LONDON: Around a hundred girl guides, brownies and scouts gathered at guiding headquarters yesterday to catch a glimpse of a rescue helicopter in action.

RAF Aldergrove lent one of its copters for the demonstration to show at first hand what their efforts will be going towards.

The enthusiastic youngsters have been helping those behind the push for Ulster’s own air ambulance, Alpha 5.

According to Gerry Carr, one of the men behind the project, the kids had “a lot of fun”.

“We had them all up in the aircraft sitting in the co-pilot’s seat with a helmet and headset so they could see what it is like. I think it was a big hit,” he said.

The Alpha 5 project is distributing 85,000 leaflets featuring an article from a Sunday newspaper detailing how crucial an air ambulance is for critically ill patients and a standing order form so people can donate.

It is expected that 36,000 of the leaflets will be distributed to around 12,000 guides who will door knock and ask family and friends for help.

Mr Carr said they included the standing order form because they believed it was the easiest way of supporting the venture.

It is estimated that it will cost £2.5m annually to operate an air ambulance in Ulster.

“It takes a lot of money to operate a helicopter, especially one with life-saving equipment,” he said. “Most other air ambulances in the UK exist on public donations and corporate support and we expect that will be the same for us. We will also be looking at trying to secure help from the Assembly.”

Mr Carr added that the project was still on track to have Alpha 5 operational by 2010.

The air ambulance would be capable of being airborne in less than three minutes after receiving a 999 call and have patients in hospital well within the recommended ‘golden hour’. A specially-trained doctor on board will be able to bring the skills of a hospital to critically ill patients.

Source: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk