November 29, 2022 | Aviation, Our Team

New Fleet Grows to 10

An image of STARS Emergency Link Centre staff posing with the newest Airbus H145 delivery.

ADDITIONAL ASSET BOLSTERS RESPONSE THANKS TO DONOR SUPPORT

As our landmark fleet renewal program successfully moves forward, we’ve been able to add yet another important milestone to the timeline.

Public celebrations at our Grande Prairie and Edmonton bases in May and June respectively capped off a series of special events started in 2019 to introduce the new Airbus H145 helicopter to each of the communities in which we operate.

July featured a long-anticipated moment as we began flying missions from all six STARS bases in the nine new helicopters that were part of our initial campaign.

In October another milestone was added when a 10th new H145 arrived to augment the renewed fleet.

STARS pilot and chief aviation officer David Harding said that thanks to the support of our donors, the speed with which the fleet renewal campaign progressed gave the organization operational time to discover and verify the need for an additional aircraft.

“As we were able to order and start operating the original nine aircraft much sooner than originally hoped, our engineering team had time to gain valuable insight into our fleet demand over the next several years,” said Harding.

The engineers’ detailed assessment clearly showed that with a growing mission volume and maintenance requirements for the fleet, a 10th helicopter would be needed to ensure all six bases would be covered.

The expanded fleet will place the organization in a far more sustainable situation, according to Harding.

“The 10th helicopter will solidify our ability to maintain uninterrupted 24/7 service at our six bases while also giving us the ability to respond to requests for additional assistance during major medical or public emergency events,” Harding said.

While some donor support has already been received for the 10th aircraft, STARS continues to raise money to fully fund the latest helicopter.

“It’s thanks to the generosity of our allies that we are in a position to add an additional helicopter, which is of significant benefit to our operations and will greatly enhance our ability to reliably care for patients for years to come,” said STARS president and CEO Andrea Robertson.

“We are so grateful to our donors as we continue to look to them to help us take this important step forward.”

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