Memorial Hermann Hospital Life Flight Info

Four active helicopters in fleet:
N110HH - Life Flight 1.  BK117 A4.  Crashed July 17, 1999 near refuel spot.  Killed pilot, flight nurse, and paramedic.
N220HH - Life Flight 2.  BK117 B2.  Radio 60483.  Usually based at North Base?  Heard at west.  Reponded to Katy area.
N330HH - Life Flight 3.  BK117 A4.  Radio 64876.  Responded to Cy-Fair.
N440HH - Life Flight 4.  BK117 B2.  Radio 60482.  Usually based at South Base?  Reponded to Alvin.
N557HH - Life Flight 5.  BO105S.    Radio 60484.
Note:  Life Flight is about to acquire 6 new Aerostar EC-135 helicopters to replace the four older BK117 helicopters 
and to increase the size of the fleet.

Base locations:
North Base-David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (DWH).
South Base-Pearland Regional (formerly Clover Field) (LVJ).
West Base-Sugar Land Regional (SGR).
East Base-unknown but should be near Houston ship channel.
Life Flight no longer bases at UTMB Galveston.

Operational Frequencies/Talkgroups:
128.850 MHz (AM mode)  This used to be the primary frequency for Life Flight.
It is still used as a secondary frequency when their 800 trunk radio is tuned to the ground contact channel.
It is also used by dispatch to talk to other company medivac helicopters landing at Hermann.
Hermann helipad is identifier TX69.  There are two helipads on the roof.

STAR-Net talkgroup 21904-This is Life Flight's primary communications.  It is monitored by flight staff at each base
as well as any helicopters in the air.
Initial dispatching of birds is actually done on text pagers but you will here them dispatch here as well.
Your best bet for hearing this talkgroup is through the Houston site since the remote sites are rarely affiliated
with this talkgroup.

Ground Contact Frequencies/Talkgroups:
154.280 MHz-This is commonly referred to as Hi-band mutual aid.  This frequency is used statewide by almost
all Texas fire departments for interoperability.
Life Flight will often use this to talk to the "ground contact", many times a fire fighter at the scene, that
will give preliminary patient information and landing instructions.

154.950 MHz-This is called "intercity car-to-car".  Many police agencies in the state use this for interoperability.

155.340 MHz-In this area, it is called HAHERN, for Houston Area Hospital Emergency Room Network.
Most Texas ambulances and some police/fire folks have this in their radios.

458.075 MHz-This is called "FM1960 Fireground".  Some of the Cy-Fair area fire departments use this to
coordinate landings with Life Flight since they don't have VHF or 800 radios.

462.975 MHz-This is HFD's TAC-7 channel.  When Life Flight makes a scene with HFD, they use this one to
coordinate the landing with them.

866.5125 MHz-This is called I-TAC 2.  Is is one of five 800 MHz mutual interoperability frequencies available
to any public safety agency using an 800 MHz radio, trunked or not.
Folks should be using this frequency in simplex (direct) mode but sometimes you will hear the ground contact
using this in repeater mode which often causes interference.

STAR-Net talkgroup 8560-This is called Mutual Aid 1 or MA1.  Some agencies that use the STAR-Net system
will talk to Life Flight on this talkgroup for landing coordination.  Sometimes, talkgroup 8592, or Mutual Aid 2 is used.

STAR-Net talkgroup 12208-This is Alvin Mutual Aid.

123.025 MHz-You will hear Life Flight on this at times to coordinate airspace with other helicopters
(traffic/police/media) when transitioning the Houston area.

122.800 MHz-This is Pearland Regional (formerly Clover Field) Unicom.

118.400 MHz-This is Hooks Field tower frequency.

118.650 MHz-This is Sugar Land Regional tower frequency.

Life Flight base initially dispatches through alpha pagers to the pilots and flight crew.


Other notes:
Life Flight often refuels at helipad TE11 which is near Almeda Rd and McHard.  They call it "Reliant" (also "Fast Fuel").

Life Flight also talks to air traffic control and airport towers when going through their airspace but that's pretty routine comms and not very exciting.  I won't include all possible freqs here.

If you can think of a frequency or talkgroup that I may have left out, pass it along and I'll include it.

Myles Barkman
kg5ai*at*houston.rr.com
Check out my webpage for more information on scanning in the Houston area:
http://home.houston.rr.com/freqzone/

Check these links for pictures of Life Flight helicopters:
http://www.airems.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album54&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php
http://www.alecbuck.com/gallery/categories.php?cat_id=483&sessionid=b55144f0227c0fe98474870ee7da9f6c