Random reminder

Press, 22 July 1980, Page 24

Random reminder

TRANSPORTS OF DELIGHT

J.n London (writes a young lady, lately of Barrington St) there are tourist trips by helicopter. They cost £2l per tourist (her newspaper paid her fare) and include chauffeured Rolls to heliport and champagne before liftoff. Like floating over a Matchbox-toy-size, model, she says, with tiny people going about their business. She longed for binoculars. Police helicopters scared the London air, now smokelessand clean. The police would have binoculars, would they not? ..Speaking of clean air, she recalls that Christchurch trees were dirty and dying. London—- population 8M —- is green and alive. Very pleasant. But not quite as exciting as her very first helicopter ride. That ride, she remembers well. It was a while, ago, back here in Christchurch. Or, to be accurate, Burnham.

During her 12 weeks full-time training as a Territorial Army recruit, she had been taught many things by the Army, including how to approach a helicopter without losing her head. Then the Air Force took over. The ground disappeared. Tops of trees whistled past the windows. The water tower circled them. The drill square filled the windscreen, then suddenly shot away behind, and all they could see was sky. Finally, after travelling backwards over the camp at 120 km/h, at roof-top altitude, tipped forty-five degrees to the right, the helicopter stopped,. dropped, and sat there shuddering. Its passengers were not permitted to sit there shuddering. Unlike the London tourist, who is offered red carpets and glasses of fizz, your Territorial soldier has to run 50m and start firing a 7.62 mm automatic rifle.