Seaplane Rescue
 

Hello everyone. I would like everyone to know that we are working with the Seaplane Pilots Association and establishing connections with the Sheriff's department to work in conjunction with local Rescue Services to provide the Seaplane as an available asset in case of an emergency on the water or any of the island properties, as well as anywhere else called to enter service. This would increase response time dramatically and save lives.

This service could respond quickly to a boat crash and potentially get the injured person to a hospital with major trauma services such as Manchester or Boston very quickly. We could also assist in finding missing persons and conduct searches. The Seaplane has a stretcher that can be used for transport.

We would also make the asset available to law enforcement and be able to respond to an incident much quicker than a boat.

This is all being developed and has huge potential to save lives.

We appreciate your support.

Epic Seaplane Adventures ***edited for clarity***

Great idea! Thank you


Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

I'm not sure I follow how that would work? I think it would be a great service, but curious about protocol. If you are flying with a paying customer, then that takes you out of emergency service I would think. What hours is there staff available at the dock where the plane is? Is night an option? I only ask to better understand when this can come into play as compared to other rescue assets around the lake.

I hope that you mean decrease response time dramatically.

Yep, I need to edit that. Decrease you are correct.

Epic Seaplane Adventures

Air medical transport is a heavily regulated industry that requires extensive certifications and licenses, including for the pilots, and imposes very specific requirements on air-certified EMTs and air-certified medical equipment that is required onboard, among other requirements.

This would be a huge investment in both terms of pilot training and licensing, logistics of ensuring the required air-certified EMTs would be readily available to be onboard for such trips, and equipping each of these planes with tens of thousands of dollars of air-certified medical equipment.

As an island resident that is a potential beneficiary of such services, I sincerely hope this is a serious proposal that is being floated and not a publicity stunt around the seaplane base. I sincerely look forward to hearing more details on how this would work. If there will be a fundraiser to help raise the hundreds of thousands of dollars that would likely be required to get this off the ground, please keep this forum updated on the specifics and details, as this is a cause I would be happy to support financially once specific details are available.

Stop...you're making me laugh...

If involved in a serious boating accident, heaven forbid...the last thing I want is to be dragged up a float plane pontoon and wedged into back of a Cessna...I may need more medical attention after the trip!

While I think that is commendable of you, I do have to question your timing. You have had your plane on Mirror Lake for how long now?
Why are you just thinking of this now?

How would this work?
 

While a noble thought, I am slightly confused how this would work. If there were a serious emergency today that required air transport to Concord, Manchester or Boston, the injured would be brought to the nearest shore and put on a med-flight helo which would land on the roof of the hospital. The seaplane med-flight would also have to have a nurse/EMT on board, but where would the plane land?

There is no body of water near Concord Hospital....Manchester has the Merrimack River and that large reservoir whose name I can't remember....Boston has the harbor.... But then, the injured would still need to be transported by ambulance from wherever the plane lands to the hospital.

I don't see this as a viable option to provide emergency transport for critically injured people.

And a Space In Between...
 

It's an option to be strapped to a Stokes Litter and transported atop a float...and...there are two floats!

Sounds highly unrealistic, more like a weak attempt at trying to gather support for a sightseeing business in a busy area. Good luck finding a place to land on a weekend.

People are trying to cash in on the new busy Lakes Region. This is a very unrealistic proposal. With local Fire, EMS, Marine Patrol responding to emergencies on the lake and with access to DHART, Boston Med Flight and Maine Med. there is no way the aircraft could be properly staffed 24/7 to respond to emergencies or do it safely. IMHO a lame attempt.

I work in professional air medical transport for one of the countries largest air operators with a fleet of around 400 rotor and fixed wing aircraft. Use of this seaplane service as a search platform for local emergency services seems a noble endeavor. Use as an air medical platform for true medical emergencies seems wrought with technical and logistical issues that would rapidly reduce any time savings for the ill or injured. If the intent is to deliver a highly skilled advanced medical provider to the patient on an island, there may be some merit. But to then provide transport of the patient adds a layer of complexity besides just strapping someone to a stretcher. There are immense safety and medical care challenges. The days of “MASH”evacuations wherein there was no attention to the care of the patient in flight are far behind us! Now, developing a charitable service that could offer seaplane flights from the islands to a distant medical facility for required cancer treatments or other specialized care would be an interesting twist on some of the existing networks that provide this kind of charitable service with privately owned small aircraft. Im sure there’s a small percentage of the population that is managing complex out of hospital medical care issues such as cancer treatments that wish they had an easy solution to reach their medical care appointments while enjoying island life! Fly safe!


Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

Chopper makes a hell of a lot more sense in a water rescue. If they didn’t the coast guard wouldn’t use them exclusively.

No area hospitals have runways but I bet they do have a place to land a helicopter.

You all make very great points. All to be taken under advisement.

Oh, did I mention that it would be a volunteer service? So, no cost to the taxpayers.

There are many different possibilities, such as search and rescue operations, think finding lost people...

We are currently working with other states to coordinate and mirror their operations. I think that most of you are making assumptions that this would be a "rescue service".

Things are evolving and we will keep you updated. I made edits to my original post for clarity.

Thanks and please do keep us updated.

ESA - I was on your side when this all started (go back and look at my posts on another thread) but I think you're severely reaching at this point. I genuinely wish you the best and will never route against a local business (especially a fun one), but your responses to people who have a vested interest in the area (including you) are killing your business model before it's even off the ground (pun intended).

How can you say people are making "assumptions" that this would be a "rescue service" when you outright say it will in the first post? Be honest, take criticism in stride, and let people know you are looking to try and run a reasonable commercial operation out of the town and that you're attempting to take the appropriate steps necessary to do so. This forum isn't the judge jury and executioner, but it's powerful enough to provide you with some of the biggest supporters and opponents as well. Again, wish you the best since I do think you're facing a tough challenge here.

