One of Northland’s longest serving rescue helicopters is retiring to MOTAT.

Following a blessing by local kaumatua Fred Tito, Juliet was this week transported from Whangārei to Auckland to join the MOTAT Collection having faithfully served the Northland community for 22 years and completing 22,000 take-offs and landings.

During that time Juliet flew around 10,000 hours, thousands of kilometres, carrying out daring rescues and saving many lives.

Northland Emergency Services Trust Chair Paul Ahlers remembers Juliet fondly.

“Juliet has been a real workhorse for NEST. She was extra special to us because she was the first Sikorsky S76 that we owned and she really paved the way for the other four S76s that followed her. But she was, and always will, remain our first love,” he says.

“Juliet was flown to New Zealand in 1997 by Reg Ellwood, our Chief Pilot at the time, after a 10-hour flight from Sydney, via Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. She was officially retired in 2019 but her service continued with our engineers’ taking parts off her for our other S76s. Our engineers had a real affinity for her as they coaxed her through 22 years of loyal service.”

There has even been a children’s book written about her – ‘Juliet to the Rescue’.

Juliet was originally owned by the King of Jordan and later by Dick Smith, the founder of Dick Smith Electronics. Between 1994 and 1995, the helicopter took the Smiths (Dick and wife Pip) on the first east to west circumnavigation of the world, at an altitude of just 500 feet to get clear photos for the book Above the World.

Juliet is now at MOTAT’s Blister hangar where she will be reassembled for display, hopefully, in the not-too-distant future.

Reassembly will take about six months, with different parts being reattached to the main fuselage and the paintwork rejuvenated. The helicopter has been out of service for some years now, but the team at NEST have worked alongside MOTAT to prepare Juliet for its move across the motu.

Back in 1997, the Sikorsky’s reputation for safety, reliability, smooth flying and long-range capability made it ideal for search and rescue when it was put to work in Northland.  It could make rescues up to 150km out to sea and travel a range of 742km at full load.

Its work included hospital transfers, and in emergencies it could land on beaches, farmland, roads and in bush, and winch rescue people from places too difficult to land. The Sikorsky also featured specialised equipment for flying at night and in the clouds, so it could carry out night rescues, whatever the weather.

Transport Curator Chelsea Renshaw is delighted Northland Emergency Service Trust (NEST) is donating the helicopter to its new home in MOTAT’s Aviation Collection.

“The Sikorsky complements our existing Collection really well because it adds to the growing collection of first-response objects that have had an impact on New Zealanders’ lives. It is also special to acquire something that has been an important part of search and rescue in Te Tai Tokerau and holds a special place in the hearts of people there,” she says.

“Technologically, it is interesting as the only helicopter in our collection featuring retractable landing wheels rather than skids – this made it safer for powerful medium and heavy lifting.”

Chelsea says the Sikorsky’s four-bladed main and tail rotors gave it the extra power needed for lifting and carrying heavy loads, making it ideal for rescue and ambulance operations.

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Caption: From left to right, former NEST Chief Pilots Pete Turnbull and Reg Ellwood, share their memories of flying Juliet with current Northern Rescue Helicopter Pilot Steve Couchman.