The event will feature hangar tours, close-up views of the agency’s air ambulances – a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter and King Air B-200 airplane – as well as family fun and games. Visitors can try out night vision goggles used by the North Flight Aero Med pilots and see how entire operation works. There will be prizes and snacks for kids.
Piper the Airport K-9 from Cherry Capital Airport also will be available to meet and greet fans, and emergency equipment and crews from both North Flight EMS and the Traverse City Fire Department will also be on hand for tours and to answer questions.
From its Traverse City base a North Flight Aero Med team, operated by Spectrum Health Hospitals, can be airborne within minutes to transport a patient from an emergency scene to a hospital trauma team or to transfer them between medical facilities.
Primary response teams include pilots, registered nurses, and flight paramedics who specialize in transporting and treating critically ill and injured patients. All team members are certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), pediatric (PALS), neonatal (NRP), and trauma care.
The joint venture partners of North Flight Aero Med have been accredited for critical care air transportation by the Commission on the Accreditation of Medical Transport System. This means that the highest standards in both the medical and aviation industries have been met.
The North Flight Aero Med hangar is located at is located at 1840 Stultz Drive in Traverse City, on the north side of Cherry Capital Airport near the control tower.