| 71 RURAL SERVICES » Charteris Choppers Community spirit shines after cyclone Husband and wife team Sarah and Blake Charteris (pictured) moved to Wairoa in 2011. Kelly Deeks In the close knit rural community of Wairoa in the northern Hawke’s Bay, Charteris Choppers offers a one-stop-shop for helicopter services with two machines, a Hughes 500D known as Harry which is capable of lifting 500kgs, and a B3 Squirrel called Wilson who can lift up to 1.4 tonnes with the added benefit of completing some jobs in half the time. Husband and wife team Sarah and Blake Charteris moved to Wairoa in 2011 for Blake to take over the management of Ashworth Helicopters’ Wairoa branch. After five years as base manager and pilot, the couple purchased and re-branded the branch in 2016. “We never envisaged being here for this long, but we love Wairoa and it’s become part of who we are,” says Sarah. “It’s our home, it’s our kids’ home, and it’s one of those classic rural communities. Wairoa has had a tough time this year with the cyclone, but we have also witnessed some really good stuff come out it which has confirmed for us why we love being here. We were cut off from the rest of New Zealand for days, but local people just came out of the woodwork to help each other and share their resources. We feel privileged to have been a part of that.” Never being the type of couple to map out a concrete plan towards achieving their goals, Sarah and Blake have allowed their business to evolve naturally. Starting out with just the Hughes 500D, which incidentally is the very same machine which sparked Blake’s passion for helicopters as a youngster when it came to work on his parents’ farm in Gisborne, they saw an opportunity by 2020 to expand. Helicopters from out of town could be seen coming into Wairoa to do heavy lifting or commercial work that the Hughes 500D couldn’t cover, so they added the B3 Squirrel to the fleet, adding efficiency and versatility at the same time. Wilson is the first of his kind to be based out of Wairoa and his additional lifting capacity has Charteris Choppers adding commercial and heavy lifting to its suite of agricultural services. Putting Wilson into the fleet did come with some initial challenges. Two months after his arrival, Covid came too and the amount of work Charteris Choppers could do at that time was limited, leaving Sarah and Blake wondering whether they had done the right thing. But it also came with an excellent positive because they now had an opportunity to grow their team.“We employed Jono as a second pilot in 2021 and he brought exactly what we wanted for our team. We like to work alongside our clients, share our knowledge, and explore how we can best support them with their farming or commercial goals. Jono has fitted into our culture beautifully.” One of the best things to come out of the cyclone was the confirmation for Sarah and Blake that they have an awesome team that is reliable and passionate about what they do. Now looking to the future, with rising costs across the agriculture industry and uncertainly after the cyclone, Sarah and Freephone: 0800 338 2436 Email: info@educhem.co.nz Web: www.educhem.co.nz Educhem is a recognized agricultural training company which specialises in delivering courses to clients to t their agricultural and agrichemical needs. We are happy to come and discuss a client’s needs and adapt training courses that are applicable to their business as well as meeting the training requirements of RMA, Worksafe and EPA. Proudly supporting Charteris Choppers Maintenance Proud supporters of Charteris Choppers www.rotorcraft.co.nz 07 843 4925 Avionics Maintenance Control Hamilton Airport Blake are pleased they have grown to a point where they can offer a variety of helicopter services. “Having the big helicopter as well gives us the ability to diversify, work efficiently and help keep our district connected.” Wilson and Harry in action during cyclone relief.
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