{"id":329387,"date":"2023-03-01T19:31:03","date_gmt":"2023-03-01T09:31:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=329387"},"modified":"2023-03-01T20:28:41","modified_gmt":"2023-03-01T10:28:41","slug":"chopper-celebrates-25-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2023\/03\/01\/chopper-celebrates-25-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Chopper Celebrates 25 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
A bit of history … the Bundaberg-based rescue chopper in its old Energex livery (Photo: RACQ LifeFlight)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

March 1, 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bundaberg’s RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter service marked a significant milestone on Wednesday, clocking up 25 years of delivering aeromedical care in the Wide Bay and Burnett regions.<\/p>\n

The milestone was celebrated at the Bundaberg LifeFlight base, where supporters had an opportunity to go behind the scenes at the base and hear about the impact of the service in the region.<\/p>\n

The Bundaberg service began on March 1, 1998, after the then-Sunshine Coast Helicopter Rescue Service recognised a need for the Wide Bay-Burnett to have its own dedicated aeromedical rescue chopper.<\/p>\n

A base was established and a rescue helicopter, which at the time was a Bell Jetranger, soon became operational as the Energex Rescue helicopter.<\/p>\n

After an initial three-year trial justified the need, the State Government committed additional funding to help continue the Bundaberg service and upgrade the aircraft to a Bell Longranger.<\/p>\n

Demand in the local region continued to grow, sparking multiple aircraft upgrades over the years, including\u00a0the introduction of the current\u00a0Bell 412 aircraft.<\/p>\n

“It seems like it was only yesterday the service began, I can’t believe it’s been 25 years,” RACQ LifeFlight Rescue pilot Peter Marris said.<\/p>\n

“Seeing where we have come from in those initial days starting with a Bell Jetranger, with only a pilot and paramedic on board the chopper, to where we’ve come now being based in a multi-million dollar facility that’s been purpose-built, with a multi-engine, instrument rated aircraft, which can fly any time of day or night.<\/p>\n

“We’ve also now got critical care doctors on board the helicopter working with the QAS flight paramedics, so it’s just evolved into a fully mature and essential service.”<\/p>\n

There were a number of name changes along the way, too.<\/p>\n

In 2009, it was known as the AGL Action Rescue helicopter.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2013, with the merger of Queensland\u2019s two largest rescue helicopter services – LifeFlight (then known as CareFlight) operating from the Gold Coast and Darling Downs, and the Sunshine Coast Helicopter Rescue Service – there was another name change.<\/p>\n

Finally in 2016, the entire fleet, including Bundaberg was renamed RACQ LifeFlight Rescue.<\/p>\n

With mission taskings increasing each year, the operation outgrew its original base and in 2020 the helicopter and crew moved into a new, purpose-built facility at Bundaberg Airport.<\/p>\n

The Bundaberg rescue chopper has flown to the aid of thousands of people in times of crisis.<\/p>\n

During the past 10 years alone, the LifeFlight Rescue helicopter crew has performed 2724 critical missions, resulting in more than 2300 people helped.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
FLASHBACK: The then-AGL helicopter doing a medevac from Murgon Hospital in 2013
(Photo: AGL Action Rescue Helicopter)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bundaberg’s RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter service marked a significant milestone on Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":329392,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[172,3],"tags":[1551],"yoast_head":"\nChopper Celebrates 25 Years - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bundaberg's RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter service marked a significant milestone on Wednesday, clocking up 25 years of delivering aeromedical care in the Wide Bay and Burnett region.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2023\/03\/01\/chopper-celebrates-25-years\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chopper Celebrates 25 Years - southburnett.com.au\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bundaberg's RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter service marked a significant milestone on Wednesday, clocking up 25 years of delivering aeromedical care in the Wide Bay and Burnett region.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2023\/03\/01\/chopper-celebrates-25-years\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"southburnett.com.au\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-03-01T09:31:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-01T10:28:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/20230301oldphoto.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"740\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"460\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Anne Miller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Anne Miller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2023\/03\/01\/chopper-celebrates-25-years\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2023\/03\/01\/chopper-celebrates-25-years\/\",\"name\":\"Chopper Celebrates 25 Years - southburnett.com.au\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-01T09:31:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-01T10:28:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#\/schema\/person\/d43a5027bdddc95f54e9c6274d8a57ae\"},\"description\":\"Bundaberg's RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter service marked a significant milestone on Wednesday, clocking up 25 years of delivering aeromedical care in the Wide Bay and Burnett region.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2023\/03\/01\/chopper-celebrates-25-years\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/\",\"name\":\"southburnett.com.au\",\"description\":\"Kingaroy and South Burnett News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#\/schema\/person\/d43a5027bdddc95f54e9c6274d8a57ae\",\"name\":\"Anne Miller\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/author\/anne-miller\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Chopper Celebrates 25 Years - southburnett.com.au","description":"Bundaberg's RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter service marked a significant milestone on Wednesday, clocking up 25 years of delivering aeromedical care in the Wide Bay and Burnett region.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2023\/03\/01\/chopper-celebrates-25-years\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Chopper Celebrates 25 Years - southburnett.com.au","og_description":"Bundaberg's RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter service marked a significant milestone on Wednesday, clocking up 25 years of delivering aeromedical care in the Wide Bay and Burnett region.","og_url":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2023\/03\/01\/chopper-celebrates-25-years\/","og_site_name":"southburnett.com.au","article_published_time":"2023-03-01T09:31:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-03-01T10:28:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":740,"height":460,"url":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/20230301oldphoto.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Anne Miller","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Anne Miller","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2023\/03\/01\/chopper-celebrates-25-years\/","url":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2023\/03\/01\/chopper-celebrates-25-years\/","name":"Chopper Celebrates 25 Years - southburnett.com.au","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-03-01T09:31:03+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-01T10:28:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#\/schema\/person\/d43a5027bdddc95f54e9c6274d8a57ae"},"description":"Bundaberg's RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter service marked a significant milestone on Wednesday, clocking up 25 years of delivering aeromedical care in the Wide Bay and Burnett region.","inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2023\/03\/01\/chopper-celebrates-25-years\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#website","url":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/","name":"southburnett.com.au","description":"Kingaroy and South Burnett News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#\/schema\/person\/d43a5027bdddc95f54e9c6274d8a57ae","name":"Anne Miller","url":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/author\/anne-miller\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329387"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329387"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":329410,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329387\/revisions\/329410"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}