At the airfield in Göttschied, Idar-Oberstein's city leaders met with OIE officials and the two chairmen of the Aero-Club Idar-Oberstein e.V., Wilfried Feil and Wolfang Brust. The aim was to see for themselves that the planned new local grid station on the site had been installed on time. In future, the station will ensure the power supply for an ADAC Luftrettung project with the German aircraft manufacturer Volocopter on the site. The project partners are planning to start flight operations with a "Volocity" multicopter in the model regions of Idar-Oberstein and Dinkelsbühl (Bavaria) around the end of 2024/beginning of 2025 - in order to bring medical personnel to the scene of an accident or operation quietly, with low emissions and in the shortest possible time after several years of research.
"It's good to have reliable partners at your side for projects like this. OIE and Westnetz have promised to build the necessary new local network station at the airfield this year. They have kept their promise, which makes us very happy and confirms our good cooperation," said Lord Mayor Frank Frühauf at the site visit. The multicopter is expressly not intended to replace the rescue helicopter, but to supplement the rapid assistance from the air. Patient transport is not initially planned. The planned battery container required to charge the aircraft, which will presumably be placed directly next to the hangar, is 2.4 meters wide and just over six meters long. It has two battery units. The use of electric aircraft as emergency ambulances opens up great potential to further secure emergency medical care for the population - especially in rural areas.
With the new local grid station at the airfield in Göttschied, the OIE is investing in the increased power requirements on site and thus making it possible to install the necessary battery container. "Put simply, the transformer contained in the station can be described as a voltage transformer. It converts from medium voltage to low voltage. The new technology is maintenance-free and therefore also saves operating costs. We are pleased to contribute to the future project at the Göttschieder airfield with this measure," explains OIE CEO Thomas Johann. New power connections and sockets are also needed in the hangar, and a container for ADAC Luftrettung employees is also being planned.