Even with the edits, I see that using a seaplane would still "increase response time dramatically..." I would prefer something that dramatically decreases response time.

Nothing good here
 

Quote: "working with the Seaplane Pilots Association and establishing connections with the Sheriff's department"

In other words: Nothing has been done yet but we are trying to create some positive energy for a proposal that has generated a substantial number of negative responses.

This is nothing more than a smoke screen to generate favor for a seaplane tour business that a substantial number of people have voiced opinions against.

1. What medical care will the "rescued" people in your care receive?

2. By who?

3. How will you pick them up and transport them?

4. To where?

"This service could respond quickly to a boat crash and potentially get the injured person to a hospital with major trauma services such as Manchester or Boston"

I'll bite: You are out on a tour with 4 passengers onboard and you get word of a boat accident. (Still trying to figure out how you will get word and know your "services" are needed)

1. What do you do with the passengers on your airplane?

2. How will you pick up, secure, transport, and care for the injured person(s) in your custody?

3. Are you prepared to deal with patients with head trauma? spine injuries? intoxication?

3. Anyone onboard your airplane with medical training?

4. Any medical equipment onboard? (stretcher? oxygen? splints? bandages?)

3. Where will you land with the injured persons? (Obviously that will need to be a place with and airstrip so that the injured may be moved to an ambulance for further transportation)

4. Do you feel that your "service" will be quicker than the local police/fire department or civilians in boats that would be in the area and offer assistance and transportation?

So I have no preconceived notions of what your are offer up here. Over the years I have known many pilots, and even some that have volunteer service in times of crisis.

The service private pilots can often offer up, is minimal, and generally only for searching. As others have stated here, to act as a med flight to bring someone to a hospital, you need to have equipment and room to do so.

They are not going to request a privateer to fly someone involved in any type of medical emergency to Boston or Manchester. 1st of all it would require landing at an air strip, transferring the patient to a helicopter, to then bring them to the hospital.... So any theoretical time that would be saved is lost.

With out a plane of any size to think that on a weekend busy with Boat traffic to think that getting an injured person onto a see plane in the middle of the lake is going to be easier or safer then putting them onto a boat and bring them to the nearest ramp for Ambulance or Med flight is not at all logical.

With that said if you want to gain support for this endeavor, which I applaud you for your desire to help. I have these questions, which really aren't things to simply take under advisement... If you are serious you need to have answer to these types of questions if you want to gain support.

What type of float plane are we talking about?
Beyond having a stretcher what other type of equipment are you considering having?
Has the thought of having to have room for not only a passenger, but also actively work EMTs been considered?

Having personal knowledge of some incidents involving island residences, and emergency services, a sea plane wouldn't have made any difference in how the incidents where handled, and by the time the sea plane would have taken off, injured people where already on board a boat and headed to the mainland for help....

With all that said.... what is Epic Sea Plane Adventures, other then seeing that the name was registered with the state, an instragram account, and knowledge that you are trying for a runway and sea plane base to be declared in 19 mile bay I see no information on the company..... Which makes it incredibly hard to see this as anymore the a publicity ploy to gain some favoritism when it come to getting a runway, and sea plane based established in 19 mile bay. Please note I am not against this, I know people in aviation, I know people that operate an airfield and sea plane base. I don't see any of this as a bad thing.... But right now I am having a hard time justifying what I am seeing as a business venture.....

Probably why you also don’t see Medi-vac operators moonlighting as scenic tour operators in their down time.

The state has ample resources available for stuff like this and as seen on north woods law state authorities will leverage national guard assets if need be. I can’t imagine it would be terribly helpful to have a sea plane on hand in most emergency situations and as previously stated with lack of adequate nearby landing facilities, life saving equipment and personnel on board it makes no sense - in fact I doubt you could even get proper liability insurance to do this.

Every little bit helps
 

I think it's commendable what you are volunteering. As people have mentioned, there are all sorts of regulations and limitations to what you'd be able to respond to and how.

That being said, the seaplane is another available tool for response. To write it off in total is narrow sighted. No, the plane can't do everything, but it could prove useful if integrated into a wholistic emergency preparedness plan.

So the MEDEVAC operator I work for actually does have a tour division! We operate tour helicopters in Hawaii and do charter work in Las Vegas. Although, these operations are not co-mingled with our EMS ops. Our EMS pilots have much higher flight hour requirements and training standards.


Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

I wish I could say I don’t understand where all this animosity comes from, but as the owner pilot of a seaplane I’m afraid I do. Somehow we haven’t gotten past the image of the pilot as a daredevil from the barnstormer age. Nowadays pilots go through rigorous training for licensing, and must undergo recurrent training and meet medical requirements. These days private pilots are well known for providing volunteer assistance in emergencies of all kinds, transporting people, pets and supplies to places larger aircraft can’t reach. Usually they pay their own expenses.

Epic states that the rescue operation would be a volunteer effort. Obviously if he happened to have passengers aboard at the same time that a call for assistance came in, he would have to bring them to a safe discharge point and return to the emergency site. As far as where to bring the emergency victims, an ambulance would have to come to the nearest docking point (or runway if Epic’s plane is an amphibian). Sure it would be better to have a Medevac helicopter with float capability. That’s not what Epic has, so he’s just offering what he does have at no public expense.

He is not going to get rich on this sightseeing venture. No one ever does. He’s giving people a taste of the joy of flying and the beauty of our glorious Lakes Region from the air, and hoping to make a few bucks in the process. I wish him the best.


Sent from my iPad using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

Its the fact that the "rescue operation" is a ruse to get people to buy in and approve of the business he is creating in a busy area of the lake.

An Epic smokescreen.