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Aviation History
1989
1989 - 3184.PDF
LETTERS Emergency medical matters SIR—As an aviation journalist and emergency medical tech nician, I was very interested in your summary of airborne Emergency Medical Service (EMS) operations in the United Kingdom (Flight, September 16). The article raised a few ques tions. Any doctor with consid erable emergency-room experi ence and no fear of flying should be able to be part of a helicopter crew. The inclusion of a doctor in the medical team will certainly boost the patient's chances of survival, as even highly trained paramedics are not able to perform all the tasks of a doctor. This will be readily admitted by tainly due to an inflexible health system with sparse resources. I simply cannot understand how a nation can keep obsolete aircraft flying (Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, Vulcan . . . ) and maintain a dedicated aerobatics team such as the Red Arrows, and on the other hand behave like Ebenezer Scrooge when lives are to be saved. The Armed Forces could certainly play a part in civil EMS. In West Germany, the Air Force supplies half a dozen "Huey" helicopters solely for this purpose. Even the start of the Scottish EMS seems to have its origin in tight purses, as two more heli- EMS helicopters would benefit by having a doctor aboard all professionals involved, so why not start a really efficient EMS by taking doctors aboard? The first medical helicopter accident will certainly not be any worse than a major accident involving an ambulance on the ground. West Germany's EMS had its share of crashed helicop ters, some of those being fatal accidents. Persons killed were the crew and patients; no bystanders. Just imagine an ambulance overturning in London's Oxford Street in mid summer—there might be easily a dozen bystanders harmed. No- one, however, would demand that ambulances should be banned from the roads. Funding problems are cer- copters could be "leading to a reduction of 250 in required manpower levels". This sounds like rubbish to me, as an EMS chopper en route to Stranraer is certainly of no use to some poor bloke fighting for his life on the shores of Loch Lomond. John Wilby and his staff should rather think of providing adequate ground cover before engaging in high-flying dreams. Airborne EMS is certainly not to be seen as a relief operation for insufficient services, but as an additional asset. BERND BIEGE Haldenstr 60 D-7000 Stuttgart 50 West Germany A 707 worth saving SIR—An item in Straight & Level for September 16 refers to the ex-Cyprus Airways Boeing 707-123B 5B-DAL (S/N 17631). We understand that this aircraft was sold earlier this year to Omega Air of Ireland, along with the two other operational Cyprus Airways 707s. Of these, 5B-DAP is now operating with Aeronica and 5B-DAO with Sudan Airways. However, we believe that 5B-DAL is still stored at Larnaca, Cyprus, awaiting a decision on its future. This aircraft was built in 1958 for American Airlines, and first flew on January 3, 1959, carrying the registration N7505A. It was sold to Cyprus Airways in Feb ruary 1979, with whom it remained in service until earlier this year. We concur with the suggestion that this longest-working 707 should be preserved for posterity. Any individuals or companies interested in pursuing this idea are asked to contact us with a view to saving it from the scrap yard. ROGER HARGREAVES Proteus Aero Services PO Box 1010 Shoreham-by-Sea West Sussex BN43 6QA Footsore in Birmingham SIR—Published news of the new Birmingham terminal prompts me to ask if it will have the same immovable finger system, which is the worst design error in a modern European airport that I have seen in two decades of flying. Will passengers have to suffer lengthy walks to these useless ramps, or will someone think of moving walkways which actually assist laden travellers? CHRIS HARROTT The Crow's Nest 132 High Street Riseley Bedford MK44 1DJ WHAT October 22-26 SAE Avionics Systems division meeting. Williamsburg Hilton and Conference Center, 50 Kingsmill Road, Williamsburg, VA, USA. Tel: SAE, (412) 776-4841; fax: (412) 776-5760 October 24 Flight International/Airline Business seminar on practical use of Flightline database (free). 09.30 and 14.00, Data-Star, Plaza Suite, 114 Jermyn Street, London SW1. Tel: David Thew, 01-302 5101. October 24 RAeS lecture, "Forecasting Techniques", by S Abrahams and S Maidens. 18.00, Royal Aeronautical Society, 4 Hamilton Place, London W1V 0BQ; tel: 01-499 3515. October 24 RAeS Bedford Branch lecture, "The Use of Composites in the Repair of RAF Aircraft", by Sqn Ldr S Wellbum. 20.00, RAE Tunnel Site Canteen, Clapham, Bedford. Tel: RAeS, 01-499 3515. October 25 RAeS Southampton Branch, "Aircraft Ejector Seats". 19.30, Arts Lecture Theatre A, University of Southampton. Tel: RAeS, 01-499 3515. October 27-29 lEE/RAeS conference, "Commercial Awareness and Business Skills for Young Engineers". Strand Palace Hotel, London. Contact: J A Gordon, Conference Organiser, Institu tion of Electrical Engineers, Savoy Place, London WC2R 0BL. s ON November 2 RAeS Cyprus Branch lecture, "Airline Safety". Cyprus. Tel: RAeS (London), 01-499 3515. November 12-16 Airport equipment, cargo handling, and air transport exhibition. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. November 12-16 ADMA meeting. Marriott Marco Island Resort, Marco Island, Florida. Contact: Patricia Lilly, Aviation Distributors' and Manu facturers' Association, 1900 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA; tel: (215) 564-3484. November 13-15 FSI course, "International Procedures". Montreal, PQ, Canada. Contact: FlightSafety International, Marine Air Terminal, LaGuardia Airport, Flushing,. NY 11371, USA; tel: (718) 565-4120:: November 13-15 FSI course, "Principles of Troubleshooting". Hurst, Texas. Contact: FlightSafety Inter national, 100 Moonachie Avenue, Teterboro, NJ, USA; tel: (201) 939-1810. The opinions expressed in these pages do not necessarily represent those of the editor. Flight Inter national reserves the right to select or edit letters. 52 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 14 October 1989
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