Have seen this several times before - a great clip!
But, there is a mountain of video footage held in private collections in Kiwiland from the 80's (much of it of a dramatic nature). Someone needs to go round all the former flying farmers and collect this precious material and compile the 'mother of all deer hunting videos'.
Outside of what we did with the UH1 in Nam I don't think there has been another era in helicopter history where rotorcraft were 'tested' as they were during the height of the deer hunting years in New Zealand.
Dangerous? Yes. Oftentimes illegal, exhibiting poor airmanship and generally insane? Yes. But in its best light, it also exposed feats of rare piloting skill, of exceptionally developed 'coordinational' aptitude and of innovative flying and ground support operations.
Through these deer hunting days the Kiwi's, rightly or wrongly, have earned their place in rotary wing history!
HM
