEC. The proven technology of the Eagle 407HP has been cemented in the utility market accumulating over 6,000 hours across the deployed fleet of 18 aircraft. The increased payload capacities, fuel savings, and performance in hot and high conditions are the result of combining the proven airframe of the Bell 407 and the HTS900 engine.

“On behalf of Eagle Copters, we appreciate AirLife Denver’s foresight in being the launch customer for the Eagle 407HP in the air medical community,” remarks Barry Kohler, President and CEO of Eagle Copters. “We are confident that the additional power margin and payload increase is essential for air medical operators with missions in hot and high conditions. Eagle Copters looks forward to working with operators in the air medical sector to continually increase the safety and performance of their operations.”