How London Air Ambulance Saves Lives Using ACANS

Introduction

The London Air Ambulance Service (LAAS) is a busy unit. No more evidence is needed than the amount of time taken to gather the background for this article - several phone calls were interrupted by a 'shout' and a 'sorry, gotta go!' from one of the LAAS aircrew. They also have a highly complex, fluid, and demanding 'patch'. London is just different from other conurbations. Its sheer scale and size demand a different approach and mindset. From an Air Ambulance perspective, Greater London has dozens of hospitals, many with Accident and Emergency Units.

Operational Challenges of LAAS

The complexity of the airspace in and around London is further complicated by a number of permanent and temporary airspace restrictions (such as 'The Specified Area' over The City) to protect sensitive buildings and the frequent events that London attracts - and Air Traffic Control closely monitor the flightpaths of all aircraft operating in the Capital's skies. They are, understandably, wary of lost or incorrectly height-separated helicopters triggering either a TCAS alert and (expensive, not to mention embarrassing) 'go around' of an airliner at Heathrow or City airports.

As explained by LAAS pilots Dave Rolfe and Andy Thomson, this complex and congested operating environment was one of the key factors in selecting the Airbox ACANS system to give crews enhanced Situational Awareness (SA) and improved navigation capability. "We still fly the MD902 Explorer," noted Dave. “It is a lovely machine - perfect for the HEMS role". Clearly enthusiastic about the aircraft, he praised the cockpit visibility, performance and continued by saying that the compact dimensions and NOTAR (NO TAil Rotor) configuration made it ideal for operations in and out of small rooftop heli-decks and the parks, gardens, and street junctions that often prove to be their ad hoc emergency Helicopter Landing Sites when 'on the job'.

For those unfamiliar with NOTAR technology, in simplified form, as opposed to a conventional helicopter (e.g., Bell 429) with a tail rotor, or a shrouded Fenestron (used on the Airbus H135), in the MD902 yaw stability is provided by the acceleration of engine exhaust efflux over the tail boom - exploiting the 'coanda effect'- and a rotatable 'bucket' controlled by the yaw pedals is mounted at the end of the tail boom which vents exhaust gas directionally to permit yaw control.

The Role of the MD902 Explorer

The MD902's moving map system, however, left much to be desired due to its increasingly outdated and obsolete design. "It was old, difficult to support, and hadn’t been updated in years," Dave recalls. As a result, crews had to adapt their workflows to compensate for the system’s shortcomings rather than benefiting from it. Andy explains that with the legacy system, they needed to input a location into an Excel program to calculate the heading and distance to the nearest hospital. This process not only added time but also introduced the potential for human error—both of which are unwelcome in emergency situations.

Even worse, Andy recalled instances where the outdated system led to crews getting lost. He cited a mission in the Windsor area, slightly outside their usual operating zone, where the crew inadvertently lifted off and transitioned 90 degrees off their planned heading. Without a clear moving map display to provide an immediate gross error check, such mistakes were difficult to catch. Realizing the limitations had become untenable, the crews pressed for a new moving map system. The Charity supported their concerns, and the Unit began searching for an applique system suitable for the MD902s. Their goal was to avoid unaffordable cockpit integration and modification costs or adopting a more extensive Supplementary Type Certificate (STC) navigation upgrade, which was deemed excessive and overly aviation-focused for their specific needs.

Transition to Airbox ACANS System

Some of the crews had experience of Airbox products from the General Aviation scene, and they contacted the company to see if they could help deliver a new Moving Map System with some tailorable, non-aviation-specific overlays and interfaces. LAAS crews needed a system that was simple, intuitive, and easily updatable - and one that cut down the amount of 'mandraulic' effort they were having to use to work around their existing system. This would free up capacity for other tasks whilst en-route and, crucially, enable crews to spend more time heads-out looking for obstructions, other aircraft, and, increasingly, drones.

