Media Release
Media Release Date:	June 28th, 2002
Subject:	Kitchener Aero Performs Special Missions Avionics Completions for Medivac Client Paladin Medical Transport.

Kitchener, Ontario, CANADA - Kitchener Aero (KAAV) is a premier avionics sales, installation and integration firm. The focus KAAV's technical expertise is in the corporate, general aviation markets and Special Missions needs - where they have been responsible for many industry firsts - especially in the area of Special Missions development and installation.

Barry Aylward, founder and President of KAAV, recently announced that the firm is well into the second of three planned BAE Jetstream 31 aircraft for Paladin Medical Transport.

Paladin operates from the Toronto City Center (commonly referred to as Toronto Island) Airport. Started in June of 2000, the specialty air carrier serves the Ontario government Ministry of Health as an Advanced Life Support Medivac. With a staff of 35 and a related ground ambulance company that employs a further 30, Paladin offers a unique service with an aircraft that provides 1,000 mile service. The Paladin fleet represents the only private medivac platform in the region that is capable of transporting 3 patients, their individual support teams and immediate family while maintaining full contact with the emergency trauma support rooms at the sending and receiving hospitals.

Paladin's CEO, Bob Reeve was previously head of flight operations for a western Canadian regional airline. As a commercial pilot, he operated one of the first medivac flights in Canada's north using a Beech B90. With over 20 years experience in airline operations, Bob knew what he wanted to put in place to make Paladin a truly unique and effective tool for helping people under stress move to the care they need in an effective and sensitive manner. According to Bob "We chose the Jetstream for a combination of reasons - most important being the ability to carry multiple patients and also allow the paramedics on board to stand fully upright and move about the cabin in the course of doing their job. One of the reasons I like working with Barry and the team at KAAV is the way they work with me. They listen first to what I want done and then finesse the project so that even the small details - like where a plug or connection or outlet should be located - are properly thought through and executed the way we want. Because of this attention, we have been able to create a medical support platform that is the favorite of our crews, the doctors and nurses at the hospitals and most importantly, the patients we transport."

The modifications and special missions custom installations performed by KAAV to the Paladin aircraft are focused on giving the cabin an independent link to the doctors, hospitals and even ambulances that form part of the patient transfer protocol. Each of the three patient stations in the cabin is equipped to enable the on-board medical team - made up 2 flight qualified paramedics, capable of offering both Primary and Advanced medical care - along with the pilots (all of whom are trained for medivac considerations) to have direct, independent access by VHF radio to the ambulance. This ability minimizes the wait by the ambulance for the aircraft and ensures timely transfers - especially in poor weather conditions. Satcom systems have been used for information-based transfer and tie the on-board crews into the physician, allowing them to administer drugs and treatment with an official Doctor's Order. The system is also ready for the day that cardiac info can be sent by the satphone - keeping the Doctors in the hospital linked to cardiac cases at all times. Bob Reeve says that this will be put into use very soon - and they are ready! In the interim, the Paladin crew uses LifePak 12 units to pick up many levels of critical data and then transfer this with the patient from the aircraft to the ambulance.

Other modifications incorporated include special electrical connections in the cabin area so that the aircraft may transfer up to 3 pax and a fully functional incubator. This flexibility has made the Paladin Jetstreams a favorite of the trauma teams for organ retrieval, neo natal, intensive care and even patient repatriation - working in full confidence that any and all contingencies have been planned for. Not only do these aircraft allow medical teams working room and the ability to communicate independently at several levels, the O2 capacity has been enhanced to meet all medical requirements for multi-patient transfers and simultaneous use.

Also installed are state-of-the-art Garmin GPS 400 IFR (Non-Precision Approach certified) GPS Systems with NAV Switching Systems for both Pilot & CoPilot. Custom Instrument Panels give the cockpits a 'new aircraft' appearance.

Looking to the future, Paladin and KAAV are already working on the introduction of further enhancements to the fleet including live TV and enhanced information transfer. In many cases, the aircraft are all but ready - it's the hospitals that are playing catch-up. The Paladin fleet is strictly for private use and the third Jetstream will be completed by KAAV and in service by the fall of this year.

In conjunction with sister firm Mid Canada Mod Center, KAAV have been recipients of various awards and accolades for business and technical excellence and outstanding customer support. They operate facilities at both the Kitchener/Waterloo Regional (CYKF) and Toronto International (CYYZ) airports. This year also marks the 25th anniversary of Kitchener Aero's AMO.

For more information about this release or any other aspect of KAAV, please see the company web site - www.kitcheneraero.com or feel welcome to contact Barry Aylward directly at (519) 648-2921 or 1-800-9-AVIONX.

	A Paladin Medical Transport Ground Ambulance meets their specially modified BAE Jetstream 31 for patient transport/transfer. Kitchener Aero have equipped this aircraft, with a second underway and third to begin soon with systems and avionics that make these aircraft a very unique and necessary part of the patient care transfer process in the Province of Ontario.
	As part of the refit of the Paladin aircraft, Kitchener Aero plan and consult with the client on the location and installation of every detail - right down to the plugs for medial support equipment. Accordingly these aircraft are the only such platforms currently capable of the simultaneous transfer for up to three critical patients and their support team. Where possible they have also incorporated systems planned for future use.
	The finished result created by Kitchener Aero is a cabin equipped for direct VHF contact between medical teams and the ground ambulance. Using cabin independent Satphones enables the medical team to work under the direction of doctors at the sending or receiving hospital - especially handy if a patient takes a turn for the worse during the flight. In addition to taking patients from locations that are remote to the hospital, Paladin also perform patient repatriation - in most cases simultaneous with new transfers.
	With work well underway on the second of three Paladin Medical Transport BAE Jetsream 31 aircraft, Kitchener Aero's modifcations include some new "front office" equipment - a Garmin GPS 400 IFR (Non-Precision Approach certified) GPS Systems with NAV Switching Systems for both Pilot & CoPilot. Custom Instrument Panels give the cockpits a 'new aircraft' appearance.

For further information or different copies of these photos, please contact: Rob Seaman at BASS Inc. - (416) 806-2966 or by email at rwseaman@bizav.ca.