Bell Helicopter delivered the first EMS-configured 407GXP to Air Methods at a ceremony at Air Methods headquarters in Englewood, Colo., on Monday. This is the first of what could be up to two hundred 407GXPs delivered by Bell to Air Methods over the next decade.

All of Air Methods' 407GXPs are being outfitted by company subsidiary United Rotorcraft. The emergency medical services interior can accommodate a single patient or specialty transport and includes an articulating loading system.

Derived from the Bell 407GX platform, the 407GXP has an additional 50 pounds of payload capability, coupled with the new M250 Rolls-Royce engine that improves hot-and-high performance and fuel efficiency. The aircraft is also equipped with new avionics features, such as an improved hover-performance calculator and a transmission TBO extension of 500 hours.

Air Methods began with a single Bell 206 and has since grown into the world’s largest air medical provider with more than 400 aircraft, some 300 bases and eight maintenance centers. It serves 48 states and transports more than 100,000 patients every year.