Second-gen helicopter pilot steps up to fill his father’s big shoes

New rescue pilot Matt Wilson follows in his father’s footsteps when joining the team at Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter Service. Photo / Warren Buckland.

Well-known veteran Hawke’s Bay helicopter pilot Lin Wilson never actually wanted his son Matt Wilson to follow in his footsteps and take up flying. He thought it was too dangerous.

Now 31, Matt is doing exactly that and has just taken a position piloting for the same helicopter rescue service his father Lin once piloted for.

Matt explained his picking up flying is his father’s own fault, as helicopters were a big part of his life growing up as they were always “just around”.

The new rescue pilot said, “the helicopters were always there and I was obsessed with them as a kid.”

“If I couldn’t fly I don’t know what I would have done with my life,” he added.

Lin sadly passed away when Matt was around 20 years old and since then he has been aiming his career toward becoming a rescue pilot.

With flying in his blood Matt has been flying since he was 18, received his commercial pilot’s licence at 19 and at 20 got his first official pilot job as an agricultural pilot, in southern Hawke’s Bay.

Flying is in the new rescue pilot's blood: Matt Wilson pictured with his dad Lin Wilson in one of the helicopters Lin used to pilot.

By the age of 23 or 24, Matt was in a position where he could partner with a close friend to start their own company called Heli Ag Ltd, and has worked there until March of this year when he made the leap and joined the Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter Service.

Matt said, “rescue was always the goal as a pilot, I didn’t think I would get in here this young or early, but I’m pretty stoked to have the position.”

As a pilot, Matt believes his work within the aerial agricultural industry and with aerial firefighting was a good way for a pilot to get their skills up.

“Obviously you can’t just get a job in rescue, you need to have a fair bit of experience in other things and the agricultural flying industry was a good way to get that level up.”

The new rescue pilot stated his new job is definitely a lot different than he was used to as a commercial pilot “but a helicopter is a helicopter and they operate the same and look the same out the front so you just do your thing.

“There is quite a bit of training involved, it was a good five weeks to a month before I was any use to anyone really,” he said.

Now with the team since March 2023 Matt has loved the job and said his favourite part is the variety of work and that he really never knows what he is doing that shift.

“You get a page and the next thing you know you are off to Wellington, or to the beach, maybe Gisborne or off to a capsized boat.”

Matt Wilson, pictured with his son Hugh, is excited to finally be in his dream pilot position with the Hawke’s Bay Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter Service.

As a rescue pilot, Matt sees people at their worst time but knows that for them seeing the chopper is the best feeling because help is on the way.

“It’s also quite cool to see the medics doing their job as they are the best of the best and highly trained,” Matt said.

Matt is married to wife Elly and has two boys, Hugh and Ted, both under the age of 4.

When asked if he thinks his young boys will follow in his footsteps and how he feels about that Matt said, “it will be funny, I don’t know what the helicopter industry will look like in that amount of time with different things happening.”

“I think Hugh my oldest will, he absolutely loves the helicopters and is obsessed as much as I was at his age, I would say he will,” Matt said.

As for his youngest Ted, Matt said he doesn’t really know as he is only just turning 3 this November, however, he does love the helicopters so only time will tell.

Safety was the main reason Lin didn’t want Matt to fly, whereas now the regulations and rules make Matt worry a lot less if his sons were to follow in his footsteps.

“He was quite an old pilot as he started off venison flying, which was very dangerous and a lot of guys died, so he was quite worried about that, but the industry has changed so much. Back then they didn’t have a Civil Aviation Authority,” said Matt.

As for filling Lin’s boots Matt wasn’t worried and said, “Dad (Lin) was a clever pilot but you just do your own thing. He was never on his high horse so it wasn’t like I was expected to be as good as him, or follow him, and like I said he probably would have preferred if I hadn’t.”

Maddisyn Jeffares became the editor of the Hawke’s Bay community papers Hastings Leader and Napier Courier in 2023 after writing the Hastings Leader for almost a year. She has been a reporter with NZME for almost three years now and has a strong focus on what’s going on in communities, good and bad, big and small. Email news tips to her at: maddisyn.jeffarea@nzme.co.nz.