Aeromedical charity Life Flight New Zealand has signed a partnership agreement to support future aeromedical operations in Australasia using AMSL Aero's Vertiia hydrogen-electric aircraft.

Vertiia will be a highly efficient, zero emissions VTOL with a range of up to 1,000km and cruising speeds of 300km per hour. Life Flight is the first New Zealand development partner for AMSL Aero. The manufacturer’s launch customer, Aviation Logistics, signed a deal in Australia earlier this year for up to 20 of these aircraft.

Both Life Flight and AMSL Aero hope that Vertiia will eventually complement New Zealand's existing fixed-wing air ambulance fleet to provide exceptional aeromedical capabilities, including transferring both adult and neonatal intensive care patients between hospitals, together with lower acuity patient transfers.

Max York, CEO of AMSL Aero, says the company is excited to secure its first New Zealand deal with Life Flight: “This has been a big year for AMSL Aero as we continue to test fly the aircraft. We are thrilled that our first New Zealand development partner for Vertiia is Life Flight because of the important, life-saving work carried out by this organisation.”

Vertiia inventor Andrew Moore, chief engineering officer at AMSL Aero, says: “Vertiia will enable safe, efficient, fast and reliable aircraft to support Life Flight's aeromedical operations. Our partnership with Life Flight will allow us to include its expert feedback to refine the aircraft's development for air ambulance work.”

AMSL Aero has secured more than AUD$55 million (US$38m) in funding from major private investors, government programmes and customers to develop the Vertiia, which is currently progressing through the civil aviation certification process and is set to change the way people use air travel once it enters production within the next few years.

Life Flight CEO Mark Johnston says: “We're very excited about being AMSL Aero's first New Zealand development partner and the potential that Vertiia offers the local aeromedical sector. We're thrilled to be partnering with an Australasian manufacturer that understands the challenges of operating in both Australian and New Zealand conditions.

“Life Flight had more than a 20 per cent jump in aeromedical mission numbers last year and is currently on track for a further 25 per cent increase this year; that's almost double the number of air ambulance missions in just two years and proof of the growing reliance by Kiwis on our services. Most of our aeromedical flights are generally within 45 minutes flying time from our two bases, potentially providing an ideal flight profile for alternative fuel sources, particularly hydrogen fuel cells. Hydrogen-powered aircraft such as the Vertiia offer air ambulance operators the potential to significantly reduce our emissions footprint, complementing New Zealand's existing fleet of air ambulances with aircraft that are both cheaper to operate and kinder to the environment.”

Life Flight will soon commemorate 50 years of operations, flying nearly 50,000 Kiwis since Peter Button and Dr Russell Worth founded the service in Wellington.