IFR Inter-Hospital Air Service

> IFR Inter-Hospital Air Service

A European First - GPS Guidance: IFR Inter-Hospital Air Service

A major breakthrough in helicopter ambulance services in Europe: Last November, in cooperation with the DGAC(1), the Dreux Hospital Center and the French Association for Hospital Medical Transport via Helicopter (AFHSH), Eurocopter broke new ground in inter-hospital connecting flights. For the first time in France, flights in complete IFR(2) conditions were flown between the Dreux and Nogent-le-Rotrou hospitals southwest of Paris.

"For a full week, an EC145 in EMS configuration performed the connecting flights at low altitude (3000 feet) with complete GPS guidance using a Garmin GNS-430 receiver,” explained Philippe Rollet, from the Eurocopter Research and Development Department. “For takeoff and landing, we also used the Pointin- Space (PINS) concept: The flight path incorporated a defined point in space that could be flown to after takeoff in visual flight rules (VFR) using ground references visible from the helicopter. Once the defined point had been reached, the same process was used to arrive at the destination, and then an IFR landing was performed. The DGAC, which defined a controlled airspace specifically adapted to our flights(3), was completely satisfied with our performances.”

The All-Weather Helicopter
The test flights, which are part of the “All-Weather Helicopter” research program that Eurocopter has been conducting for the past few years, were the second in a series of three test phases focusing on inter-hospital air services.
Phase one was successfully completed in January, 2007, when testing validated the GPS guidance system’s accuracy to follow flight paths. Radar coverage between the Dreux and Nogent-le- Rotrou hospitals was also successfully tested. Once the DGAC completes the necessary regulatory paperwork, a local subsidiary of the INAER Group based in Dreux, the operator Proteus Helicopters, will begin transporting actual patients in IFR conditions between the two hospitals.
“Our end goal is to make inter-hospital helicopter services commonplace for certain pre-defined flight routes,” explained Mr. Rollet. “Helicopters can still be grounded due to weather conditions, even though they can transport patients at least three times faster on average than ambulances and help save more lives!”

New Landing Areas
Although hospitals such as Dreux have been able to set up bona fide heliports that are well adapted to this type of operation, most hospitals make do with simple helipads that are often quite rudimentary. It won’t be possible to transform all these landing areas into true heliports. Efforts are now being made therefore to find a way of modernizing some of these helipads to allow for IFR PINS landings and takeoffs in complete safety without too may constraints. “It may be possible to progressively implement the procedures over time,” suggested Mr. Rollet, “with IFR takeoffs and landings performed at authorized heliports. One reason such a compromise could work is that the procedures will only be used by EMS operators, who know the flight paths and visual references like the back of their hands.”

(1) Direction Générale de l’Aviation Civile / The French Civil Aviation Authority
(2) Instrument Flight Rules
(3) An airspace in which both IFR and VFR flights can be performed

ARTICLE: REGIS NOYE

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Norwegian Trailblazers

In September, 2006, the Norwegian operator Norsk Luftambulanse (NOLAS) was the first to have a GPS approach procedure certified by its national authorities (Norwegian CAA) for use at the Stavanger hospital, which also makes use of the IFR/VFR PinS concept. “Since then, three other procedures have been approved for other hospitals and are used regularly,” said Erik Normann, Chief Pilot at NOLAS. “A total of around forty procedures are to be approved throughout the country. Standard IFR PINS procedures are also used for takeoffs from certain hospitals with air traffic control coverage. All the different points are linked by low-altitude Area Navigation (RNAV)(1) flight routes that are also covered by air traffic control. The current system makes it possible to satisfy at least part of the ever-increasing demand for IFR medical transport flights.” More widespread use of low-altitude IFR flights is likely to spark interest from other public operators, such as the French Gendarmerie and Civil Defense. Both agencies already operate the EC145, which has become the reference in EMS missions in both Europe and the United States.

(1) Independent navigation via radio-electrical ground beacons, using GPS guidance for example

	Increasing Demand in France
	The use of helicopters for low-altitude IFR medical transport flights in France has become an important issue, due to current plans to reorganize healthcare into specialized centers. This restructuring will increase transport needs for patients requiring specialized care. Yet another reason why the AFHSH is studying a possible network of low-altitude IFR flight routes for helicopters between certain pre-designated hospitals. The idea of creating a domestic network of this type originally came from the Swiss air rescue service REGA. “But the project never went through,” regrets Heinz Leibundgut, Director of Helicopter Operations at REGA, “because the Swiss authorities have still not officially recognized GPS as a reliable IFR navigation and approach system, despite the many conclusive demonstrations that have been performed.” Eurocopter was responsible for one of these demonstrations, performed in Lausanne in 2007 as part of the GIANT European research project. “Our six EC145s have even been certified by the EASA for GPS approaches, and they also meet the Eurocontrol criteria for P-RNAV(1),” added Mr. Leibundgut. (1) Precision Area Navigation, which is even more precise than the basic Area Navigation (RNAV).