For approximately NOK 14 billion, old rescue helicopters were replaced with new ones. The introduction of the Sar Queen was previously compared to going from a 72-model bubble to a self-driving Tesla. But the transition to the new helicopter still came with several concerns. – There has been particular concern linked to a higher wind pressure under the helicopter, which means that it cannot land in as many hospitals as the previous rescue helicopter, Sea King. This is according to Helge Haugland, senior physician at the emergency medical department at St. Olav’s hospital. – The things I thought would be very bad with the new one have not happened. And the things we might have thought would get a lot better haven’t happened either, says doctor Helge Haugland about the new Sar Queen rescue helicopter. Photo: Jøte Toftaker / news He has hired a study where they have looked at the first eight months of the new rescue helicopter at Ørland air station. They wanted to see if these concerns were real. And the result? The new one is not that much better than the old helicopter. But not that much worse either. – The things I thought would be very bad with the new one have not happened. And the things we might have thought would get a lot better haven’t happened either, says Haugland. Increased reaction time The new helicopter flies a little faster than the old one. But the reaction time has increased by two minutes. From 11 minutes, it now takes 13 minutes from when the alarm goes off until they are in the air. But even if the reaction time is longer now than before, that does not mean that it can be faster. Pilot Asbjørn Singstad says there have been several inquiries and missions that have been carried out with the Sar Queen. Photo: Ingrid Lindgaard Stranden / news – It’s a completely new helicopter and we need some time to make these start-ups faster and to get out faster, says Asbjørn Singstad. He is department head for the 330 squadron at Ørlandet air station and pilot of the rescue helicopter. Can land at seven out of 21 emergency hospitals The new helicopters can only land at a third of all emergency hospitals in the country. In central Norway, the helicopter can land at St. Olav’s hospital in Trondheim, but not at hospitals in Molde, Kristiansund or Namsos. – It is a shame if we cannot land at a hospital that we use regularly, and it is unfortunate that a new one is not in place before a new helicopter is phased in, says the superior. At the seven hospitals where the helicopter can land, adjustments have had to be made due to the high wind pressure under the helicopter. But the helicopter makes it easier to find the person who is missing, and solves search operations more quickly. – A fantastically good helicopter, the Sar Queen is bigger and can travel further. This means that it can take with it several patients from, for example, a shipwreck. But this rarely happens. – In most of the missions I have, I don’t need the big space, but I am forced to have a helicopter that can take on that type of mission in Norway, says Haugland. Singstad, who flies the helicopter, points out that a new helicopter was urgently needed. – I have received a fantastically good helicopter with modern equipment. Me can fly faster. We can fly in worse weather, even in icing conditions. It is significantly safer operations. The navigation equipment has been improved.
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The new rescue helicopter Sar Queen does the same job as the Sea King – news Trøndelag
