Hello Tickle,
Has been to New Zealand in 2008 and it was amazing trip during 28 days both islands.
On that trip did not visited helicopter museums but have been in The Bushman's Center in Pukekura where they show the move about the helicopters history in New Zealand. Unique video about Deer Stalking and Gotcha Gun)
Here the video about Deer Stalking and Gotcha Gun on youtube:
Part 1 -
Part 2 -
Full Movie about Tim Wallis and Alpine Helicopters -
https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/cou...im-wallis-1987
Here some history of Helicopter in New Zealand
It was deer in the mid-sixties-seventies of the last century that were the main target of hunting in New Zealand. The reason for which unlimited hunting was opened (Deer stalking) - a threat to the natural world of the country.
Even before the arrival of the helicopter, there were attempts to use small planes for deer hunting. But the plane requires a small, but flat runway. The relief of New Zealand is still dominated by hills and mountain ranges, so there were not so many places where you can land or take off, mainly along rivers. But because of landing on stones, and not on a flat runway, the planes often crashed and, as a result, refused to use them.
The first helicopter in New Zealand was Bell 47G next Hiller UH 12 E was bought and used by Tim Wallis for hunting in 1965. And in 1970 more than sixty helicopters (Hughes 369D, Bell 206 Jet Ranger, Eurocopter AS350 and others) provided hunting and transportation of the shot deer. Hunters from all over the world started coming to the country, because for them it was a real chance to get rich quickly. In one day, hunters killed from one hundred to two hundred deers, which provided themselves with income of up to 17,000 New Zealand dollars per day.
In 1970, Alpine Deer Group helicopter company received a monopoly license from New Zealand government to restore the deer population in Fiordland National Park (Fiordland National Park). When in July 1973 the price of a wild deer jumped up to 2 New Zealand dollars per kilogram, the so-called “Deer boom” (deer boom) began. Every day about 20-30 helicopters illegally penetrated into the park and carried out shooting of reindeer in an attempt to get a “big score”. The government of New Zealand has decided to use its own military helicopters to suppress the “deer wars” in the park.
So until 1969, deer were killed for meat and skins, and then Tim Wallis’s company (Tim Wallis) “Alpine Deer Group” made a wise decision to capture live deer to create reindeer farms.
The first method used to catch deer was called “bulldogging”. The essence of the method required both the pilot of the helicopter and the catcher deer “bulldogger” should have maximum skill. The pilot had to bring the helicopter as close as possible to the deer during its run, and the catcher had to jump onto the back of the deer and bring it down to the ground, and then quickly tie it up. The film shows both successful and unsuccessful attempts with the catcher falling to the ground from a height of about two to three meters. Then they tried to use the net that the catcher threw at the deer, which also did not always end in luck. In 1978, the “gotcha gun” helicopter gun was first used, with which the catcher fired a nylon net on a fleeing deer and the success of catching a deer was almost guaranteed in 100 percent of the shots. After some time, the helicopter gun already had three trunks, which could be quickly reloaded, and the pilot could make the gun shots on their own without the help of a catcher.
From 1978 to 1979, the company “Alpine Deer Group” with the help of helicopters caught more than 7000 wild deer. The farmers who organized the reindeer farms paid NZ$ 250 for each deer in 1976, and in 1979 more than NZ$ 3,000. At the moment, the company “Alpine Deer Group” is transformed into “Alpine Helicopters” with headquarters in the area of Lake Wanaka. The main specialization of the company at the moment - helicopter tourism.
Hope to visit New Zealand in next few years to look New Zealand helicopter museums!)
Have a nice day!