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Read more about the Westpac Rescue Helicopter service history and facts.
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Westpac Rescue Helicopters
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| The Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch Westpac Rescue Helicopters are BK117 models—BK stands for Boklov and Kawasaki. The Westpac Waikato Air Ambulance is a Bell 222B. |
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BK117s use around 120,000 litres of fuel per year |
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BK117s can carry 605 litres internally and a further 300 litres with auxiliary fuel tanks |
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a helicopter’s average cruising speed is over 120 nautical miles per hour |
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from Dunedin to Christchurch takes around five hours by road and around 80 minutes in a rescue helicopter |
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with a full tank and in good conditions rescue helicopters can fly around 300 nautical miles |
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each helicopter’s equipment includes a premature baby defibrillator and full life support systems |
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| Helicopters were first used by the military for rescues in the Korean War. They were ideal for quickly transferring wounded soldiers from combat zones to medical stations. |
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| The first known civilian helicopter rescue in New Zealand was made. Flying a Sikorsky S55, Nelson pilot John Reid picked up a young woman who had been injured while caving. |
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| The first New Zealand rescue helicopter service was set up on Auckland's west coast in the 1970-71 summer. Pilot George Sobiecki suggested to Auckland Surf Lifesaving Association (ASLA) he could run a summer beach rescue service in his Hiller 12B helicopter. |
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| It was the world's first civilian helicopter rescue service controlled and operated by a surf life saving association. |
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| The service allowed lifeguards to rescue people from the surf quickly and to return them to shore. There were 11 rescues in the first year. |
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| Pioneer helicopter pilot Peter Button started the first rescue helicopter in Wellington. Button set up commercial helicopter company Capital Helicopters in 1975, making it available for emergencies. |
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| Button aimed to provide a dedicated rescue helicopter service for Wellington. In 1981, sponsorship by the Commercial Bank of Australia (CBA) meant Capital Helicopter's Bell 206B could be dedicated to rescues. |
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| With the 1982 merger of CBA and Westpac, it became the Wellington Westpac Rescue Helicopter. It was repainted in the now trademark yellow and red. |
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Auckland’s surf rescue helicopter service moved from a Piha caravan to ASLA headquarters, a cargo shed at Auckland’s Viaduct. |
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| On January 31, the Auckland service reached 1000 rescues since its inception 15 years earlier. |
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| The Christchurch service began with the establishment of the Canterbury and West Coast Air Rescue Trust. |
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| Before this, local company Garden City Helicopters helped with rescues. However, in 1986 the helicopter was called to a boat rescue off the Canterbury coast. |
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| Without appropriate rescue safety equipment, the crew found the rescue challenging and had to make do with ropes and life jackets. |
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| An independent trust was subsequently established to raise funds for the service. Trust Bank sponsored the Christchurch service from the beginning with Westpac taking over in 1992. |
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| Waikato’s Air Ambulance service began operating from Waikato Hospital in October 1987. The service was needed in the region which is mainly rural with extensive forest, bush and open roads. |
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Waikato hospital doctors recognised a need for an aero-medical service for emergency inter-hospital transfers—especially for newborns, heart attack and accident victims. |
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Trust Bank Waikato was the service’s principal sponsor from the start. |
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| Auckland Surf Lifesaving Association handed control of the rescue helicopter to the newly-formed Rescue Helicopter Trust. |
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| A Squirrel AS350B became the main flying machine and in 1993 was replaced by a BK 117. |
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| Infrared (FLIR) systems valued at $300,000 have been fitted to the Auckland BK117 for night flying and tracking accident victims using body heat. |
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| The Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust was awarded ISO 9002—the first such award given to an air rescue operation in Australasia. |
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