Papua New Guinea recruits N.Z. pilots

Press, 29 July 1989, Page 8

Papua New Guinea recruits N.Z. pilots

By DAVE WILSON The Papua New Guinea Government is recruiting Iroquois helicopter pilots in Australia and New Zealand for its recently expanded air arm. Australia has given four UH-IH Iroquois to the Papua New Guinea Government, but stopped short of lending aircrews to fly the machines. The Papua New Guinea Government is now putting the flying, servicing and maintenance of itsdefence force out to private tender. A Christchurch man who is bidding for the contract has advertised for helicopter pilots with Iroquois experience, and says sucessful applicants

could earn more than $lOO,OOO a year. Pilots are being sought to work month on-month off, to fly the helicopters until such time as the Papua New Guinea Government trains its own helicopter pilots. The wages being offered for the work in Papua New Guinea are about twice the going rate of a squadron leader helicopter pilot in the R.N.Z.A.F. New Zealand has not been formally asked to supply personnel to Papua New Guinea, and a condition of Australia’s giving the Iroquois to Papua New Guinea was that the aircraft be used solely for logistic rather than military purposes.