Textron will deliver the aircraft in 2025. The deal was signed between the two companies on the sidelines of the Farnborough International Airshow.

“By providing a wide range of essential healthcare services to regional, rural and remote communities, the mission scope of the Scottish Air Ambulance requires 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week operational availability,” said Bob Gibbs, vice president, Special Mission Sales at Textron Aviation.

“Continuing to be the supplier of choice for emergency services in Scotland is a testament to the King Air’s performance when each second matters.”

The SAS operates the only fully publicly funded air ambulance service in the UK, catering to people across Scotland’s mainland and islands.

Gama Aviation has been a key partner to the SAS for over 30 years, supplying and managing the fixed-wing aircraft fleet, including the mainstay King Air model. Gama Aviation handles aircraft operations, maintenance, and pilot services.

“Our team worked closely with the experts at Textron Aviation to spec the Beechcraft King Air 360Cs for our recently awarded contract in Scotland,” said Marwan Khalek, Group CEO, Gama Aviation.

“Strategically the KA360C hits the mark, providing good, direct operating costs and flight performance with a highly scalable mission platform we will modify at Gama Aviation. The completed aircraft, on entry into service, will represent a substantial step-up in the provision of pre- and intra-hospital care for the people of Scotland.”

GAMA renews SAS air ambulance contract

SAS announced that the Gama Aviation’s contract for air ambulance services has been renewed.

The new contract is due to commence in 2026 and will see the introduction of brand new, more capable aircraft that will replace the existing fixed wing and rotary aircraft fleet based in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Inverness.

 “This has always been a strategically important contract for us, and we are immensely proud and delighted to have been chosen again for this critical task,” commented Gama CEO Khalek on renewing the contract.

“Over the last four years we have focused on developing our Air Ambulance capability and this award is another landmark in the maturity we have developed in this area, particularly in the development of our design capabilities. I would also like to thank Textron Aviation and Airbus for their support and patience during the later part of the procurement process.”

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“The King Air continues to be selected for a wide range of special mission roles around the world due to the aircraft’s capabilities and reliability,” said Bob Gibbs, vice president, Special Mission Sales for Textron Aviation. “We’re honoured AvMet has chosen a fleet of Beechcraft King Air aircraft to support the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Meteorology cloud seeding programme. The King Air continues to be selected for a wide range of special mission roles around the world due to the aircraft’s capabilities and reliability.”

AvMet and its partners Weather Modification International (WMI) and Fargo Jet Center will  equip the four King Air 260 aircraft with a Cloud Water Inertial Probe (CWIP), Data Logger with aircraft tracking, and cloud seeding equipment. The King Air 360CHW will be rigged with Cloud Seeding equipment, a research laboratory and an instrument package for studying cloud physics and aerosols.

The aircraft will be modified at WMI’s headquarters in Fargo with sister company Fargo Jet Center.  FJC’s Part 145 Repair Station, which is an authorised service facility for the family of Beechcraft King Air aircraft, teamed with WMI to certify the FAA-approved Supplemental Type Certificate modifications for cloud seeding and atmospheric research equipment.  Textron Aviation, WMI and FJC will provide the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Meteorology with the newest technologies in cloud seeding and atmospheric sciences instrumentation.

 Textron Aviation’s aviation solutions aim to provide the high performance and flight characteristics required to address the unique challenges of special missions. These include: air ambulance, intelligence gathering, surveillance and recognisance (ISR), utility transport, aerial survey, flight inspection, training plus other special operations.

The King Air range of turboprops has about 7,700 airframes delivered to customers around the world since 1964 and is the world’s best-selling business turboprop.

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This is the first delivery of nine King Airs, eight King Air 250s and a single King Air 350 aircraft, which will provide air ambulance support to Alberta Health Services in Alberta, Canada. The new turboprops will replace CanWest’s current air ambulance fleet of King Air B200 aircraft.

“CanWest has been a loyal King Air customer, and their order for the new generation of King Air aircraft is a testament to the incredible value and performance the product offers.”

Bob Gibbs, vice president of special mission sales at Textron Aviation, said: “CanWest has been a loyal King Air customer, and their order for the new generation of King Air aircraft is a testament to the incredible value and performance the product offers.

“The King Air platform has a long, distinguished tradition of providing exceptional support to air ambulance missions across the globe, and we are delighted to continue supporting CanWest’s mission in Alberta.”

The King Air 350, as well as one of the eight King Air 250 turboprops, will include special modifications, including a cargo door and heavyweight landing gear. It will operate at an enhanced max take-off weight of 16,500 pounds, and the King Air 250 will operate at an enhanced max take-off weight of 13,420 pounds.

Kevin Schaub, director of maintenance at CanWest Air, said: “The King Air platform is a tremendous asset, especially when navigating through remote areas and the extreme environment in Alberta. Having previously operated King Airs, this is the platform we trust to best support our air ambulance missions. Not only will we continue to have incredible runway performance, but we also couldn’t be more confident in the ability, range, aircraft interior size and comfort, and operating limits of the new fleet to support our air ambulance mission.

“The reliability, strength and versatility of the King Air enables us to raise the bar in support of the medical needs of patients in the remotest parts of our region, and we now have one of the first aircraft in Canada certified to carry bariatric patients. No other aircraft could have better met our mission.”

CanWest began operating air ambulance medevac flights in 1988. It operates nine Beechcraft King Air aircraft dedicated to its air ambulance mission, as well as 20 other Beechcraft and Cessna aircraft to support services such as corporate charter and air freight.

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“We are pleased to equip Babcock and the Norwegian government with these two highly capable and reliable platforms for their medevac operations.”

Bob Gibbs, vice president of Special Mission Aircraft, said: “We are pleased to equip Babcock and the Norwegian government with these two highly capable and reliable platforms for their medevac operations.

“The Citation Latitude has experienced tremendous success in the commercial segment since entering service just two years ago, and we are excited to expand upon its robust capabilities in the special missions market. The aircraft provides steep approach capability, short runway performance and low cabin altitude, all of which will be essential to support Babcock’s air ambulance missions in communities across Norway.”

Øyvind Juell, CEO, Air Ambulance Services of Norway, said: “The introduction of the Latitude as the first jet aircraft in our fleet will enable us to reduce patient transfer times and operate direct flights across the entire country.”

Babcock’s fleet of King Air 250 turboprops will feature CAT II capability, enabling operations in reduced visibility. In addition, the aircraft will feature steep approach landing capability and are equipped to operate in the polar regions. Completing the fleet, the Latitude will also include a modified door to accommodate the loading and unloading of wide medical stretchers.

Deliveries for the 11 aircraft are scheduled throughout the next 18 months and are expected to conclude in 2019.

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