flightglobal.com 17-23 February 2015 | Flight International | 39
AUSTRALIA
SPECIAL REPORTWestern Operations chief executive
Grahame Marshall said: “With the vast distanc-
es we serve across WA, covering some 2.5 mil-
lion square km, the challenge for us has been
how to combine a turboprop’s strengths, like
its dependability and its ability to operate from
short and unimproved surfaces, with a jet’s
speed – and that is exactly what the PC-24 will
now deliver.” Enhanced accessibility through
its huge aft cargo door is another bonus, said
Marshall. The RFDS worked closely with
Pilatus in the definition phase of the PC-24.
The PC-24, which was rolled out last Au-
gust, is due to make its first flight in the next
few months, with certification and deliveries
scheduled for the second half of 2017.
Central Operations is also showing interest
in the PC-24, although it stresses any acquisi-
tion “must be driven by an identified and sup-
portable operational need”. It says: “The PC-24
is emerging as a unique small jet that should
work well in the aeromedical role.” Central
Operations is attracted by its single pilot opera-
tion, approval for gravel runways and standard
large, rear cargo door and flat floor.
RFDS South Eastern Section, meanwhile,
favours the King Air, with 19 of the type flying
from seven bases, including Tasmania, per-
forming more than 16,500 landings in 2013/14
and covering 2.6 million nm. Three older air-
craft will be retired by the end of this year.
Victoria RFDS undertakes non-emergency
patient transport using a King Air B200 based
at Melbourne’s Essendon Airport and a fleet of
47 road ambulances, transporting 377 patients
by air in 2013/14 – a 41% increase on the pre-
vious year. “In Victoria, RFDS is working in
partnership with community health organisa-
tions to improve the health and wellbeing of
our rural communities,” says Jacqui deKievit,
general manager marketing and fundraising.
The RFDS is filling in the gaps in the health
system with innovative programmes, includ-
ing mobile dental care, women’s services, dia-
betes and cardiovascular programmes and ed-
ucation programmes, including the Look! Up
programme, which takes a life-sized replica of“The challenge for us was
to combine a turboprop’s
strengths with a jet’s speed”
GRAHAME MARSHALL
Chief executive, Western Operations
a RFDS aircraft fitted with communications
and medical equipment to schools to highlight
the important role the RFDS plays.
Before an aircraft enters service with the
RFDS it requires an extensive medical fit-out –
costing over A$1 million.EQUIPMENT
Central Operations says medical equipment is
installed in Australia by its own engineers.
“This includes installation of a specific medi-
cal oxygen supply and electrical power. Fol-
lowing aircraft delivery, the cabin is fitted out
with purpose-designed and constructed cabi-
netry and shelving. Installation of the mount-
ing system that provides for location and re-
straint of stretchers is also completed, along
with fitment of the purpose-designed and built
Stretcher Loading Device [SLD],” it explains.
The SLD is an electrically-driven lifting device
to raise and lower stretchers.
Additional equipment is also required, in-
cluding satellite phone, intercom and dedicat-
ed communication radios. The two stretchers
inside each aircraft fit directly into an ambu-
lance, allowing seamless transfer of patients.
The RFDS has developed its own equip-
ment to serve the needs of a changing popula-
tion. Western Operations, for example, devel-
oped a bariatric stretcher for patients who are
too tall or too heavy for a regular stretcher. The
retrofitted stretcher is one metre long, two me-
tres wide and can hold up to 300kg, and in-
cludes a retrofit system that allows a PC-12 to
be fitted within half an hour.
Western Operations currently has one bari-
atric stretcher in operation, with plans to have
at least another two built for the Derby and Port
Hedland bases. “The bariatric stretcher is a
world first,” it says.Medical equipment is installed in Australia Purpose-designed technology includes the electrically-driven Stretcher Loading Device
Central Operations
relies on the PC-12,
with 14 currently in
its fleet and a further
example on order
RFDS
RFDS RFDS❯❯