DRF Luftrettung has a new Christoph Regensburg - the name for the helicopter operating from its Regensburg station - a five blade Airbus H145. The fifth rotor blade makes it quieter in the air than the old four bladed H145 and also lighter, meaning it is able to carry a higher payload with the same performance.

“We were very excited to see how our new Christoph Regensburg would fly,” says Christian Hackl, station manager and pilot. “We knew of the enthusiastic reports from our colleagues in Stuttgart, Villingen-Schwenningen and Hanover, who are already using the H145 with a five-blade rotor, so expectations were high. And after the first missions I can only say it has been confirmed; the new helicopter flies great, and we are very pleased that we now have even better options for caring for our patients."

"The commissioning of the new H145 with five-blade rotor represents a milestone in air rescue in Germany, and we are very proud of that," adds Dr. Krystian Pracz, chairman of the board of DRF Luftrettung. “We made the decision to use the system as soon as it is available and to be the first to take this route. We always have one goal in mind: to further improve the care of our patients in all areas relevant to air rescue, including people, medicine and technology."

The first five-bladed H145 in the DRF Luftrettung fleet arrived at its hanger at Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden airport in December and is stationed there for operations. It is converting one of its existing helicopters at its own facility to a five rotor blade system, becoming the first Airbus Helicopter customer in the world to do this. Within the next three years, DRF Luftrettung plans to convert all of its H145s from four to five blades.