Christmas has come early at Cairns Army Airfield in Daleville.

Three UH-72 Flatiron helicopters landed down Wednesday, representing the beginning of the modernization for Fort Rucker Medevacs. Eventually 5 more will arrive, phasing out the UH-1 helicopters over the next 2 years.

The UH-1, or Huey's as they are affectionately known, are described as durable and trustworthy, but they are by are also getting old.

"This particular aircraft I know for a fact was used and shot down in Vietnam," says LT COL Kyle Patterson pointing to a White UH-1 on the airfield. LT COL Patterson is the Fort Rucker Flatiron Commander.

"They have been around for a good long time. They have really served the Army and the country really well."

So how about an analogy for the switch.

"You can kind of compare it to driving an old VW Bug and now you are going to a modern sports car," Patterson added.

The Flatirons are used for medical emergencies stemming from accidents or rescue situations. They typically serve a 100-nautical mile radius around Fort Rucker, but have gone further to aid the southeast in the event of hurricanes and other big events.

CPT Chris Chung flew one of the new choppers in from the manufacturer in Columbus, MS Wednesday. After the trip he had nothing but compliments for the new aircraft.

"It has a better avionics package, better navigation package," said CAPT Chung, Detachment Executive Officer. "It Flies a little smoother because it has an autopilot. It is kind of taking an aircraft and modifying to bring it to the digital age."

The new aircraft is also better equipped to save lives as well. The UH-72 features an external hoist which now allows more room for medical service and to hold passengers.

And one of the biggest differences may be the speed.

"With the UH-72 it is going to fly about 30-40 knots faster than we can in the UH-1," says LT COL Patterson. "That speeds translates to time. We hope that eventually it will mean saving lives."

There are anywhere from 35-45 members of the Flatiron detachment group at any given time. The pilots have completed two weeks of training required to fly the new helicopters.

The old UH-1's have anywhere from 7,000-10,000 flight hours recorded, and will be phased out over the new two years.