Obituary: Bob Scott

Former Air Force pilot Bob Scott found himself starring at galas and Christmas parades when he moved to helicopters.

Bob Scott, QSM, pilot. Died aged 82.

Bob Scott was one of the first commercial helicopter pilots in New Zealand in the 1950s. Back then, he and his aircraft became a regular if unusual sight in the Waikato, crop-spraying and topdressing for James Aviation Ltd.

Scott first trained on a Hiller 12B helicopter in 1954, and went on his maiden flight in January 1955. Work was a little slow at first, so a barnstorming tour of New Zealand was arranged, with Scott instructed to visit every town with a population of 2000 or more. Barnstorming involved performing stunts and trick flying, and was not for the faint-hearted. The trip was a huge success, with Scott frequently the star of local gala events, and acting as pilot for Santa Clauses for Christmas parades and parties.

His interest in flying began when he was a student at Takapuna Grammar School, and he joined the Air Training Corps. After serving in the Royal New Zealand Air Force in the Pacific during World War II, he returned home to continue his flying career.

Later, one of his jobs with James Aviation was to train new topdressing pilots in fixed wing aircraft. These men, usually loaders and truck drivers, already held commercial pilots' licences, but Scott was given only two weeks to teach them the tricks of topdressing.

It was, and is, a dangerous occupation, involving flying over rough terrain, avoiding power and telephone lines, trees and inconvenient fences.

Scott himself had his share of accidents. On one occasion, he was carrying a Ministry of Works team to survey the Motu River in the eastern Bay of Plenty. He landed his Bell 47G helicopter on a sandy beach, with one skid on soft sand and the other on hard rock. As the rotor blades slowed, the helicopter began to rock, ending up with the blades buried in the sand and the craft thrashing wildly. No one was hurt, and the men eventually walked out of the bush after several days.

Scott was awarded a Queen's Service Medal in 2004 for services to the community and aviation. He is survived by his wife, Anne, two sons and a daughter.