Getting our FFL Lift tickets

Last month it was cancelled due to a mission, but today the Eurocopter AStar AS350 B3 showed up at Canon City Fire Station #1.

This is the same variant of this aircraft that landed on the top of Mt. Everest in 2005.

Flight For Life operates 5 of these state-wide.

This is training put on by Flight For Life to acquaint search and rescue people with the aircraft, how to get in and out, bucket up and put on headsets, so that when on a mission we can ride the bird.

It also is a pretty straight forward marketing program to make sure that we use their services when necessary.

The scope of services was beyond what I expected, in that they will help in aerial search, personnel placement and body recovery.

Oh ya and patient transport.

The AStar can land at any altitude encountered here in Colorado and the wind range goes all the way up to 50 mph.

Pretty incredible.

In the couple of hours we spent with the crew we went over all of the safety procedures including

what to do in a crash/hard landing where you are the only one mobile/conscious. Basically pull any lever or push any button that is red and the yellow rotor brake.

Then we all had to ingress/egress, buckle-in and get on the intercom. To get our cards.

I think we were all amazed at where the patient is loaded as this is not a big aircraft.

The crew sit either to the patients side (pilot) or against the rear bulkhead.

After everyone got their turn, they were handed a lift ticket card with their names on it which are good for a year.

I wonder if we will ever use them?