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Sunday Sun readers help fund vital helicopter

Oct 2 2011 by Alastair Craig, Sunday Sun

Great North Air Ambulance Service helicopter

HERE it is, folks, the third lifesaving helicopter you have helped to buy.

Sunday Sun readers raised a staggering £1m for the Great North Air Ambulance Service.

And they used part of your money for this newly renovated aircraft which they have taken possession of this week.

It will go straight into service on call to help those in need of rapid emergency care.

The deposit on the Eurocopter Dauphin helicopter was paid for by readers of the Sunday Sun, through the Air Angels campaign, which raised £1m for GNAAS.

The charity, which previously rented its aircraft, had already placed deposits on two aircraft, the Guardian of the North, which works mainly out of Durham Tees Valley Airport, and the Pride of Cumbria, which flies out of Langwathby, near Penrith, Cumbria.

But due to the nature of helicopters and the strict rules and regulations regarding their maintenance, the charity had been concerned about the impact on coverage in the absence of either chopper.

To avoid a loss in cover, a deal was struck with Leeds Bradford Airport-based aviation firm Multiflight, which scoured Europe for a suitable third machine.

They found the latest GNAAS aircraft in Italy, where it had only flown 1,400 hours in the corporate sector since being built in 1996.