Medevac Helos in Arizona - ??? - 2019

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zerg901

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Apparently lots of recent changes with medevacs in Arizona. Here is a list from the SW Mobilization Guide. The Mob Guide has a July 2019 date on it.

Native = Native Air
TSCF = Tri State Care Flight

Buckeye - AirEvac
Bullhead City - TSCF
Casa Grande - AirEvac
Cottonwood - Guardian
Douglas - Lifeline
Flagstaff - Guardian + (DPS backup)
Florence - Native
Fort Mojave - TSCF
Gilbert - Native
Glendale - AirEvac
Globe - Native + AirEvac
Kearny - Native
Kingman - Guardian + TSCF + (DPS backup)
Lake Havasu - Native
Marana - Native
Mountain Vista - AirEvac
Nogales - Lifeline
Page - Guardian
Parker - Native + TSCF
Payson - Native
Phoenix - AirEvac + (DPS backup) + (Phoenix FD?)
Prescott - Native
Quartzsite - TSCF
Rio Rico - Native
Safford - Native + AirEvac
Saint David - Lifeline
Show Low - Native + AirEvac
Sierra Vista - AirEvac
Springerville - Native
Sun City West - Native
Tuba City - Guardian
Wilcox - Native
Winslow - Guardian
Yuma - TSCF

I suspect that any locations with 2 helos listed might just have 1 helo now. Maybe the best way to confirm this list is to take info from people who actually see a helo sitting on its launchpad on more than 1 or 2 days. In other words, if you drive by Joes Hospital and you see Bobs Helo #2 sitting there on Friday and Sunday, you can reasonably assume that Bobs Helo #2 is based at Joes Hospital. The next best way to confirm that the helos are still operating is to hear them responding to calls on a scanner.

Does anyone ever do a statewide medevac rollcall? That would be another good way to confirm birds?

Anyone have an official listing of operating medevacs in Arizona?
 

Paysonscanner

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I assume you've already looked at what I'm going to attach. If not, it is a air to ground frequency list/map for Air Ambulances/Air Med Evac on Wildland fire incidents for the western US. I intend to submit the list to the database under the NIFC system in the nationwide DB pages. I don't know when I'll get around to that, it is near the bottom of my list.

Pooh, the RR site says it's too big to attach. Must be cause of the multi agency colors. I don't want to pay for PDF Edit, so it looks like I can only give you the standard for Arizona.

Pretty simple, just 155.340 TX & RX with a 156.7 tone.
 

zerg901

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This post mentions using the adsb exchange to track helos. It seems to work great. ( I hit - Menu - Options - Filters - Species - Helicopter )

This might be a good way to figure out who is still in service now. Lets see what I can dig up.
 

zerg901

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https://flight-data.adsbexchange.com/ - the adsb website also has historical flight tracks - so if we can get a registration number for a medevac helo - we can see what area they typically fly in

Also - if we scope out a certain area - and consistently see the same helo operating in that area - and it is a EC45 or similar type of helo - we can grab a registration number and see if it comes back to a medevac service

Coming up with a current list of operational medevacs in Arizona might be doable after all.
 

rwier

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Second try! That didn't work, I'm not a techie enough to figure it out.
Did you try (for me it's)

Right Click on File Name
Send to >
Compressed (zipped) Folder

Then attempt the "Attach files" of the new "zipped" Folder to the Forum Response?
 

kd7ckq

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Guardian may respond to Page. But, I am pretty sure they don't have a Helicopter sitting up there. As far as I know, that is covered by Classic. The way I hear it on the radio. Navajo Nation will do the following. If it is north of the GAP, it's Classic. Anything north of Red Lake on u.s. 160 is Classic. The only time they call Classic south of that is when Guardian is already out on a call and the replacement Helicopter is not in service yet.
 

Paysonscanner

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Did you try (for me it's)

Right Click on File Name
Send to >
Compressed (zipped) Folder

Then attempt the "Attach files" of the new "zipped" Folder to the Forum Response?

No, I didn't try that. If I can get that to work then I've learned a new thing. When I see things zipped I sort of run the other way.

Thanks!

P.S. Cute dog!
 
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zerg901

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Last night saw 4 medevac helos active on the flight tracking website. All 4 were owned by Flagstaff Medical Center which runs Guardian Air. N408GA, N407NA, N409GA, and N507GA. Two of them seemed to take off from Phoenix, head north for 30 miles, and then head back south. ????

The Guardian Air webpages no longer show a helo at Page. But they do show a helo at Polacca now. The Palacca bird would be "Angel ???" I imagine since several of their other helos are called Angel 2, Angel 8, etc. In fact, N408GA also was labeled as "Angel 3" on the flight tracker display.

