There was a change for the DRF Luftrettung station in Mannheim on August 13, 2023: A helicopter of the type H145 with five-blade rotor from Airbus Helicopters is now flying as Christoph 53.

Immediately after replacing the previous machine with the new one at the station, the new Christoph 53 had a double assignment. For helicopter driver Markus Becker, who was on duty as a pilot that day, the advantages of the machine are clear: “Thanks to the fifth rotor blade, the H145 is even quieter in the air, which means significantly less vibration for the interior – a brilliant difference!”

Patients and crew also benefit from the significantly higher payload of the new model. For example, more fuel can be absorbed, which means that longer distances are possible in operations and emergencies.

Modernization of the fleet

The first H145 helicopter with a five-blade rotor was converted for station service at the DRF Luftrettung shipyard in December 2020. Since then, the DRF Luftrettung has continuously added more H145s with five-blade rotors to its fleet. Mannheim is the 14th station to receive a machine of this type.

To the Mannheim station

The station was founded on July 1, 1986 and is located at Mannheim Airport. Christoph 53 is operational from sunrise (7 a.m. at the earliest) to sunset and is manned by a pilot, an emergency doctor and an emergency paramedic. The Mannheim helicopter is an indispensable part of emergency rescue in the region around the industrially densely populated Rhine-Neckar conurbation with over two million inhabitants in the border triangle of Baden-Württemberg, Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate. In 2022, the Mannheim air rescue service was alerted to 1,118 missions.