Canandaigua-based Mercy Flight Central will be replacing its four-helicopter fleet at a cost of $21 million.
President and CEO for Mercy Flight, Jeff Bartkoski, said that much of the cost of the equipment is paid for through financing and insurance payments.
But Mercy Flight is also working to wrap up a $5 million fundraising campaign, which was jump-started by a a $1 million contribution from The Sands Family Foundation.
The new choppers will come from Leonardo Helicopters, replacing helicopters that, Bartkoski said, are more than 20 years old. The new helicopters will have technology that will give them additional flexibility.
“It may actually enable us to do some missions where we can't do them today because of the weather. But the other thing it does for us is even if we even if there's weather around and we're legally allowed to fly in it, this provides an extra safety enhancement,” Bartoski said, noting that the new helicopters have what is known as ‘IFR’ capability or ‘instrument flight rules.’
The new helicopters will be phased in over the next couple of years.
Mercy Flight Central provides medical transport and services to more than three million people in 24 counties in the Finger Lakes, central New York, the Mohawk Valley and the lower Adirondacks.
