posted November 19, 2020

DENVER, CO, August 23, 2018 – United Rotorcraft is pleased to announce the receipt of a contract with Ventura County Fire Department to convert two surplus U.S. Army aircraft into FIREHAWK® helicopters. 

VCFD purchased two U.S. Army HH-60L aircraft, originally configured as dedicated MEDEVAC helicopters. These aircraft had been outfitted with the United Rotorcraft medical equipment & patient litter systems, some of which will be re-purposed in the new FIREHAWK® configurations. Following a full maintenance inspection, the aircraft will be painted at the United Rotorcraft Decatur, TX facility and modified at their Englewood, CO facility. 

“Ventura County Fire Department, along with our partners from Ventura County Sheriff’s Air Unit, have worked hard over the past years to identify the right solution for expanding and modernizing our aerial fleet,” says Battalion Chief Gary Monday of Ventura County Fire Department. “We are looking forward to seeing the new FIREHAWK® aircraft serving the fire crews and people of Ventura County and the State of California.” 

The reconfigured aircraft will include an aerial firefighting mission package with extended landing gear, a 1000 gallon firefighting tank, and a retractable snorkel system. A multi-mission interior including reconfigurable crew stations will be installed to allow the aircraft to perform a veriety of missions including firefighting, fire crew transport, search and rescue and medical evacuation. In addition to mission equipment, upgraded avionics and a new instrument panel will be installed in the cockpit. 

“We are so proud to be part of the future Ventura firefighting mission as well as repurposing these Army surplus aircraft for their new homes,” says Bob Brodin, Director of Government Programs at United Rotorcraft. “The FIREHAWK® aircraft have so many capabilities to help the people of Ventura County and we look forward to delivering these aircraft.” 

For more information on the FIREHAWK® aircraft and/or United Rotorcraft, please contact  or Bob Brodin at . 

About United Rotorcraft 

United Rotorcraft, An Air Methods Division, (www.unitedrotorcraft.com) specializes in the design and manufacture of aeromedical and aerospace technology. United Rotorcraft offers a full range of completion, paint, and MRO services and products for Emergency Medical Services, Search and Rescue, Law Enforcement, Utility, VIP, and Military operators. About Air Methods

Air Methods Corporation (www.airmethods.com) is the global leader in air medical transportation. The Air Medical Services Division is the largest provider of air medical transport services in the United States. The Tourism Division is comprised of Sundance Helicopters, Inc. and Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, which provides helicopter tours and charter flights in the Las Vegas/Grand Canyon region and Hawaii, respectively. Air Methods’ fleet of owned, leased or maintained aircraft features over 450 helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. 

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