WHAT'S NEW AT HELIWORKS...

Fire Fighting at Mt Allen near Dunedin February 2010. Heliworks had a BK117 piloted by Dave Kershaw and a B2 Squirrel piloted by Jason Laing fighting the Mount Allen fire. Along with 9 aircraft they fought the fire for 5 days before ground crews took control. Strong winds hampered the fire.

Heliworks nominated for 2009 CEG People's Choice Awards  25.02.2009  Heliworks are pleased to announce that we are nominated for the 2009 People's Choice Award in the category Best Nationwide Transportation. Please support our nomination by voting here.

Heliworks operates at Mt Cook in conjunction with Mt Cook Skiplanes 03.02.2009  Heliworks are pleased to announce that we are now operating at Mt Cook in conjunction with Mt Cook Ski Planes – we are the only helicopter company licensed to land on the Tasman Glacier. Please call Mt Cook Ski Planes on 0800 800 702 for enquiries and reservations.

Heliworks contributes to containing Southland fire 30.12.2008 TV One reports: Southland fire under control http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/southland-fire-burns-second-day-2431669 Heliworks had two aircraft fighting this fire: A BK117piloted by Dave Kershaw and an AS350 Squirrel B3 piloted by Jason Laing.

Heliworks receives Safety Award 30th October 2008

Heliworks has received a Helicopter Association International Operators Safety Award for 2007. This award is in  recognition of Heliworks outstanding safety record.

That’s it, That’s all 18th October, 2008

Heliworks recently joined forces with snowboarding legend (and now producer) Travis Rice to film a snowboard-adventure epic entitled “That’s it, That’s all”.   Taking two years to complete, this movie is in a class of its own. The depth of film captured by the cameras from the helicopters is frightening, thanks to the 360 – degree rotational Cineflex camera system that sits mounted to the bottom of the helicopters.    These cameras, usually reserved for big budget films such as Lord of the Rings and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, allows this movie to go where no other snowboarding movie has gone before.   Alfie, Johnny and Rico were the Heliworks pilots responsible for the incredible positioning and views seen through the movie whilst in New Zealand’s South Island.   To find out more about the movie please visit: http://www.thatsit-thatsall.com/

Heliworks Soars on Australian TV   18th October, 2008 Australia’s top rating travel show ‘Getaway’ recently voted New Zealand as the number one holiday destination.  Queenstown was highlighted as the adventure capital and Heliworks was selected to take the Getaway Reporter on a breathtaking Helicopter trip across Milford Sound. To view the spectacular footage please following the link below.  http://getaway.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=637088

Heliworks Helicopters  Show Their Strength 18th October, 2008 Heliworks have recently been supporting the Department of Conservation in Queenstown by  carefully removing  trees.  These trees under power lines will now be replaced by natives. A steady hand and precision lifting skills are required from our pilots during the removal process.	Photo thanks to : Anna Humphries of Dept Conservation Queenstown.
On 25th May 2008 Heliworks shipped one of their Squirrel helicopters ZK-HYS to Indonesia. This will embark on a mineral exploration contract for the next 12 months. Heliworks aims to have between 2 - 4 machines working off shore within the next 12 - 16 months on different projects. This is in addition to the 6 machines already based in Queenstown.

SEARCH AND RESCUE 16 MAY 2008 A police search team discovered the body of Okin, 35, near South Island's popular Routeburn Track on Friday after a private search team, funded by her family found articles belonging to her. 8 APRIL 2008 - 22 APRIL 2008 No sign of tourist on Routeburn Track Apr 9, 2008 11:55 AM TVNZ News A search and rescue team has begun searching the Routeburn Track near Queenstown for a missing Israeli tourist. Thirty-five-year-old Liat Okin was last seen on the track two weeks ago and police say they have serious concerns for her safety. Twenty searchers are at the track on Wednesday but so far they have found no sign of the missing woman. An earlier aerial search of the track failed to find any sign of her. She is described as 1.46 metres tall - that's less than five feet - of thin build and has dark shoulder-length hair usually worn in a ponytail. She was last seen wearing a red hoodie with a zip-up front, jeans and a backpack. Acting Senior Sergeant Steve Hutt says with a week's delay between her last sighting and the report coming to police, they've been trying to build a picture of her movements and trace witnesses.

