THE Wales Air Ambulance charity has unveiled its new aircraft and its new Rapid Response Vehicles.
In 2022, the charity underwent a rebrand and now the public gets a glimpse of a new aircraft which carries the new design.
During the summer, charity supporters were given the opportunity to name the helicopter.
They took part in an online vote to choose their preferred aircraft registration from a list of five options.
The clear winner was G-LOYW, which means bright or shining in Welsh.
Both the aircraft and rapid response vehicles maintain their strong Welsh identity, with a bold red colour and distinctive green dragon’s tail that matches the charity’s new logo.
The design also includes contour lines, which are green on the aircraft and yellow (high-vis material) on the RRVs.
They are representative of the diverse geographical landscape of Wales, much like those on an Ordnance Survey map, and are symbolic of the different areas and communities that the charity serves.
Dr Sue Barnes, Wales Air Ambulance chief executive, said: “Whenever we survey our supporters, the charity’s strong Welsh identity is always highlighted as a source of pride.
"It’s important that the passion for our nation is visible through the vehicles that we use, both in terms of their design and the Welsh language registrations for our helicopters.
“Both the helicopters and cars are funded by the people of Wales, so it is incredibly important to us that they reflect the country and communities that we serve.”
Mark Smith, managing director Special Mission for Gama Aviation, said: “It has been great to work with the charity to implement the evolution of their brand onto the helicopter and road vehicle fleet, allowing us to bring both design teams together to collaborate on how we can realise a 2D design on a 3D shape. "
Earlier this year, Wales Air Ambulance announced that Gama Aviation Plc had successfully bid for a seven-year aviation contract, which covers the operation and maintenance of a primary fleet of four Airbus H145 helicopters.
Currently, the service has three H145 helicopters and one smaller H135 helicopter.
As part of the new contract, the H135 aircraft will be upgraded to a H145, giving the charity a consistent fleet of advanced helicopters to deliver Wales’ vital air ambulance service.
The charity is also updating its fleet of rapid response vehicles, with the recent introduction of two Volvo CX90s.
This allowed for the new branding to be introduced onto these vehicles alongside the aircraft.
The lifesaving service, funded through charitable donations, funds a fleet of rapid response vehicles and aircraft.
They are equipped with some of the most advanced medical equipment in the world which enables the medical crew to deliver emergency department treatments at the scene of an emergency.
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