United Kingdom:

Royal Air Force develops BAe 146 aeromedical capability in just two months

By Paul Eden.

On 16 June, the Royal Air Force revealed that in just two months it had prepared an operational aeromedical (aeromed) capability for its two BAe 146 C.Mk 3 aircraft. Home-based with 32 (The Royal) Squadron at RAF Northolt in West London, the C3s are based on the 146-200 Quick Change variant, configured for rapid conversion between freight and passenger transport; they serve alongside a pair of 146 CC.Mk 2 VIP transports.

Personnel from 32(TR) Sqn, the Tactical Medical Wing (TMW) and Joint Airborne Delivery Trials and Evaluation Unit (JADTEU) worked side-by-side, in the spirit of the RAF’s Astra Programme, to bring the aeromed project to fruition. Paving the way to the Next Generation Air Force vision for the RAF of 2035, Astra is about empowering ideas from across the Service and beyond.

TMW personnel work with the new 146 C3 aeromed modification

In the case of the 146 C3, work began in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. JADTEU engineers removed the baggage bins normally fitted to the 146’s VRR-manufactured pallet and replaced them with specially designed adaptor plates mounting seat rails, to replicate the Voyager/146 floor. The Voyager stretcher module, plus a 146 double-seat assembly, were then locked into the seat rails.

The 146 C3s were modified from a pair of ex-TNT 146-200QC jets purchased in 2012

The result is a simple, potentially life-saving aeromed capability achieved at virtually no cost. For 32(TR) Squadron, unusual for its mixed fleet of 146s and AW109SP, it adds another mission to its primary Command Support Air Transport (CSAT) tasking.

The aeromed capability was engineered, trialled and made ready for service in just two months

Involving the movement of key personnel and smaller freight, often in-theatre, CSAT is a key UK Defence enabler and 32(TR) Sqn reports an ongoing high tempo of operations. As its ‘The Royal’ title suggests, it also inherited the role of the former Queen’s Flight, but Royal flying consumes a very small percentage of its annual hours and is secondary to CSAT. The aeromed fit now provides 32(TR) Sqn, and TMW, with additional flexibility and choice, adding to the capabilities offered by the RAF’s Atlas, C-17, Hercules, Voyager and various helicopters.

While 32(TR) Sqn and TMW personnel are now fully trained and ready to take the 146 aeromed modification into action, at the time of writing it had not yet been employed in support of the fight against COVID-19.

RAF

A life-long, profoundly passionate aviation enthusiast, Paul E. Eden began writing about aircraft in 1996 and became a freelance aerospace writer and editor in 2003. He says his addiction began with a Matchbox Spitfire model kit and the Ladybird Book of Aircraft, around 1975. Since then, he has written for the Official RAF Annual Review and Salute publications, and currently edits and writes Executive and VIP Aviation International magazine. A regular contributor to a number of specialist publications, including Aerospace, the journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, and airline, cargo and flight test magazines, he also blogs for Runway Girl Network.

His first book for Bloomsbury, The Official Illustrated History of RAF Search and Rescue, was published on 25th June 2020.

Blog: https://pauleeden.wordpress.com
http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/paul-e-eden/15/9a5/671
Twitter: @TwoDrones

BlueSky Business Aviation News | 2nd July 2020 | Issue #564

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