First aeromedical Pilatus PC-24 jet delivered to Royal Flying Doctor Service: 3 December 2018

3 December 2018 © David Eyre (UPDATED 5 February 2019)

The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) Western Operations section at Jandakot celebrated the delivery of their first new Pilatus PC-24 jet, VH-VWO (MSN 105), the first in the world to have an aeromedical cabin fitout.

First aeromedical PC-24 in the world

The PC-24’s aeromedical interior was installed in partnership with Aerolite AG, a specialist in this field.

The aircraft has a large (1.3m x 1.25m) cargo door on the left side, behind the wing, with an electric stretcher-loading device – the first jet in the world with this feature.

The PC-24 has medical equipment, beds for three patients and seats for medical personnel. The cabin is designed for quick reconfiguration depending upon the type of mission. It has individual oxygen, vacuum and power systems for patient monitoring and support, with a second, separate power and communication system for the cabin and medical crew.

With its Williams International FJ44-4A turbofan engines, high-lift wing and robust landing gear, the PC-24 was developed for flights from the short, unpaved runways typical in the outback. It can take-off and land on airstrips of only 856m (2,810ft), and its speed of 815 kilometres per hour will halve the flight times of PC-12 turboprops.

The RFDS was one of the first to take delivery of the turboprop Pilatus PC-12 in 1994, which will continue to play an important workhorse role.

Pilatus Aircraft launched the PC-24 project in 2013 and began taking orders in 2014, with the first production batch of 84 aircraft being sold out within 36 hours! Pilatus says there is significant demand for the aircraft, but it will only reopen the orderbook for the PC-24 in 2019, after it has confirmed performance data from the aircraft already in service.

The cost of the first two PC-24 jets totalled $26million, with Rio Tinto contributing $10million over four years and the Commonwealth Government adding $4.5million. One PC-24 will be based at Broome and the other at Jandakot. A third PC-24 will be delivered to RFDS Central Operations, based at Adelaide.

Delivery flight

VH-VWO is the 5th PC-24 produced, and was test flown on 20 April 2018 at the Pilatus facility, Buochs Airport, near Mount Pilatus, Switzerland, registered as HB-VSF, using callsign ‘P105’.

After being fitted out in Switzerland, the aircraft was registered VH-VWO on 23 November 2018 and was handed over to RFDS CEO Rebecca Tomkinson at a ceremony in Buochs, Switzerland on 26 November 2018.

A second PC-24, MSN 106, is currently in Switzerland for aeromedical fitout, temporarily registered HB-VSG, and is expected to be delivered to RFDS Western Operations in February 2019.

VH-VWO commenced its long delivery flight, flying Buochs (Switzerland) – Larnaca (Cyprus) – Dubai Al Maktoum (UAE) on 27 November, then Dubai Al Maktoum (UAE) – Chennai (India) – Seletar (Singapore) on 28 November. On 2 December, VH-VWO flew from Seletar to Broome (Western Australia), where it was met by Rio Tinto Managing Director Pilbara Mines Stefan Buys and RFDS CEO Rebecca Tomkinson, before flying to Jandakot Airport in the south of Perth, on 3 December 2018.

VH-VWO was flown by a Pilatus pilot and an RFDS pilot, and performed a surprisingly quiet flypast at 500 feet along Jandakot’s runway 06L, before landing at 12:15pm.

A private ceremony was held in the RFDS new hangar at Jandakot, with Rio Tinto, RFDS and other dignitaries welcoming the new jet.

Entry into service

Immediately after the welcoming ceremony, training of RFDS nurses and medical experts commenced. They need to develop ‘muscle memory’, to learn where everything is located in the aircraft without a second thought, to enable them to quickly treat patients in an emergency.

On 4 December 2018, the day after its arrival at Jandakot, VH-VWO flew its first test run to Busselton and back.

The aircraft has been worked very hard, flying multiple flights each day, almost every day – it made six flights on 5 December and has flown up to 11 flights in a single day.

RFDS aircraft fleet

In 2017/18, 38,052 Australians were flown by the RFDS across Australia. The RFDS now has 80 aircraft of various types in service across Australia:

• 1 Pilatus PC-24 jet
• 35 Pilatus PC-12 turboprops
• 1 Hawker 800XP jet
• 31 Beech B200 King Air turboprops
• 10 Beech B300 King Air turboprops
• 2 Cessna 208B Grand Caravan turboprops

RFDS Western Operations

In Western Australia, RFDS Western Operations uses 17 Pilatus PC-12s, one Hawker 800XP jet, and one new Pilatus PC-24 jet, across five operating bases, at Jandakot, Kalgoorlie, Meekatharra, Port Hedland, and Broome.

One PC-24 will be based in Broome, as more than 25 per cent of RFDS’ work in Western Australia is in the Kimberley region, with about 33 people (including six children) being helped each week. The Broome RFDS base opened in 2016, and the Derby base was closed in late 2017.

The RFDS celebrated 80 years of operations in Western Australia during 2015. RFDS Western Operations covers an area of 2.5 million square kilometres, with over 300 staff. The RFDS reached over 60,000 people across WA, providing life-saving aeromedical evacuations and transfers, plus primary healthcare services.

How you can help the RFDS

As a not-for-profit aeromedical organisation, the RFDS relies on your help and generosity to keep them flying. Although it receives some funding from business and government, it is also heavily reliant on donations from the general public.

If you would like to help, please visit the RFDS website.