Medivac - Air Ambulance operators.

[Photoflight]

Just wondering if anyone had any knowledge of medivac operators in Texas or Oklahoma. Anyone whos done this type of flying before who'd care to offer a perspective would be great. Just beginning to look for that next step and this looked like it might keep me in the size airplane I like to fly as well as allow me to do some usefull flying.

Sorry if this is the wrong forum...its the closest I could think of.

 

[IHateMgmt]

You got the right forum, Photoflight. Sorry, don't know of any down south, but do know some up north if you're interested.

I do have some questions of my own for all you fixed wing Medivac flyers. What type airplane does your company use for Medivac? Do you think it is a good fit? Pros/cons? How many beds does it hold? What would be the aircraft of choice for this type of operation? Thanks guys.

IHM

 

[FlaZoomie]

Lear 25's and 35's with single "bed" (stretcher), two medical persons in the back (nurse, doctor, paramedic, etc.) and maybe a passenger or two (tight fit with two passengers and a patient).

 

[Rick1128]

Type aircraft vary depending on the operator. You will see mostly Cessna 400 series, King Airs (mostly 90's and 200's) and LR-Jets. Lears will cover 24's, 25's, 35's, 36's and a few 31's. The 24's and 25's that were the back bone of the dedicated air ambulance fleet are giving way these days to the 35's and 36's. You will also see a few Cheyennes, Citations and Westwinds.

For longer range operations, you are starting to see Hawkers, Falcon 50's and Gulfstreams.

In the South you might want to take a look and Phoenix Air. Therre are a few others out ther also. I would strong suggest that you stay away from the operator in Albuque, NM.

 

[docsalvage]

There is a King Air 200 at Spinx (near Dallas), a Citation 2 and Lear 35 at Dallas Love field, Houston Hobby has a King Air 200, and Albuquerque NM has several King Air 90's.

 

[docsalvage]

Rick1128
What do you know about the operator in Albuquerque NM?
Details please?

 

[VSI9k+]

navtive air is at DAL...last time i checked...but that was a while back. They have Pc-12's, and thats more or less all i know about them.

 

[Rick1128]

Rick1128
What do you know about the operator in Albuquerque NM?
Details please?

I'll PM you.

 

[CaravanMan]

We use C-90s and they're suited well for our operation. A lot of our trips are into 3000' runways, so the 90 does great. We don't do too many long distance trips, mostly just surrounding KS, but occasionally hit HOU and other cities of about the same distance. For those trips I think everyone would like to have a jet, or at least a King Air 200, but our 90s work out really well for what we do. We have room for 1 patient; normal crew is 2 in back (EMT, Medic, Nurse, etc); single pilot, which allows us to take 1-2 pax if need be.

This is by far the best type of flying I've ever done. I'm comparing it to freight, corporate, and CFIing, BTW. Best schedule I've ever had, good pay, great mx, and no pressure to fly through the crap. I'm sure not all EMS operators would provide the same experience that I've had so far- some better, some worse, no doubt. But I'm lovin' this job and getting to help people in need of urgent medical attention is a rewarding feeling.

 

[IHateMgmt]

Hey CaravanMan,

Whats type of schedule do you have? Our company is probably gonna go with a rotation schedule, but we don't have the exact days on/off pinned down yet(I'm thinking either 5/5 or 7/7). Our pay will be about $60k for PIC of two pilot crew... care to say what your company compensates? Anyone else who wants to chime in is more than welcome.

IHM

 

[CaravanMan]

Right now we're on a 2 week on, 1 week off schedule. I keep hearing about possible 1/1 shedule though, but we'll see. 2/1 is fine with me though- I'm at home all the time anyway (just on a pager). Pay's low-mid $40k, but it goes a ways in the Midwest. Ihatemgmt, what type of a/c will you guys be using?

 

[Photoflight]

would either of you two care to PM me with some details of your companies...location etc.. I would appreciate it.

 

[G-force]

Duty Time Limits

Just wondering if anyone had any knowledge of medivac operators in Texas or Oklahoma. Anyone whos done this type of flying before who'd care to offer a perspective would be great. Just beginning to look for that next step and this looked like it might keep me in the size airplane I like to fly as well as allow me to do some usefull flying.

Sorry if this is the wrong forum...its the closest I could think of.

Watch out for DUTY TIME,operators like to do things that would cause you BUST the regulation.

 

[IHateMgmt]

Right now we're on a 2 week on, 1 week off schedule. I keep hearing about possible 1/1 shedule though, but we'll see. 2/1 is fine with me though- I'm at home all the time anyway (just on a pager). Pay's low-mid $40k, but it goes a ways in the Midwest. Ihatemgmt, what type of a/c will you guys be using?

Yeah, the downside to our schedule is that none of our pilots will be at home on their days on. So I'm pulling for at least 1/1 if not something like 3/4. Our fleet plan changes weekly but we'll probably have a handful of 421's, a bit more KingAirs or a turboprop equivalent, and a small fleet of lears or CJs. CarvanMan, on a typical two week strech of days on, how often do you get called?

 

[CaravanMan]

CarvanMan, on a typical two week strech of days on, how often do you get called?

It's really too hard to give an accurate number. When it rains, it pours, and when it's dry...you know. Normally, it works out to a flight at least every other day. Sometimes we'll fly 2x a day for a few days straight, but there are times where you might sit at home with a quiet pager, wondering if it's broken, for 4-5 days. I'm sorry I can't be more specific, but there's really no telling when we'll be called. I'd say maybe 5% of our flights are pre-scheduled...it rarely happens.

Sucks that your guys can't be at home while on duty. Our rotor pilots stay at the airport (lift-off by 10mins), but fixed-wing has a 30 min call out, so we have to be w/in 20mins of airport, then wheels up by 30.

 

[some_dude]

We use Turbo Commanders and Lear 35s. On the Lear, try and avoid the narrow door.

The Commander is not bad, other than the lack of room in the back. We have one bed and three seats, and it's pretty tight back there. Ours have a mod to the door to allow it to open fully, which makes loading quite reasonable.

 

[IHateMgmt]

We use Turbo Commanders and Lear 35s. On the Lear, try and avoid the narrow door.

The Commander is not bad, other than the lack of room in the back. We have one bed and three seats, and it's pretty tight back there. Ours have a mod to the door to allow it to open fully, which makes loading quite reasonable.

Are there different models of the L35 that have narrow or wide doors, or is it a mod? We recently started looking into the turbo commanders... one of my concerns with it is the lack of Mx support as compared with KingAirs or Conquests. Has your company had any issues with this, or am I way off? We fly in the north central US... where do you operate around?

 

[some_dude]

We are in the Northwest.

We're a Twin Commander service center, and have been one since the 1950s, so that probably minimizes our support issues. I'm not aware of any problems, but YMMV.

As for Lears, there were two door options on the aircraft when new-- the "Cargo" (or wide, 36") door and the "Executive" (or narrow, 24") door.

It is possible to convert a narrow door to a wide door. I believe the price is around $150k, maybe a bit less.

Are there different models of the L35 that have narrow or wide doors, or is it a mod? We recently started looking into the turbo commanders... one of my concerns with it is the lack of Mx support as compared with KingAirs or Conquests. Has your company had any issues with this, or am I way off? We fly in the north central US... where do you operate around?

 

[FlyMeSWA]

Citation II here at Boston MedFlight in addition to the 2 helicopters. All a/c operated by independent companies.