Westpac helicopters draw crowds on Open Day
The Westpac Helicopter Open Day drew a record crowd to the DHB hangar…
It may just be for the day, but it takes months to prepare.
Planning for October’s helicopter Westpac rescue helicopter day started back in May, marketing manager Sharni Weir said.
And while two helicopters were on display,one was definitely operational and ready to fly at a moment’s notice.
“They [helicopters] can be called up any moment, fully operational, which means we are on call 24/7, so they can go at any moment,” Sharni said.
Last year the helicopters flew 702 missions. There were two helicopters on display – the current aircraft and one that is about to be retired after many years of service.
“IRU is a rescue helicopter, and HZQ is the Bell, so this is the last open day of the Bell I guess as it has been around since 1995.
“I think this is one of the busiest days that we have had, so far so good.”
“While we are funded by the government, there’s about a 15 percent shortfall that we need to make up, so we need as much community help we can get,” Sharni said.
“Each mission costs us around $8000 – that’s every single time that we go out.”
Sharni said Open Days were worth the time and energy.
“It’s good because these kids can see how we work together with other emergency services, obviously it’s not just us who are around rescuing, so it’s all about how we work together,” Sharni said.