Both Dave and Andy noted that ACANS has delivered handsomely on this intent - providing far more capability than just a better and more updatable Moving Map. Both praised Airbox's ability to engage and understand their needs. "Of course, it's got the aviation mapping we'd need - various chart scales and specialist maps - such as the London Heli Lanes - but it's got so much more, bespoke, add-ons that make our job easier," Dave enthused. To make control of assets over London easier, the Capital is divided into a grid. Many readers will be familiar with the 'London A-Z' - and ACANS can accept inputs via A-Z page number, street name 'gazetteer' or London Grid. However, less well known, is that Air Traffic Control also maintains a separate Grid system for maintaining Situational Awareness on Police, HEMS, and TV units that routinely operate over the capital.

London Air Ambulance flying over the city

2 An optional caption for the image that will be added to the gallery. Enter any descriptive text for this image that you would like visitors to be able to read.

3 An optional caption for the image that will be added to the gallery. Enter any descriptive text for this image that you would like visitors to be able to read.

4 An optional caption for the image that will be added to the gallery. Enter any descriptive text for this image that you would like visitors to be able to read.

5 An optional caption for the image that will be added to the gallery. Enter any descriptive text for this image that you would like visitors to be able to read.

Impact of ACANS on LAAS Operations

Before flight, as one pilot is running to start the aircraft, the co-pilot will, amongst other 'dispatch' items, speed-dial the Swanwick ATC centre and let them know where they will be operating. This information can be passed digitally to all relevant ATC agencies. Once in flight and 'on task', when moving around the city between base, incident, and hospital, crews can quickly inform ATC that they are in transit from ‘top right-hand corner of square X to the bottom left-hand corner of square Y' - it's all the fidelity ATC needs to inform those concerned about potentially conflicting traffic. ACANS provides this overlay, along with the A to Z and other specialist Police/Emergency Services applications. The 'Search' facility is a particularly handy tool.

ACANS also provides an Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) functionality to the pilots, enabling them to access Operations Manuals and Aircraft Flight Manuals in flight as well as maps, charts, and approach plates - although a true performance tool, such as Easy Weigh, is not currently included. "ACANS does, however, provide a helicopter crew management function 'Crew Members', making it easier for the crews to keep track of their Flight Time Limitations (FTLs), complete their logbook summaries, and to track data for entry into the Aircraft Technical Log post-flight."

Emerging Challenges and Future Needs

Finally, our discussions turned to the future and some likely significant changes to the LAAS fleet. Dave lamented the increasing need to replace the MD902s. Much as the crews evidently like the aircraft, and appreciate its qualities for the HEMS role, there is a growing realization that it is now an aging aircraft with an industry-acknowledged Achilles Heel in terms of spares provision and other post-design support

Indeed, it has become something of a 'norm' for spares to be sourced by stripping and parts-recovering retired airframes.

Although no replacement has been selected yet, both pilots note that it's hard to look past the Airbus H135 as the other alternatives, such as AW169, have slightly larger 'footprints' which could cause issues with some of the locations that LAAS frequent.

Another growing issue for LAAS is the ever-increasing use of Drones over London. In many ways, Drones are the new 'laser pens' in terms of a hazard to Police/HEMS crews operating over built-up areas. Like laser pens, most Drone users mean no harm or are simply ignorant of the danger they pose. As recently as May this year, LAAS suffered a Class A Airprox (the most severe report) when a drone hovered below one of its MD902s as it was trying to land with a critically ill patient at the rooftop helipad at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. The thought of a drone-strike damaging a helicopter is bad enough, but the specter of one initiating an accident sequence that resulted in a fuel-laden helicopter crashing into a crowded London thoroughfare is enough to give pause for thought.

The Drone issue is, if anything, becoming more acute with prices lowering, UAV capabilities increasing, and more people spending time at home due to Covid. Some form of Drone tracking tool on ACANS would, the crews suggest, be of increasing use as the skies become ever more cluttered with them. Finally, the crews would like to see the Performance/weight and balance capability re-introduced. The change in aircraft type in the near future appears to be the logical time to 'wrap in' such a system in negotiations.

LAAS and Airbox Systems Collaboration

LAAS has expressed clear satisfaction with the ACANS product, particularly appreciating the responsiveness of the Airbox Systems team in incorporating requested adjustments seamlessly into the system. As committed ACANS users, they actively contribute to the user community’s efforts toward enhanced connectivity and data sharing. Most importantly, they trust Airbox to support them on this ongoing journey of innovation and collaboration.