New Aeromed Role for BAe 146 CC3
 

2 x aircraft modified - ZE707 and ZE708 - which now have no currently declared OSD.

https://www.key.aero/article/raf-ada...3s-medical-use

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....b1473917ea.png

This sits nicely between tactical Critical Care Air Support Team (CCAST) and strategic CCAST requirements. It does mean in time critical cases they don't have to use a Voyager for instance from Gibralter in a C130J or A400M maybe 4 hours in an 146 2.5 hours. Also, has a greater ceiling compared to the C130J or the A400M giving a smoother ride for the patient in general. Doesn't sound a lot but it is also the kit is Voyager compatible.for the stretcher support arms etc. I suspect they will remain at Northolt rather than Brize Norton.

Awful serviceability rates though - hence why they got taken off the Kippion shuttles.

Un-sustainable when they are constantly grounded in pieces. So probably not good for an aeromed shout either.

knee jerk to the C-17 being on its last legs and unable to support / sustain CCAST tasks?

air pig: the performance of the 146 is actually rather similar to that of the A400M: the former is cruise at M0.7, max ceiling 35,000ft, the latter M0.68 at a max 37,000ft, so hardly a substantial advantage and unlikely to shave 90 mins off the flight time from Gib - UK. Beats the C130J by a significant margin though.

When I was flying the 146, admittedly many years ago, the max cruise level was 310. Has this been increased, and if so, by what means?

Maybe a couple of 737 combis (fleet commonality with P8 and Wedge) instead? Buyers market just now.

What about the C604 which the company I work for use for air ambulance missions.

Herod: figure of 35,000ft taken from that reliable source, Wikipedia, so it must be right!!

Ceiling for A400M is actually 40,000ft but limited in use by cabin altitude, maybe it was a similar deal for the 146?

EASA certification is 31,000ft.

https://www.easa.europa.eu/sites/def...2-20102010.pdf

I'm sure it does fine for your company but the RAF does not have any of those and it seems like this process is about maximising the assets that they've got rather than acquiring new ones (and probably stems from someone in the 146 fleet trying to throw out a few reasons why the RAF should not get rid of them as they plan to do).

Could a re-worked Sentinal airframe or two do the job?

With regard to the HS146 conversion I am curious to know how it has been certified, are the changes embodied in the aircraft drawing set, is it referenced in all the other aircraft clearance documentation such as the safety case, and is it underwritten by the aircraft design authority, presumably now BAe Systems? Maybe I am unnecessarily concerned that someone might have decided its a quick easy option, the aircraft is soon going out of service, we don't need to document it with the full modification procedure etc.

I am always slightly nervous when something is adapted from another aircraft, in this case apparently some stanchions that attach to the floor on the Voyager. The cause of my nervousness goes back to the Buccaneer S Mk 2 cold weather trial in Fort Churchill in the early 70's. On the first trial the fuel flow proportioner hydraulic motor leaked from a garter seal after the aircraft had been cold soaked. Dowty, who made the motor, said we have an easy fix, use a carbon face seal as used on the Viggen proportioner motor. We don't need to test it, its already cleared down to -40 or some such figure. The mod was done on a couple of units and the following winter the aircraft went for a further cold weather trial. I can still remember my fellow systems engineer Graham Armitt, who was one of the HSA reps on the trial, ringing me up and ranting that the Effing proportioners leaking far worse than before, the effing floor is covered in effing hydraulic oil and everyone here is really pissed off. It turned out the Buccaneer proportioner motor had more end float and the static O ring held the carbon seal away from its mating face as the system started up, resulting in a massive hydraulic leak. The problem was subsequently fixed by a stronger spring and different seal material but we made sure Dowty cold chamber tested it before we fitted it to an aircraft. I learned about clearing things by analogy from the experience.

Walbut

walbut, based on a few public photographs, the modification appears to be similar to the existing 'Combi' or 'Quick Change' versions of the civilian 146.

The cargo door, and freighter roller-floor, enable customised pallets to be loaded. For Commercial operations the pallets would either have rows of seats, or a quick change to pure freight. Seats off-loaded remaining fixed to pallets; then freight pallets / bins loaded as required (there was a horse-box version). There was as I recall, one aircraft with a fixed configuration of mixed 'fish tank' and seats.

For medical, passenger cabin services probably use existing fold-down overhead 'baggage racks', but these could be converted for specialist equipment and fixed in place.
The pallet option would enable a range of medical / passenger configurations.

For certification, medical pallets might be treated as 'cargo', plus local approval for any special fit, e.g oxygen tent, but the seat pallets, services, and door, would be as the existing certificated 'QC' aircraft.

Looking at that photograph I can't help thinking that unless they put a bit more effort into the design of the offload ramp there are going to be even more casualties to be cared for.

They also need a better solution than a Roller Flat Floor, unless the medics have strong ankles...

146 is probably good for domestic & near Europe (or its deployed equivalent), but much beyond that & it’s very much diminishing returns.

Try loading a LJ35A with a stretcher sometime, now that is interesting.

FAI in Germany have two as air ambulances carrying up to three patients.

IIRC the BAe 146 ceiling is 31000 ft and the later version, the RJ with slightly uprated engines, is 35000 ft.

The costs to rework Sentinel would be greater than buying a secondhand Global Express and doing the same work, so no!

The RJ ceiling was initially 310, then 330 and finally 350 with the upgraded pressurisation system. Early RJ's were still using a fair bit of 146 kit, which over the course of a few years was replaced as development occurred.