The new HALO-1 branded helicopter is seen in flight above the prairie landscape.--Photo courtesy HALO Air Ambulance
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
The sight of the HALO Air Ambulance just became all the more iconic to the southern Alberta skies, as the organization unveiled its first branded aircraft.
The new helicopter, sporting images of the Saamis Tepee and mountains in the background, is striking in HALO’s signature orange and navy, making it all the easier to spot when in flight, says Paul Carolan, HALO’s chief executive officer.
“We wanted to make sure that we represented the HALO program so it’s got our colours and our logo, and it’ll be really, really distinctive in the sky,” said Carolan. “The way that the colours look, it’ll just be very obvious that it’s HALO, and obvious to people that help is on the way. HALO is a symbol of hope; it provides a peace of mind that people hope they never have to have. But a lot of people have a lot of comfort knowing that it’s there, should they need it.”
But beyond the symbolism of support and trust that the branding represents, this helicopter allows for the air ambulance service to move closer to being available at all times, whenever residents need help.
“In the past, if we were down for scheduled maintenance, that meant there was no helicopter in this area. And so when you have a helicopter coming out of Calgary, you have to wait a long time,” said Carolan. “We think the people around this part of the world deserve better, so this will make it possible for us to be almost 100% serviceable.”
The new aircraft will become HALO-1, and fly the majority of missions, as it possesses higher-performing engines and upgraded classifications, improving operational efficiency and minimizing downtime.
However, when HALO-1 is unavailable, the craft that has been serving the region for years will still be able to be brought online to provide life-saving service.
Carolan says this is moving toward the same goal they have had since 2007, of always having a helicopter available quicker than one that can come from Calgary.
“This is the next evolution of making sure that there’s coverage and redundancy,” said Carolan. “One of the biggest things we were most concerned about was those times that we were unavailable for scheduled maintenance, so this was always front of mind for us, that if we have to be offline and a call comes in, we couldn’t be there to help. That’s not who we are.”
He continued to say the new aircraft represents the commitment of HALO’s stakeholders, donors and supporters, and he expressed gratitude to all of them for making this possible.
