Visitors at the Beaufort County Airport in Lady’s Island may notice a special aircraft on the tarmac today.
A Starship Air Ambulance Service pilot from New Zealand is training with Executive Flight Training, which sent one of their instructors to Elliott Aviation in Moline, IL to receive the airplane and the pilot.
The pilot arrived to train in a Beechcraft King Air 350 twin engine turboprop, which is one of the most dependable and predictable aircrafts in its class. This aircraft will be the newest addition to the Starship Air Ambulance Service.
Starship Children’s Health, a dedicated pediatric health care service and major teaching center, provides family-centered care to children and young people throughout New Zealand and the South Pacific.
The Starship Air Ambulance allows trained specialists to stabilize children needing emergency attention and to safely and quickly transport them to Starship, where they can receive the care they need. The Starship Foundation raises $1.5 million annually to fund this service in a variety of ways, which includes staff training and aviation costs.
Started in 1986, Executive Flight Training is a flight school specializing in one-on-one King Air flight training that operates from the Beaufort County Airport. Beaufort County Airports Director Jon Rembold said the pilot will be only the second pilot in New Zealand qualified to fly this type of airplane.