The Trust was delighted to host 2 groups to the base recently:

Charles Upham Men’s Club

Thank you to the Charles Upham Men’s Club who visited the GCH base recently.

You can read an excerpt from their newsletter about their experience at the base below;

“Our Men’s Club was enthralled by helicopters and stories of heroic multi-terrain work by air rescue and paramedic staff, during a visit to the Christchurch rescue service this week.

A group of 30 men were hosted by staff from the Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust, located near the airport. They were given a fascinating presentation by trust general manager Rachael McNutt and a tour of the the engineering workshop!

The Canterbury Westpac Rescue Helicopter, a BK-117 B2 operated by GCH Aviation on behalf of the trust, was just one of several rotor-based aircraft on view.

Helen Higgins, who works part-time at the Charles Upham village café, also talked to the men about being at the centre of a critical motor vehicle accident four-and-a-half years ago. It took the rescue teams two and a half hours to cut her out of the wreckage.”

Allenvale Special School

Thank you to pupils and teachers from Allenvale Special School in Christchurch, who made the trip to GCH Aviation Centre last month to present a donation to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service.

It was lovely see the children’s excitement as they got to check out the rescue helicopter up close, and meet some of the wonderful crew who keep watch over the Canterbury Region every day.

The visit ended with the children watching the rescue helicopter take off on a medical retrieval, to pick up an unwell farmer in Ashburton.