New fleet additions for the Flying Doctors
The famous Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (RFDS) South Eastern Section is upgrading with two modified Beechcraft King Air 350 cargo heavyweight aircraft, which are scheduled to be delivered in the third quarter of this year.
The two new King Air 350 turboprops are scheduled to be delivered with an 11-passenger, high-density seating configuration. The new turboprops will replace King Air B200 aircraft in order to modernise the organisation’s patient transfer and air ambulance fleet.
The Royal Flying Doctor Service is one of the largest and most comprehensive aeromedical organisations in the world, providing extensive primary health care and 24-hour emergency service to people over an area of 7.69 million square kilometres. Last year the hardworking RFDS fleet of 69 aircraft flew 26,412,555 kilometres.
The total RFDS fleet includes four different aircraft types: the Hawker 800XP (used in Western Australia and the North Territories), the Pilatus PC-12 (used in South Australia, Northern Territories and Western Australia), the King Air B350 C and B200 C (used in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania) and the Cessna C208 (used in Queensland). A number of new Pilatus PC-24 jets are currently on order for WA, SA and NT. These jets will halve the flying time over long distances of the Australian outback.
