Flying stretcher can keep four patients and a medic aloft for hours
The flying stretcher is a combination of a car and a helicopter, allowing for four wounded soldiers and a medic to be carried; it has an enclosed fan which allows for a vertical takeoff in areas tighter than a helicopter can manage
Here is a new device in which both the military and first responders would be interested. The Med-Evacuation Aerial Vehicle (MEAV), also known as the “flying stretcher,” is a product of Israel, and is designed to aid the nation’s military in quickly recovering soldiers and ferrying them out of harm’s way. Its enclosed fan allows for a vertical takeoff in areas tighter than a helicopter can manage, and it has the ability to roll around on its wheels, flying to where an ambulance can not go. Four patients on stretchers can be loaded onto the vehicle and treated by an on-board medic as the MEAV climbs up to 10,000 feet, able to stay aloft for three hours as it goes to and from the hospital.
The machine is billed as being able to operate anywhere in the face of any kind of terrain, with applications for the military as well as saving civilians after accidents. There are not many details on how piloting is handled, but the guess here is that it is controlled by a remote operator much like a UAV. A MEAV prototype has performed well enough that actual units will go into production later this year.
