314 - London Air Ambulance

omega tau science & engineering podcast

Guests: Neil Jeffers, Adam Spink Host: Markus Voelter
Shownoter: Bastian Hundt

Earlier this year I visited the London Air Ambulance, a charity organization that flies two MD-902 helicopters over the UK’s capital. I chatted with their chief pilot Neil Jeffers about the flying and some of the medical aspects. My recorder then joined Neil on a short flight to their hangar at RAF Northolt. There, we met Adam Spink, a NATS air traffic controller at Heathrow, and the three of us chatted about the ATC perspective of flying helicopters (sometimes) in Heathrows’s approach.

If you want to donate to the charity, see this link.

Introduction of Neil Jeffers

00:02:05

London Air Ambulance | Royal London Hospital | RAF Northolt | Major Trauma

The Helicopters and the History of London Air Ambulance

00:04:35

Fire Grenfell | ADAC | Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe | Air Medical Service | AS-365 | MD-902 | NOTAR | Performance Class (PDF) | Glass Cockpit | Biggin Hill Airport | London Heliport | Trauma Center | Airbus Helicopters H135 | BO-105 | Airbus Helicopters H145 | Venturi Effect | Coandă Effect

Flying a NOTAR Helicopter

00:20:40

Helicopter Flight Controls | Dutch Role | Airbus Helicopters H120 | JetRanger | Robinson R-44 | Visual Flight Rules | Instrument Flight Rules | Night Vision Device | Avionics | Traffic Avoidance System | Weather Radar

The Medical Side

00:31:15

Major Trauma | Trauma Team | Air Traffic Control | HEMS | "Stay and play" | "Scoop and run" | General anaesthesia | Blood transfusion | Open Chest Surgery | Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta | European Aviation Safety Agency | Foreign object damage

Airspace in London

00:52:10

M25 Motorway | Heathrow Airport | London City Airport | Biggin Hill Airport | Air Traffic Control Tower | Runway | London Helicopter Routes (PDF) | Flight Transponder

Training, Risks and the Crew

00:57:20

Threat and Error Management | Checklist | Aircraft Flight Manual | Single Point of Failure | Go Around | Instrument Rating | Crew Resource Management | Multi Crew Coordination

Flight from Royal London Hospital to RAF Northolt

01:17:55

Air Traffic Control in London and a typical Mission with Adam Spink

01:27:10

Heathrow Terminal 4 | Follow-Me | Taxiway | Airspace Class