TVNZ Close Up Programme Footage Thursday April 17 2008 http://tvnz.co.nz/view/video_popup_windows_skin/1722066

TV3 NEWS Footage Thursday April 9 2008 http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/national/6752.html

19/03/08 HELIWORKS FIGHTS REMARKABLES FIRE

Heliworks at Night! After months of training on new equipment, the pilots at Heliworks are very close to being able to fly at any time, day or night. With the introduction of Night Vision Goggles, we will be able to fly search and rescue as well as emergency medical flights as of the end of July 2007.
Remarkables at night.	Same shot with Night Vision Goggles on.

New Zealand Special Service Medal Awarded Heliworks Managing Director Dave Kershaw and his son Josh have been honoured with the New Zealand Special Service Medal for the work they did in Banda Aceh during the Tsunami of December 2004. Dave was in charge of sourcing helicopters and the setting up of the Oxfam helicopter relief operation between Hevilift and Heli Harvest. Josh was Hevilift's Operations Manager staying in the country for six months; he was there for the larger second earthquake being in the first relief helicopter out to Nias Island.

Helicopter starts Otago mineral survey 17 January 2007 By SIMON HARTLEY Gold explorer Glass Earth has begun its $4 million 18,000sq km airborne survey of Otago - the largest prospecting permit ever granted by government agency Crown Minerals. "Otago will get more than $4 million worth of value out of this project . It's the most significant project on Otago geology ever done," Glass Earth project geologist Sean Doyle said of the data, which will yield information not only on mineralisation but also on water and other geological features. Late last month, Glass Earth, one of the country's largest gold explorers, was granted the one-year Otago prospecting permit by Crown Minerals. The survey, by specialist contractor Fugro BTW Ltd, will use helicopter-borne Resolve system, combined with a magnetic gradiometer to search the top 100m of the earth's crust for minerals. The Resolve sensor was initially developed in Australia to look for water. The data from the survey, also measuring the earth's electricial conductivity and magnetic field, will be collated with historical findings to form a new 3D data base. Mr Doyle said it was hoped the survey, targeting Macraes-type gold deposits, would identify areas around Otago for further ground exploration in the future. Toronto-listed Glass Earth listed on the New Zealand Alternative Exchange in mid-October and raised $10 million from the fully-subscribed offer. The capital will fund the company's exploration and drilling programmes during the next two years, with the Otago survey costing about $4 million, of which the Otago Regional Council is contributing about $1 million. Mr Doyle said an approach had been made to the Ministry of Economic Development for financial assistance and was awaiting a reply. If a contribution was made the present survey area would not grow in size but more flying time could be logged and detail recorded. Yesterday was the project's first full day of flight, with the Heliworks Squirrel helicopter, the 320kg Resolve unit slung 30m below, beginning its low level passes about 60m above ground level. In about a month, a second helicopter and second Resolve unit might be in use, with both aircraft potentially working up to 10-hours per day, Mr Doyle said. Though clear weather and wind velocity would determine the work and safety programmes. The regional council has said its contribution to the project, $1 million split over 2007 and 2008, was prompted by recognition of the economic value of minerals to Otago's economy. the survey will help it identify precious metals, water, lignites and land-use areas.

