The first of two Dauphin N2 helicopters supplied by Multiflight to the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) will be launched by the charity today.

The charity’s new life-saving helicopter, in its official GNAAS livery and fitted with state-of-the-art life-saving equipment, will be launched today, Friday March 26th. It will go by the name of ‘Guardian of the North’.

The helicopter, a Eurocopter AS 365N2 Dauphin, belonged to Multiflight’s fleet of charter helicopters. Multiflight, which specialises in the purchase and sale of aircraft, maintained and operated the helicopter under its Air Operators Certificate for a private individual.

“The launch of the Dauphin helicopter for the Great North Air Ambulance Service is very exciting for the service and for the communities it will serve across the North East of England, North Yorkshire and Cumbria,” said Steve Borrowdale, the Managing Director of Multiflight, which is based at Leeds Bradford International Airport.

He added: “Multiflight was delighted to be selected as the company to help and support the charity with the purchase of two helicopters, as well as the management and crewing of both, and this first Dauphin will be an asset to the valuable service the charity provides.”

GNAAS launched a public fundraising campaign called ‘Air Angels’ to help meet part of the cost of the helicopter and has been amazed at the public response: it has been so good that the charity has been able to bring the first new helicopter into service early. The campaign, called ‘Air Angels’, aims to raise £1 million.

Grahame Pickering, Chief Executive of GNAAS, said: “We are very grateful to Multiflight for supporting the charity through the difficult process of purchasing two helicopters. The charity believes that buying its own aircraft, rather than leasing as it has done in the past, will be more cost-effective in the long term.”

He added: “When we launched this campaign we could never have expected the staggering response we have received.

“Our thanks go to all the generous families, who have given their time, effort and money to the cause so far. But the fundraising must continue, not only for the ‘Air Angels’ campaign but also to ensure the future of all of our helicopters.

“To see our first new helicopter so close to being ready for action is very exciting. But it is important to remember the seriousness of the work it will do saving lives and easing pain and suffering.”

For more details about the Great North Air Ambulance Service, or to donate to the ‘Air Angels’ campaign, go to www.greatnorthairambulance.co.uk