From the 2nd September through to the 5th September, Gama Aviation’s Special Mission will be attending Bournemouth Air Festival’s STEM Marquee area.

This new addition to the Air Festival seeks to inspire young adults in the challenges of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; demonstrating and showing a vocational approach to how these subjects are applied in a real-world context.
The Special Mission team will be demonstrating this through our Air Ambulance capability with representatives from our medical team onsite during the four-day festival.

Duncan Daines, Strategy & Special Projects commented: “This is one of the first occasions that we have been able to hold a face-to-face event over the last 18 months and it provides a wonderful opportunity to showcase to STEM students our air ambulance capability. I feel this is particularly appropriate given the event’s proximity to our Bournemouth Airport base, a facility that is the operational base for our medical team, pilots, engineers, etc. all of whom serve our air ambulance customers countrywide.”

The team are particularly keen to meet students who may be interested in future careers in medicine and / or aviation. With doctors and paramedics on site, STEM students will be able to hear real life stories and understand what it takes to work in the air ambulance community.

Duncan continues: “Unfortunately we couldn’t bring an aircraft or our aircraft simulator to the event however we have bought a road ambulance, part of the medical team and two Lifecast Body Simulation manakins. These are incredibly lifelike manakins that are used for training purposes and are worth a visit just to see how scarily lifelike they really are.”

The team will also be promoting and raising money for Lucy Air Ambulance and Air Ambulance UK in the build-up to Air Ambulance week which takes place from the 6th-12th September. Every one of the around 500 lifesaving missions a week air ambulance charities collectively make to people with a life-threatening injury or medical emergency costs on average between about £2,500-£3,500, and each one is all almost entirely funded by donations.