More about Helicopters

There was a young local fellow who flew fixed wing aircraft for agricultural work and he finally gained his helicopter licence.
Murray loved to fly and there are stories about some of the things he did. I always felt safe with him, and we had to do a few difficult things together.

The first machine he used was a Hiller, a bit like a Bell but it was more powerful. Murray taught me some things like the more forward speed you have, the more the machine can lift. He used this when flying from ponds in the forest by landing on the area that was a dam, so there was an instant drop. These sorts of things helped him prune costs in the tendering process.

I will always remember Murray's response when his tendered price was not low enough. I wrote to Conservancy Office requesting that the outcome of the tender process could be reviewed and they replied saying if he met the lowest price he could have the work on account that he was 'local & known'. Murray replied that his price was what he thought he could do the job economically - therefore reducing his price was either to do a poorer job or to take less profit. He was prepared to do neither. No job is worth doing if you can't make money from it.

In the event the guy that got the job with his Hughes 500 'with computer controlled delivery system' was yet another cowboy. As was my habit I calibrated the output and found the tanks could hold only 50 gallons [he had claimed 60]. And ours was the last job on his contract - meaning others had not calibrated him as they should - this meant that the computer was all bulldust and the chemical had not delivered appropriately! He did on my watch though!

Our radio technicians wanted to put in mast as an aerial for VHF radio, and Murray flew me and temporary aerials around so the sites could be evaluated. This meant precision flying! Some of the sites were on razor back ridges - only as wide as a sheep track - I sat on one side of the aircraft and the poles/equipment were secured to the frame on the other side. He could not land, and there was always a wind up there, so he hovered by resting the skid on my side while I got out. Then he would move and hover with the other skid on the ridge so I could unload the gear. He would go away while I erected the poles and did the test. I would reload him the same way - we did this for several days. Always very safely.

Later he upgraded to a Jet Ranger and warned me that it was more unstable than the old Hiller. In fact if the Jet Ranger was hovering, a man could tip it over by lifting a skid.

We needed to put another aerial up on South Peak after we had purchased the Trotters Gorge Block and Murray used this aircraft to lift concrete for the foundation. Again he would load it to the maximum but was safe and did a very good job.

Murray was killed when his helicopter lost power as he was landing at Papakio.

There were three other crashes on or around the Forest. A Bell crashed while spraying gorse. A mechanical problem caused the crash but the pilot auto-rotated and was unhurt. Our Bulldozer cut a track down there and pulled the machine out and it was loaded on a truck for repair.

A Hughes 300 crashed on the forest boundary with Glencoe Run and was pretty well demolished. The pilot and crew walked away - albeit stiffly.

There was money in the live capture of live deer and further out on Glencoe Run another Hughes 300 crashed. We were called out to assist. This time there were injuries, the worst being Murray's brother. Among other things the rifle barrel went right through his thigh bone - the bluing of the barrel poisoning him and he spent a long time in hospital.

I liked the Hughes 300 and Rod Brown was one of the better pilots that I worked with. Always safe and always professional.

Well he was, but this may not sound that good - but he was .....safe. Below Trig J on the Fraser's Block, the geography is very steep and it is a long way, top to bottom. One day the wind made it unfavourable for aerial spraying, so Rod asked me if I wanted to look for deer with him. Well it is better to look for them flying slowly uphill with the rotors not too far off the vegetation - it is steep! But do you know the quick way down? I didn't! You take the pitch off the rotors so the machine falls like a bloody stone! Your stomach stays on top of the hill and forgets to follow! Looking straight ahead was the worst - looking out the side was bearable - just! Then as the river bed looms ever so close, a little power and gradual increase of the pitch and the fall comes to a slow stop and the motion is upwards again! We did this all afternoon. I didn't dare tell Mags about this but she did wonder why I seemed washed out!

Another time just by Government Hill, we were scouting for deer again and suddenly fog came in. Calmly Rod told me this was a bit dicky and I though maybe we could hover, dropping slowly. But that's not easy in fog and you can even not realise that you have changed direction. Momentarily there was a small break and I saw a fenceline that I knew. I told him we could lad right beside it as there was a large area of clear flat land. We were both relieved when the engine was switched off! It took an hour for the fog to clear.

You don't realise about fog. I left my vehicle and walked through an open gate to check on something. After the fog rolled in I knew I would find the fenceline and find the gate. I walked right through the gate and past the vehicle and knew I was wrong when I was going sharply down hill. I found my way but it is freaky.

The Squirrel is a top of the range helicopter with a lot of power. There was a fire at Trotters Gorge so I had to attach the monsoon bucket and guide the pilot down there - it was evening. You can't carry a monsoon bucket with with the trapdoor closed because the air can't pass through and it wobble back and forth and can take the helicopter down.

This helicopter had been called in as an emergency and had been doing specialised work. It had no mirror so the pilot could check on his hook (attached to the monsoon bucket) there was no seat for me, meaning there was no seatbelt! And we had to take the door off so I could lean out to see what the bucket was doing to advise the pilot who I did not know. I bet his feeling was mutual.

It was half dark when we arrived and the pumps were located by the creek, but I knew there was a telephone line so I cautioned the pilot, but neither of us could see it - he sort of held the aircraft in a hover while we looked - someone down there clicked and shone a light on it.

Some equipment was moved up on a ridge and the monsoon bucket was filled with firepumps
relayed up from the creek. Dumping that water was tricky, the smoke, the heat and the dark. The pilot did not mention the updraft but I expect it was a problem too. I kept safe by holding on to the pilot's seat and it was a rough ride! At about 11:00pm as he banked steeply, something rattled across the floor of the helicopter - the pilot asked what it was and I told him I had no idea! My advice was to get out of there. He agreed and we finished work for the night. There was not much else that could be done anyway. To this day I have no idea what had come loose.

Another local boy took up flying and has a successful business with a good reutation. but you know these machines are dangerous. My old mate Ralph was the boy's father and used to help him on the job. One day, he climbed out of the aircaft and walked into the tail rotor. A basic mistake and one of the first hazards you learn around helicopters.

I have not the slightest urge to go within 100 meters of another helicopter!