THE second of Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s brand new helicopters has taken to the skies.

The bright yellow £6m Airbus H145 aircraft is now fully operational following the completion of crew training and a full medical fit-out.

The helicopter is based at Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s northern air base at RAF Topcliffe, near Thirsk, and completes the replacement of the rapid response emergency service’s two, ageing MD902 Explorer aircraft.

The first H145 went into service last September, flying from the charity’s air support unit at Nostell, near Wakefield.

The new helicopters are said to offer “exceptional flight performance” and will have significantly lower operational and maintenance costs.

The H145 is night-capable, which enables much longer flying hours, and offers a much larger cabin area to treat patients actually during the flight.

The region’s air ambulance doctors and paramedics have been involved from the start in the fit-out and the helicopters carry the very latest medical equipment.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance has planned the replacement of its increasingly costly, ageing aircraft for a number of years.

The £12m total cost has been met through planned savings, grants, careful budgeting and the generosity of the people of Yorkshire.

YAA chairman Peter Sunderland said: “To see the second helicopter in operation is hugely exciting and a very proud day for us as a charity and for the people of Yorkshire. These helicopters belongs to the people of Yorkshire and will do so for the next ten to 20 years.

“I am very proud to say we now have a level of service which is probably the best of any air ambulance charity in the UK.”

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance is an independent charity which needs to raise £12,000 per day to keep both of Yorkshire’s air ambulances in the air and maintained – the equivalent to £4m each year.

The helicopters mean patients in the remotest spots can be transferred to the nearest major trauma centres at speeds of up to 160mph.

The YAA currently attends more than 1,200 call-outs each year – an average of three every single day – and to date more than 7,000 patients have been carried to the relevant treatment centres.

North Yorkshire welcomed its new air ambulance with a special reception held at the Devonshire Arms Hotel, Bolton Abbey.

It was attended by local dignitaries, mayors and long-standing supporters of the charity from across the region.

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance is also currently working with The Devonshire Arms as the hotel’s adopted Charity of the Year.

For more information visit yorkshireairambulance.org.uk/