New IOR facility to support RACQ LifeFlight Rescue crews

“This fuel tank will enable our flight crews to refuel their aircraft and be ready to respond to a critical mission, more efficiently,” RACQ LifeFlight Rescue General Manager of Operations, Brian Guthrie, said.

Until now, both rotary and fixed-wing aircraft have been refuelled by outside contractors.

RACQ LifeFlight Rescue’s choppers and jets are refuelled after each mission, so crews are ready to take flight, at a moment’s notice.

The IOR tank, which was installed at the Brisbane Airport base in December 2021, has a 55 000 l capacity – four times bigger than a fuelling truck.

The volume of fuel in the tank and ongoing fuel usage is able to be electronically monitored over the internet by LifeFlight and IOR, 24 hr/d.

In 2021, the Brisbane-based RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter crews clocked up the highest number of flying hours of the LifeFlight rotary wing fleet, spending 1112 hours in the air, responding to 470 missions.

RACQ LifeFlight Rescue’s Air Ambulance jets, based in Brisbane, took flight on 185 rescue missions.

LifeFlight’s helicopter and jet crews are on call 24 hr/d, 365 days a year. The fuel cell will be operational at all times.

In what is believed to be a world first, IOR has also attached an electronic Quality Control Sampling (QCS) cabinet.

IOR has provided the aviation refuelling facility to LifeFlight as part of their ongoing fuel supply arrangements. The infrastructure’s estimated value is US$500 000. It was built by the company's infrastructure team in Eagle Farm, Brisbane, before being transported to the LifeFlight base and installed by IOR’s specialist team.

Read the article online at: https://www.tanksterminals.com/storage-tanks/24022022/new-ior-facility-to-support-racq-lifeflight-rescue-crews/