Gama Aviation is the operator for the Scottish Air Ambulance aircraft on behalf of the Scottish Ambulance Service.

The Challenge

During the COVID-19 crisis,  Gama Aviation was unable to carry COVID patients on their helicopters, due to the cockpit and cabin being an open space. Alterations to the fleet were therefore required, involving the installation of rigid bulkheads to act as a ‘barrier’ between the two areas. However, none of the bulkheads on the market were compatible with the aircraft medical interior and so they needed to have screens custom built. Without any drawings and their design team based in the south of England, Gama Aviation approached the ADVS team for help.

The Solution

Reacting quickly to the request, we visited the Gama Aviation site at Glasgow Airport and scanned one of the helicopters using a Leica RTC 360 scanner. We then created an accurate 3D model of the aircraft, sliced it and provided the relevant fuselage section to Gama Aviation as a basis on which to design and manufacture their custom screen. In just over a week from receiving the request, we had provided Gama Aviation with exactly what they needed, completely free of charge.

Although Gama Aviation is not technically an SME – usually a pre-requisite for ADVS support – we were pleased to offer our services in the fight against COVID-19. It was also extremely satisfying to help Gama Aviation gain a greater understanding of their own equipment and demonstrate the increasing role of XR in aviation.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has posed significant challenges for us, not only in the carriage of COVID patients, but even the ability to bring our own design team up to Scotland to support our requirements. The ADVS team’s support in rapidly providing a highly accurate 3D scan of our aircraft allowed us to get over this hurdle and accelerate our response to the customer’s need.”

Ian McGill,  Gama Aviation