ARCH Air Medical Service’s new EC130 helicopter will allow for total patient care while airborne. The helicopter is the first of its kind in the St. Louis area and is stationed at the Warren County Ambulance District. The EC130 replaces the A-Star, which ARCH had previously used. Numerous enhancements are featured on the EC130. The most helpful, according to ARCH officials, being its larger size. “The EC130 is almost double the size of the A-Star,” said Mike Abrams, area business development manager for Air Method, the parent company of ARCH. “There are a couple of things that are different.” “This helicopter allows total access to the patient for the medical technicians,” said Don Scheibe, a pilot with ARCH, whose 26 years of experience have earned him 5,500 hours of fly time. “Head to feet, wherever we need to take care of for the patient, we can,” said Brenda Kubiak, who has spent nine years with ARCH as the in-flight paramedic and base medic supervisor. “In the A-Star, we could really only get to the head and chest in flight,” she added. “We couldn’t really get to the legs. It’s better suited for patient care. The A-Star has some of the new features, but not near what the EC130 has.” The wide body and quick-start engine of the EC130 allow for a different interior layout when treating a patient and quicker response times. “Because of having more room, the patient is now between the two technicians so they can both tend to the patient,” Abrams said. “We can start it up in one minute and shut it down in 30 seconds, which is much quicker than the A-Star.” The utilization of new features such as night vision goggles, helicopter terrain awareness and warning system (HTAWS), SKYWATCH traffic advisory system, XM Weather Radio and a enclosed tail rotor all make for a better flight. “From a pilot’s perspective, the EC130 is safer to fly and we call it situation awareness,” Scheibe said. “(HTAWS) shows artificial terrain, wires, towers, hills and mountains all from a GPS (global positioning system). It will also give us air traffic warnings when other aircraft are in the area.” A standout feature of the new helicopter is the XM Weather Radio. “The crew can do a weather check with XM Radio and that’ll show the weather,” Abrams said. “The crew can now make decisions based on the weather if they’re going to take missions or not, instead of calling headquarters or the command center to check the weather.” “It’s mostly our decision,” said Scheibe. “If there are tornadoes or hail, we put the helicopter in the hangar. We won’t go in icy conditions, either. “We’re careful with it,” he added. “We’ll go when we can anytime there is not bad weather.” The tail rotor encompasses the blade of the helicopter’s tail and serves as a much needed safety feature. “When it’s dark out and we’re working, you’re less likely to walk into the tail rotor,” Scheibe said. “It’s kind of gross, but it happens.” “It makes our job easier knowing that we have the capabilities with this aircraft to take care of the patients in our community,” said Kubiak. “Air Method has provided us with a better tool to do our job better.”