Guardian Air base in Polacca | Northern Arizona Healthcare - webpage for Polacca helo

-------------------

Re Page AZ - perhaps the source info had a typo. Maybe they meant to show Classic at Page instead of Guardian. But iirc there might have been 2 helos at Page at one point a few years back. Maybe both Guardian and Classic had helos there.

All of which points to the difficulty of coming up with a real list of current helos.

-------------------

One correction to original post - the DPS helo in Phoenix did or does operate in conjunction with Phoenix FD. Perhaps PFD supplies medics and DPS provides helo and pilot.
 
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kd7ckq

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Old list I have that is several years old now.
N407VV Angel 3 Cottonwood
N408GA Angel 4 Flagstaff
N407NA Angel 5 Winslow
N420GA Angel 6 Kingman
N712GA Angel 7 Tuba City
N409GA Angel 8 Page

I have Angel 8 listed as Page. I don't know if I ever heard Angel 8 on the radio. So I assumed my list was wrong.
 

KB7MIB

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One correction to original post - the DPS helo in Phoenix did or does operate in conjunction with Phoenix FD. Perhaps PFD supplies medics and DPS provides helo and pilot.

DPS has 19 pilots and 22 trooper/paramedics to staff 5 helicopters.


John
Peoria
 

Paysonscanner

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DPS has 19 pilots and 22 trooper/paramedics to staff 5 helicopters.


John
Peoria
DPS has 19 pilots and 22 trooper/paramedics to staff 5 helicopters.


John
Peoria

Thanks John! This is great information that I had not found yet. The DPS website says the helos are stationed in 4 locations. I'll guess what 3 of them are: Flagstaff, Phoenix (the area) and Tucson. The 4th could be Prescott, Kingman or Yuma, in that order. Does anyone know the 4 locations? Also does anyone know which ships (by Ranger #) are stationed in these locations?
 

KB7MIB

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Kingman should be the 4th base. I believe that Ranger is aka "Western Air Rescue" by older info.

Ranger 42 should be the Phoenix Ranger, or one of them at least. There may be two Rangers based here in the Valley, or one may be a backup/reserve airship.

John
Peoria
 

zerg901

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Dug up a little more info

Classic Medical seems to have 2 helos at Page Airport - N407CH is the busier one - N716OV might be a backup helo

FlightAware.com allows searches by airport - history is available - so you can try to figure out which aircraft are medevacs - and see when and where they have been flying recently - mousing over the N numbers shows the helo owner

530 am edt today - Phoenix PD helo N353FB was circling around East Roeseon Rd south of the Intl Airport for a while

also at 530 am edt today - N585AE went to Tucson Med Center from the south at the same time that N384P went to Banner Univ Hosp from SE

N383P seems to be the PHI A550 stationed at Fort Huachuca / Sierra Vista (per flight history)

----------------------------

"Ranger 41" (?radio callsign? not speciific helo?) is / was dps helo with dps pilot + dps medic + phoenix fire medic - ? 2001 - per https://www.phoenix.gov/firesite/Documents/074703.pdf
 

KB7MIB

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IIRC, the Ranger callsigns are by the last 2 numbers of their tail number. Phoenix Ranger 41 was retired and replaced by Ranger 42.

They are also no longer quartered at Phoenix fire station 41, but at Deer Valley airport, along with MCSO Fox helicopters, Phoenix PD helicopters, and at least 1 medical helo, possibly AirEvac.

John
Peoria
 

Foresigt

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Ranger 1 is based at Deer Valley at least part of the time. I think it was based in Kingman for a while but I know it has been at DV for at least the last month. Ranger 1 is the new Bell 429 with the hoist on it.
 

Paysonscanner

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IIRC, the Ranger callsigns are by the last 2 numbers of their tail number. Phoenix Ranger 41 was retired and replaced by Ranger 42.

They are also no longer quartered at Phoenix fire station 41, but at Deer Valley airport, along with MCSO Fox helicopters, Phoenix PD helicopters, and at least 1 medical helo, possibly AirEvac.

John
Peoria

I was thinking that they weren't based somewhere in the densest part of the valley, but somewhere on the periphery like Deer Valley, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway or Goodyear. The Phoenix Interagency Dispatch Center (Tonto NF, San Carlos, Salt River & others BIA) is located at Williams Gateway and an air tanker base is also located there. I've seen mention of Deer Valley with some other state agencies like the AZ Department of Forestry and Fire Management (new name) and AZ Game and Fish. I like this thread as I figured out a lot about aviation medivac in my 40+ years in California, but now after moving back last fall, I would like to know how it is done here. Banner Med Center here (Payson) has a helicopter pad and I hear ships landing there as well as seeing them parked there frequently. I see by the list above that a Native Air is based in Payson. So many changes have occurred in Arizona since I moved away in the mid 70's that I now have much to learn.
 
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