For the Lowe Corporation rescue helicopter pilots the view at night has never been better. In fact the latest and most technologically sophisticated night-vision goggles (NVG) which the service has now taken aboard allow clear views of Mount Ruapehu and Mahia Peninsular as they take off from their Hastings base ona clear night. As well as improving sight, the new goggles greatly enhance safety and, with the adoption of a new modified night vision goggle-compatible cockpit, mean missions to remote sites in the dark are made safer. For the past 10 years the crew has used night-vision goggles to help enhance operations, and the new models take that role a step further. With the arrival of the new goggles, which cost about $11,000 each, the trust agreed to invest $25,000 to make the cockpit night-vision compatible. The aircraft interior lighting needed to be modified to enhance the goggles' performance. The use of standard lights in the cockpit results in reflections in the cockpit, which result in reduced NVG performance outside the aircraft. Before the cockpit was modified for NVG use, the full benefit was restricted. With the new modified cockpit the pilot and crews situational awareness had dramatically improved, which in turn made night missions a lot safer, Chief Pilot Brent Williams said. Now with their night-vision goggles on the pilots are able to stare at the green, glowing instrument panel and then look outside to see kilometres into the distance. The new goggles had to be released by the US State Department. To purchase them the trust was required to prove they would only be for emergency use only. The trust was able to purchase the night-vision goggles thanks to donations received from The Southern Trust and Friends of the Trust. Trust community liaison manager Louise Harvey thanked The Southern Trust for its generous contribution of $25,000.
