EBAN has learnt that the official launch of Virgin HEMS' brand new MD-900 Explorer at the Royal London Hospital has been delayed until October 18. While the interior and completions process has taken longer than expected - partly due to the recent fuel shortage in London - for the time being, Virgin will continue to ferry patients across London with its existing Dauphin.

Chief pilot Alistair McGill spoke to EBAN from the company's Whitechapel helipad about the advantages of Virgin's new acquisition over the Dauphin. McGill said: "I must stress that the Dauphin has done extremely well. It is 18 years old now and has been a real workhorse. However, there are two main things from which we will now benefit with the Explorer.

"Firstly, modern technology. Operations like ours don't have unlimited budget and with a new aircraft, we are able to take advantage of things like power by the hour. So we hope to have a lot less downtime for unscheduled maintenance."The other critical thing is that the aircraft is a lot quieter. This was a high priority on our selection list. We flyin the biggest built-up city in the country."

Unlike the Dauphin, the MD-900 Explorer is cleared to max all-up weight at +26 degrees. On particularly hot days, says McGill, Virgin's Dauphin has had to shed fuel.

McGill said: "With the Explorer, hopefully we can leave with standard fuel load because there are few days on which it gets over 26 degrees and there's a wider safety margin there. The one thing I think about everyday is fuel. With the Explorer, that will go down the list and I'll be able to think about other things."

With the new aircraft, Virgin will also acquire an "extremely smart" moving map display. At the current time, the technology it uses for flying round London is slightly less select. McGill laughed: "Looking at the Dauphin out of the window at the moment, I can see the A-Z in the pocket."

Virgin's aircraft is currently configured for one doctor, one paramedic and one observer. As regards crew, McGill said Virgin will continue to operate two crew despite the Explorer being a single pilot IFR machine.