Final test flights are underway as Cornwall Air Ambulance prepares its second AW169 helicopter for frontline deployment. The aircraft, G-CNLL, is undergoing a two-week 'shakedown' period involving approximately 20 hours of flight testing to ensure it meets all operational requirements.

Pilots are conducting repeated start-ups, landings and shut-downs while also verifying the performance of avionics, flight controls and systems. The tests include assessment of the updated medical cabin, which was ergonomically designed by the clinical team to optimise equipment access during missions.

The aircraft was ferried from Leonardo Helicopters in Italy and received its medical fit at Gama Aviation in Gloucester. It will be used for critical care missions across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Adam Smith, unit chief pilot at Cornwall Air Ambulance, says: “We must make sure that it is capable of being started up quickly, flown hard, at speed, to scene and shut down again, consistently and for back-to-back missions if required.”

Tim Bunting, chief executive of Cornwall Air Ambulance, adds: “Thanks to the generosity of a huge number of people, we now have two state-of-the-art helicopters at our disposal.”