In the months when darkness creeps forward, we find ourselves reaching for the 'big light' in our homes earlier in the day. The same is true for our helicopter pilots, who use a high-intensity search light (HISL) when additional light is needed during taskings.
In the months when darkness creeps forward, we find ourselves reaching for the ‘big light’ in our homes earlier in the day. The same is true for our helicopter pilots, who use a high-intensity search light (HISL) when additional light is needed during taskings.
Between 26 October 2025 and 29 March 2026, in between the clocks changing, our crews were tasked 360 times during night shifts (7pm–7am) by helicopter and critical care car. As winter approaches, we’re looking at the difference the helicopter’s ‘big light’ makes to missions by air during the hours of darkness.
Our pilots, engineers and aircraft are supplied by Babcock International Group (Babcock), our aviation partner. Flying at night presents many more risks than flying in daylight, and it’s a regulatory requirement to have two high-intensity lights on the aircraft in order to fly night-time missions, in case one fails during a call-out. The second light is a steerable landing light. Without both, we wouldn’t be permitted to fly to emergencies at night. The lights, including the HISL, are tested every morning, so if there’s a technical problem, there is time for an engineer to resolve it ahead of nightfall.
The HISL is a vital piece of equipment on the aircraft, as its primary use is to illuminate landing sites and identify hazards during the recce. At 800 watts, it’s a powerful beam – and it appears even brighter for our pilots because the night vision goggles, worn on taskings during the hours of darkness, amplify the light – making potential hazards much easier to identify.
Pilots can control and move the HISL from the cockpit 235 degrees around the outside of aircraft and tilt it 118 degrees, either via the collective control or by its own handheld remote-control system. Operating the lighting forms part of the training Babcock pilots undertake for flying at night. Also part of that training is flying neighbourly – consideration for our communities by not shining lights directly onto properties, vehicles or people, and switching off high intensity lights just before landing to avoid glare.
There are also five fixed landing lights: one on the nose, three at the back, and one on the right of the aircraft. These are used during the day as well as at night.
The HISL really comes into its own on especially dark nights in rural areas, away from the lights of our towns and cities, where it can brighten up a whole area, making it easier for the crew inside the aircraft to identify any hazards before landing.
The skills and expertise of Babcock pilots, and every detail on and inside the helicopters, helps our doctors and critical care paramedics provide lifesaving care to critically ill or injured people in our region, whatever hour of day or night.
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