High flyer finds niche in NZ

Helicopters fly over Wanganui most days but you don't immediately think of a medical emergency. Unlike ambulances they don't have a siren warning trouble lies ahead. Last month three rescues within a week meant the Palmerston North Rescue helicopter had to fly twice at extreme lows through the valleys up the Whanganui River, then into the foothills of Mt Ruapehu where "Desert Storm" trail bike races were being held. Three riders fell off their bikes, two riders were injured, one man died. And on the Whanganui river a 17-year-old girl suffered spinal injuries after her canoe hit a rock and overturned. Just days later a woman in her 50s suffered serious hypothermia when her canoe overturned on the river. The patients were winched to safety while the helicopter hovered at very low levels above the river. The second rescue nearly had to be aborted due to stormy weather. Reporter LIN FERGUSON talked to Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter pilot Fergus MacLachlan about flying mostly mercy missions.
CHOPPER pilot Fergus MacLachlan is like one of those intrepid heroes depicted in books, movies and in television dramas.
He's tall with an easy smile, a rollicking laugh and is a born adventurer. His deep-set blue eyes miss nothing, even though physically he's a relaxed kind of chap.
The former Kiwi farm boy turned fly-boy genuinely likes people and says he feels privileged to be now flying mercy missions to help the sick and wounded.
"It's really changed me. I'm not flying where the amount of dollars being made is the only focus. I'm flying to help people and I like it. I'm just one of a very important team and it's a good feeling to be here."
MacLachlan is one of two pilots with the Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter and though he's not long back from life overseas with its constant adrenalin rushes, serious pressure and some ego satisfaction, he's very happy to be back home in New Zealand.
With his American wife Christine, also a helicopter pilot, they settled in Palmerston North in 2009, have a gorgeous baby girl and life is as it should be, he says.
"Not too rushed, wonderful fresh New Zealand food, a nice little city to live in ... perfect place for us and our daughter. I wouldn't bring kids up in America ... no way."
At 36, MacLachlan oozes contentment, he's a man happy to be walking in his shoes.
Just over 10 years ago he headed overseas with plans for three months of fun and travelling.
After a few weeks his money ran out but he was far from ready to go home.
"No way, I wanted to keep going."
Having an Irish passport meant he was able to go Aberdeen in Scotland to his uncle's farm and find work to set him back on track again.
He found work with an engineering firm servicing the oil rigs offshore in the North Sea where watching the helicopters flying back and forth to the rigs was like a revelation, he said.
"I knew that was me. I wanted to fly helicopters. It really seemed like just the best job in the world."
With grit, determination and some serious saving he returned to New Zealand and Ardmore Aerodrome (South Auckland) to pursue his dream ... getting his chopper licence.
"Once I got my private helicopter licence I went straight back to Aberdeen to keep working and plan the next step to get my commercial helicopter pilot's licence."
He laughed when he said the day he found out that Florida was the place to go he literally quit his job and took off as soon as he could to the palm tree-lined state on the south-eastern coast of North America.
It was the best feeling getting into training for his commercial licence, he said.
What really blew him away was that the small condo he moved into in Orlando was practically next door to the Nasa Kennedy Space Centre's flight path and the space shuttle launch pad.
"We used to watch rockets taking off all the time it was just amazing. I still remember standing outside and watching them. What an awesome sight."
He's never forgotten the shocking sight of the space shuttle Columbia with seven crew aboard breaking and blowing apart.
On February 1, 2003 the Columbia and her crew of seven were lost during re-entry.
"And I saw it happen ... it just blew apart ... we couldn't believe it ... we were standing watching ... what a huge tragedy."
Whenever he's flying out these days in bad weather, buffeting winds, rain, mountainous terrain ... he always ensures everyone on board is happy.
Only one person has to say they're not feeling comfortable and MacLachlan turns tail and heads back to base.
"There's no point in pushing ahead when someone's not comfortable."
With his commercial licence sorted, MacLachlan headed for a job flying in the Gulf of Mexico to the oil rigs, where he stayed for three years.
An offer from Alaska to service the rigs up there was just too good for a man bent on a life of adventure to ignore, so off he went again.
Living and flying in temperatures of 40C below zero (lower than that you don't fly) across vast deserts of ice, roaming polar bears and one tree for thousands of hectares, was far removed from sultry, humid climes of the gulf, he said.
"I loved it, even though you had to be completely protected from the weather most of the time. There was 24-hour darkness for the winter months and temperatures so cold it would freeze your eyes in their sockets and you had to keep those special goggles on every time you went outside. I really did love every minute there."
But when a call came from the Grand Canyon with the offer of a job flying tourists in and round the canyon he couldn't resist.
"It was fabulous, you've never seen sunsets like it ... they were incredible."
But New Zealand was beckoning and the clincher came when they discovered a baby was on the way. "We didn't want to bring our baby up in America ... it was time to go home and Christine was happy to move to New Zealand. So it was all on."
Flying with a rescue helicopter service after 10 years away was a blessing and a bonus, he said. "I work with an incredible team. I'm just one of the team."
When the call comes to head off to serious accidents on the road, mountains, farms and rivers, medical emergencies and sometimes a police emergency to hunt down a criminal, a volunteer always signs in as well, he said. "The volunteers are from the police and fire service and they are invaluable. I couldn't do without them."
MacLachlan insists he's just the pilot, he's a pilot on a mission with every flight. "It's my life, it's very important to me."