Heli-Charter, based at Manston airport, is due to receive the first Bell 429 configured for helicopter air ambulance operations in the UK. Md Gary Slater is expecting the aircraft to offer the versatility for other mission types as well: “For 20 months we've been the Bell dealer for the UK, so we're obviously looking to push the 429 in all sectors: utility, corporate, EMS and police,” he says. “We have three aircraft in the country now – one on utility and two corporate machines on AOCs. What we are really looking to get going though is EMS. The options are to get an existing provider or a NHS trust to buy the aircraft. We have enough faith in the aircraft that we took the decision to purchase one ourselves.”

Slater is looking to have the aircraft placed by the time of delivery, anticipated next year. The operator will otherwise use it as a demonstrator, and then place it.

He believes that the cabin space in the 429 is vastly superior to its counterparts, such as the EC135 or the MD900/902. The aircraft's maintenance programme will lead to reduced man hours in comparison with the other rotorcraft, and downtime is also greatly reduced, which Slater cites as a key advantage.

The flat profile of the aircraft is also something that pleases him: “This is much better for paramedics and crew working while sitting straight and level. Cruise speed is higher than the rival helicopters so we can get to the incident quicker and get the patient to hospital quicker. The aircraft is a modern, newly-designed aircraft, the best in its class,” he continues. “What you want to do with an EMS aircraft is have reliability, serviceability and zero downtime, and that's what we believe the 429 brings that the others don't.”

Other possible uses for the 429 include mountain rescue, hostile environments and winch work. “Some operators do winch work with it 14,500 feet up the Matterhorn,” Slater adds. He says that the comments he has heard from other operators using the 429 are wholly positive: “I've had zero negative comments from them so far. And that appears to be the picture from everyone operating the 429 globally in the EMS sector. It's a very reliable, very trustworthy and very powerful, 'best in its class' performing machine.”

Heli-Charter is looking to add four more 429 aircraft in 2014, engaged in a mixture of EMS and corporate roles. All its aircraft are geared for multi-role, because it is not sustainable for a manufacturer to produce an aircraft that can only perform a single role, according to Slater. “It's a very good corporate machine, due to the cabin space. The distance between the passengers' knees, which is always a common problem, is far better than anything among its price rivals or performance rivals. The cabin is very spacious and the ride is very smooth.”

The 'enormous' cargo area is another benefit, and the 429 is said to be a very quiet, smooth machine to fly in. “For EMS, for pure cabin size, ease of maintenance and speed, it's ahead of its rivals on every front,” enthuses Slater.