The Helicopter
The Helicopter used by Greater Sydney Region Service is a Kawasaki - BK117 B2.
This helicopter has rugged construction features, large rear clamshell doors, large cabin volume and multi-mission capabilities designed to make quick work of the most difficult tasks.
The responsive advanced hingeless rotor system, excellent visibility and compact external dimensions for easy navigation also mean the BK117 can fly in and out of tight landing zones where other medium twin helicopters have difficulty.
More Details
- Helicopter: BK117-B2
- Call Sign: Life Saver 1
- Engine: LTS 101-750B-1
- Maximum Weight: 3350 Kgs
- Maximum Range: 238 Nautical Miles
- Average cost of a mission: Approx $2000
- Fuel: Aviation Turbine (AVTUR)
- Fuel usage: 180 litres/hr
- Max Fuel Load: 558 litres
- Duration or Maximum flight hours on fuel: 2 hours
- Flight Speed: 125 Knots
The Base
The Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter’s base is situated at Cape Banks, Botany Bay National Park, La Perouse.
This state of the art, purpose built operational facility which opened in 2006, is situated less than 200 meters from the coast giving the helicopter quick access to the coastal waters and cliffs, providing the most responsive service to the community of greater Sydney.
Cape Banks is at the heart of the Services’ primary mission requests, a significant proportion of which are within 10-15 minutes flight of the Base. The Service is one of the principal agents that respond to rock fishing incidents along the NSW coast line and around thirty percent of these missions occur within a 20km radius of the Base.
The Service is available 8am to 6pm (winter months) and 9am-7pm (daylight saving months) 7 days a week and is able to reach either the Royal National Park or Sydney Harbour within 6 minutes.
