Flight For Life is upgrading its fleet of critical care helicopters with the addition of two new Airbus EC145e aircraft. The new helicopters will be replacing aircraft at their bases in Waukesha, WI, and Burlington, WI, and introducing a new paint scheme for the first time in fourteen years.

The new EC145e is equipped with Metro’s standard medical interior and Genesys Aerosystems’ instrumental flight rules (IFR) HeliSAS Autopilot and Stability Augmentation, providing safety and workload reduction for both single and dual pilot operations. The aircraft also has onboard the Outerlink Global Solutions IRIS combined voice, video, and flight data recorder. The video function and data monitoring are helpful for pilot training. The flight following, push-to-talk radio, and live alerts and warnings allow the operations control center to verify conditions in real-time.

“Working with the team at Metro Aviation was a fantastic experience. The knowledge, attention to safety, and quality of work are top-notch,” said Leif Erickson, Executive Director for Flight For Life. “The IRIS system in these aircraft will provide us with so much more information during flight operations and is precedent-setting for us in terms of safety,” Erickson said.

With support from Metro Aviation, Genesys Aerosystems and S-TEC established a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for the aircraft in February 2019. The IFR platform incorporates the latest HeliSAS/EFIS autopilot and stability augmentation technology, providing safety and workload reduction for single and dual pilot operations. The system is a safety upgrade that significantly reduces the pilot’s workload, making it easier to adjust radios, set destinations, and more. The new medical helicopter also includes the Genesys Aerosystems IDU-450 EFIS. The IDU (Integrated Display Units) and EFIS (Electronic Flight Instrument System) configure the aircraft’s display screens in various ways to show flight instruments, moving maps, flight planner, traffic and terrain, weather radar, engine displays, and more.

Metro Aviation will display one of the new aircraft during Heli-Expo 2022 in Dallas, March 8-10, on Booth 7736.