Originally Posted by Agaricus bisporus
No one was being shot at in NZ
TOTALLY incorrect. RVDT will be able to confirm that the choppers did come back with holes in them. Sand in the oil and sugar in the fuel (the 300s obviously) were two other methods (as opposed to being shot at) to keep the opposition on the ground while their areas were poached.
Back then a rotary CPL was 50 hours. After all the deer boys "troubles" this was raised to 150 hours. It was an interesting time in our history. On my CPL ground school course there were several ex shooters who were paying for the rotary CPLs from their venison jobs. Some of their stories I doubted until I read The Chopper Boys and I doubted no more. The shooters were crazy, no, insane may be a better word. The ones I knew made the money for what they wanted and then left. Some returned to the venison roundup but by then it was winding down and deer farms had been fairly well populated.
The 300s had a unique method of "lifting" their catch off the mountain. Carcases were dragged to and then down a river until the DA was sufficient to enable the rotors to physically lift the weight attached.
RVDT, were you around Te Anau or was it the Manapouri area during the time a crew reported finding a Moa in the bush? That was real funny though I guess the TV crew bosses weren't that happy at the hoax.