When SCAA pilot Captain Russell (Russ) Myles closes the hangar doors at the end of the day on May 29, he will be ending a chapter in his life that has seen him fly 11 years of life-saving missions with the charity.
For the following day, Russ turns 60 and his days of being able to fly single-pilot public transport such as SCAA come to an end.
“There will be mixed emotions that day,” explained the affable Irishman. “I was brought into SCAA right from the beginning and have seen the charity grow to deliver an amazing life-saving service for the whole of Scotland.
“I’ll be really sad to leave it all behind. My years with SCAA have been among the best of my flying career.”
That flying career began as a dream when Russ used to watch helicopters flying over his home as a boy and vowed that was the life for him
Russ came to SCAA with a wealth of fixed wing and rotary flying behind him – both military and civilian – and used every ounce of that experience and expertise to help create a unique operation for Scotland – the country’s first charity-funded air ambulance.
Initially flying the Bolkow 105 before the charity upgraded to the current EC 135, Russ soon helped establish Helimed 76 as a serious player in Scotland’s emergency air response network.
“I settled in at Perth fairly quickly,” he recalled. “I had secured a job which involved a 10-minute commute from home which is a luxury for pilots.
“I guess I enjoyed the work so much that I was happy to believe this was the job that could see out my career.”
In his time with SCAA, Russ has been at the controls for over 1,200 missions, flying to every corner of Scotland and its many islands, as well as across the Border.
“Scotland is just the best place to fly,” he said, “and I’m privileged that my work with SCAA has allowed me to experience it all.
"Of course, Scotland can be as brutal as she is beautiful and sometimes our flights can be taxing and exhausting.
"You can take off in sunshine and land in a snowstorm. The challenges posed by the weather and landscape of Scotland mean our pilots have to be at the top of their game and constantly vigilant - but that's real flying and what we all sign up for.”
While Russ concentrates on the flying, he would rather not know too much about the patient.
“I just need to know where we have to go and to get us there as quickly as possible and back safely,” he said, “but the safety of the aircraft is always my priority.”
Russ’s knowledge and experience of the many weather and landscape vagaries proves vital as time after time he has pulled off the most daunting missions to help save the lives of patients in every corner of the country.
Always operating within safety limitations, he has made the skies above Scotland his second home and each glen, mountain, loch and coastline is as familiar to him as his own backyard, enabling him to work out the safest, fastest and most effective routes in and out of incident scenes and onwards to receiving hospitals.
While he can’t afford to think too much about each patient, Russ does feel a modest sense of satisfaction, however, in knowing that his skills have helped to save and improve countless lives.
“I know that they’re relying on us to reach them and get them to the help they need,” he said, “and it’s rewarding to think that I have been able to do some good along the way.”
Russ's flying experience with SCAA is different each time and sometimes up to four or five lengthy emergency flights in a day can leave him mentally and physically exhausted.
On a busy 12-hour shift, Russ can record up to six hours piloting the air ambulance.
“But I’ll miss it – I’ll miss it all,” he admits. “We’re a small, close-knit team here at SCAA and I’ll miss the camaraderie and the banter.”
And he’ll even miss his long-standing relationship with G-SCAA – the SCAA helicopter at his service throughout the past 11 years.
And of course, he thinks of her as a female: “Just like a woman,” he said. “When she goes quiet, you’re in trouble.”
Russ has enough anecdotes from his time with SCAA to fill a book but highlights landing on an ornamental chessboard and a beach as the tide was fast approaching as memorable touch downs. And he was once used as a “mobile drip stand” while paramedic crew treated a patient.
In addition to his ‘day job’, Russ is also a well-respected Line Training Captain with Babcock, a committee member of the Scottish Aero Club, a keen private flyer with his own Piper Cub and his two-seater RV6 touring aircraft, an active contributor to flying scholarships, a competent writer for the aviation press and a supportive player in SCAA’s charity and media work.
And, as he counts down to retirement from SCAA, Russ is already looking for his next challenge. Thoughts are turning to going for his instructor rating to teach fixed wing pilots at Perth.
In his years with SCAA, Russ has also taught more than 20 paramedics seconded from the Scottish Ambulance Service to become competent HEMS Technical Crew Members, capable of playing their specific role before and during flight.
His outstanding career with SCAA also netted him the coveted Air Ambulance UK Pilot of the Year Award 2023, recognising and rewarding him as being the best in the business.
And it is his crew at Helimed 76 who will miss their mate the most.
SCAA paramedic Rich Garside said Russ was simply “irreplaceable”.
“He’s a legend,” said Rich. “He’s so experienced and that shows in his quiet confidence, calm reassurance and outstanding ability. He’s a safe pair of hands and he will be missed – sorely missed.”