Massive blaze on Remarkables 14 September 2006 By SOPHIE HAZELHURST Department of Conservation community relations officer Nick Edwards said all efforts tonight were being concentrated on a small area of the blaze, which prevailing winds were threatening to push south. Te Anau helicopter pilot Richard "Hannibal" Hayes, working with night vision goggles, was the lone unit tackling the blaze from the air since darkness fell. Earlier in the day, up to five helicopters were fighting the fire, which by tonight had spread over about 250ha. The fire began on adjacent farmland owned by Dick Jardine. Mr Jardine was conducting a permitted, controlled burn-off when the fire spread to conservation land about 2pm. Mr Edwards said it was not yet clear how the fire got out of control. "Once we've got it out, then we'll sit down and have an investigation into that," he said. DOC fire crews had been unable to do anything since darkness fell, since the land was too steep and rugged for fire appliances, and smoke combined with the rugged terrain made it unsafe for helicopters not equipped with night vision. Mr Edwards said most of the fire was blazing up the mountains, towards the snow line and was not of too much concern. "But we've got one particular hot spot that we're worried about," he said. "It has the potential to spread down, and then we would have a huge fire." Flames were reaching 10m to 15m high when they hit a dry patch of the brush and scrub covering the mountainside. The fire was not threatening any property, and he said wind was blowing smoke away from the Remarkables skifield. Heliworks manager Dave Kershaw said the fire could spread another 5km south towards Wye Creek, between Queenstown and Kingston. "Basically it goes from lake level to 5500 feet," he said. "If the gods were smiling very kindly on us tonight I'd say it might not spread, but that's unlikely." The scrub was so dry, and the fire so hot, water was having limited effect. "And because the hillside is so steep, we can't put people up there." Mr Kershaw said fire crews would be back at first light to see how best to tackle the fire. Remarkables blaze under control, DoC says 1.00pm Friday September 15, 2006 A scrub fire that lit up skies around Queenstown is under control for the moment, the Department of Conservation has said. The fire destroyed around 500 hectares of scrub land on the Remarkables near Kingston Road yesterday afternoon and consumed another 250 hectares overnight. Wakitipu DOC spokesman Nick Edwards said the weather and terrain meant that the fire had to be left last night. Five helicopters with monsoon buckets have been working with several ground crews to dampen hotspots today. Mr Edwards said the crews were dealing with extremely difficult terrain and although the fire was under control, DOC was monitoring the wind. The Metservice has said northwest winds may reach severe gale force in parts of Southland, Canterbury and Otago from Friday through to Saturday night. The National Rural Fire Authority urged farmers to be cautious. In a statement, the authority said: "This is a timely reminder to the public that conditions are dry and that any fires that are lit or start in these strong wind conditions have the potential to get out of control." It asked landowners in Southland, Canterbury and Otago hill country to take extreme care if conducting burning operations and to call their local Rural Fire Authority to check conditions. - NEWSTALK ZB / NZHERALD STAFF

From: Mountain Scene, 3 Aug 2006 No cheap thrill! AS FAR as thrills go, this one didn’t come cheap. An Arrowtowner alleged to have pushed a derelict car down a steep bank into the Kawarau River faces police charges and a $2100 bill. The incident happened almost directly across the road from the Chard Farm winery. Nearby tourists who videotaped the dramatic tumble called police when it happened at 1.20pm last Saturday. The culprits had scarpered by the time police arrived but constable Sean Drader says men were approached at the Frankton BP station just two hours later. Drader says an Arrowtown male who owns the car has been charged with criminal nuisance and will appear in Queenstown District Court later this month. The video seen by Drader shows four men at the scene when the car was pushed to the bank edge. It rolled and bounced down, narrowly missing one of the men who was standing halfway down the bank, he says. “It’s a pretty stupid thing to do. “If the river flooded and you couldn’t see it, you’d crash into it,” Drader says. “[The culprit] couldn’t afford to have it wrecked properly and he wanted to see it go splash from a nice high place.” Queenstown harbourmaster Marty Black says all up the recovery cost about $2100. It covered use of a helicopter, specialist divers and a backup jetboat in case anything went wrong. “There’s always a risk in these sorts of things. “Delinquents who do this sort of thing can expect to be charged [by police] and bear the full cost of recovery,” Black says. “If he’d taken it to the dump, it would have cost a couple of hundred bucks.”

Click to read what our clients say...

Dec 2005 - New Scenic Flight: "Grand Glacier" Click to read more...

Interview with new Heliworks Manager Dave Kershaw, click to read more...

Film work
Did you know that Heliworks is the biggest provider of helicopter services to the NZ film industry? Vast experience in feature and commercial work with a large variety of camera mounts including SpaceCam, WesCam. Mountain flying, lifting, aerial fliming, crew and gear transport. Credits include Lord of the Rings, Peter Pan, King Kong, Lion Witch and Wardrobe, Tourism New Zealand 100% Pure ads, and many TVC's. Click on the links below for some examples:

Heliworks films Carlton commercial: www.bigad.com.au

Heliworks films Tourism New Zealand commercial: 100% Pure NZ clip