ANOTHER major milestone was reached by the New England North West arm of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service with the delivery yesterday of its second BK117-B2 chopper.
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The second helicopter would allow the service to provide continuous coverage of the region, Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service advisory committee member Max Cathcart said.
With the second chopper now in operation and an engineer due to start in the second week of May, it would also mean maintenance would be able to be carried out in Tamworth instead of in Newcastle – again, helping provide a better service in our region.
“In future we’ll always have a serviced aircraft available,” a clearly thrilled Mr Cathcart said.
“It’s just so we can continue to give a full, 24-hour service on a continuous basis.”
Senior crewman Trent Owen said: “The idea is that when one is in for scheduled maintenance, the other one can take over.”
The service also unveiled a new helicopter lifting device which was provided after more than $20,000 in funds was raised by the 2010 Spring Plains Ball near Moree.
Mr Cathcart said the New England North West contract with the NSW Department of Health was due for renewal in June, with funding hopefully to be supplied by December, which would then possibly also allow a paramedic and doctor to be based at the service’s hangar.
“It will be warranted, in time,” special projects co-ordinator Barry Walton said. The service
pre-empted the Department of Health’s request for a rest area for a doctor and paramedic by incorporating it into the hangar, which was opened in July 2010.
Mr Owen agreed it was a great day. “It is a great moment for the communities of the New England and North West,” he said.
The two helicopters flew over Tamworth yesterday and landed at the service’s state-of-the-art hangar and office facility, which regional director Noel O’Brien said were “even bigger and better” facilities than those at Newcastle. Mr Walton agreed. “The facilities we have now and the aircraft (here) ... we’re probably 20 years ahead of what Newcastle had when I was down there (starting in 1975),” he said.