Look Inside a Gulfstream Flying Hospital for Beijing's Red Cross
China's Beijing Red Cross Emergency Medical Center just added a very expensive toy to its EMS fleet, which already consists of a reported 300 ambulances, two helicopters and a Dassault Falcon 2000LX business jet.
With a range of nearly 7,800 miles, the group's first Gulfstream, a G550, will be used for disaster relief and air rescue services around the world.
While Gulfstream and the Beijing Red Cross are mum on pricing details, a new G550 typically sells for some $61.5 million, though cabin appointments — such as the various equipment required for a medevac aircraft — can easily bump that price tag up a few million more.
Speaking of equipment, this particular G550 is outfitted with an incubator, life support, x-ray viewer, blood storage capability, powered gurney loading system and more. In a message to TPG, Gulfstream stated: "In this aircraft, patients can receive the same medical care in the air that they would receive on the ground."
There are also fold-out nursing seats and a crew rest with lie-flat capability — the latter of which will certainly come in handy on some of the plane's longer flights, which can exceed 13 hours between, say, Beijing and New York.
The Beijing Red Cross took delivery of the new plane in Savannah, Georgia, this week, and shared plans to add an even-longer-range G650ER as well.
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