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Old 30th January 2010 | 08:47
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victor papa
 
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 293
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From: foot of a mountain
integrity, the 130 has a ever growing amount of options. I am not sure of the nightsun but know the Avidyne EX system has a STC as well as many other systems. The best place to look for options is Eurocopter Canada and the Canadian STC lists and American Eurocpter as well as air methods who use them extensively in various configurations.

We configured the 130 for single stretcher and 1/2 pilots dependant on the requirement. Fitting 2 baseplates for 2 stretchers with single pilot should not be a problem or certification nightmare as you have the 2 sets of seat rails you can mount them on which is certified. We did not have any power issues with 2 plts + 2 crew + patient (on the return leg) hot and high so that should be the same for 2 stretchers.

Remember the EC130 has evolved a lot over the last 4-5 years away from the tourist only machine into a full utility helo. We had a 2002, 2006 and then a 2009 model. Their is a distinct increase on all levels of performance on the newer machines and between the 3 ages a definate difference-but the 2002 one is still going sweet daily doing the business quitely and her crew and patient in comfort.

Also, I was stunned by the durability of the cabin, windows and frame in EMS circumstances where stretchers and incubators can often make a machine look old and tatty. none of that on the 130 so far and the 1 has done just under 2000hrs of hEMS.

With my previous company the 130's were never offline for scheduled maintenance due to the flexible Maintenance program written by eurocopter with various tolerances and options. Make sure you read the MSM fully and decide on how you do your maintenance. The options are there and we had no issues despite them flying 365 days of the year.

The 350B3 will always remain unbeatable in my opinion for rescue work due to the power and tail rotor authority and I love them, but the 130 has stunned me and surprise me everyday with her ability one maybe does not expect looking at her.
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