Helicopters for the rich and impatient
It’s a service unlikely to relieve the peak-hour drudgery of average Auckland commuters, but allweather private helicopters are now available for hire at $4000 per hour.
The technical name for them is IFR helicopters, which means pilots can fly them safely amid complete cloud cover, just by looking at the dials and instruments in the cockpit.
In theory, they could be flown without windows, but as Heletranz IFR trainee pilot Peter Gibson says, that would defeat one of the major drawcards of the Albany-based business - whirlwind scenic tours of New Zealand for millionaire tourists.
‘‘You have high-end holidays, people who have 10 days to see New Zealand and we can meet them at the door of their private jet and show them the best the country has to offer,’’ Gibson says.
‘‘With IFR we are less restricted having down days for weather, and quite often we take these people between the best lodges in New Zealand.’’
Despite the extreme weather capabilities of IFR helicopters being limited only by hail or snow, Gibson insists flying them is safer than regular VFR helicopters.
‘‘IFR’’ stands for Instrument Flight Rules, whereas ‘‘VFR’’ stands for Visual Flight Rules, and they represent two completely different aviation laws by which you can fly a helicopter.
‘‘One’s a Visual Flight Rule, so you’re operating in a way that you can always see the ground, and obstacles and other air traffic. That’s what 99 per cent of helicopters do.
‘‘IFR actually makes it incredibly safe because you have to fly at certain height, between two established points.’’
Heletranz is the first helicopter company in New Zealand to offer IFR flights for non-emergencies, and chief executive and pilot John Ambler says the service can aid both commuters and tourists: ‘‘Our Agusta 109S, gets a traveller from the deck of their super-yacht moored in Wellington Harbour to the door of their private jet at Auckland Airport in well under two hours.’’
And, while the roughly $4000 hourly rate for the Agusta 109S may not be within the budget of those who don’t own superyachts, Heletranz offer more modest scenic VFR flights starting at $199 for 20 minutes.