Up, up, and hooray

Gordon Preece

The buiding of a ‘Helicopter House’ in Nelson is raising money for the region’s rescue helicopter trust.

The home is the fourth built by Mitre 10 Mega in Nelson with proceeds going directly to the Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter Endowment Trust’s account.

Designed by Karsten Architecture with JR Construct doing the physical mahi over seven months with “highly-specced” donated Mitre 10 products and services, The Cooper Group will put the house under the hammer on July 26.

A potential fourth buyer who is forever indebted to the rescue chopper’s life-saving duties when they were in peril could take the keys.

Trust general manager Paula Muddle says the community’s generosity to the charity build, like the downwash created by rotor blades, “blows us away”.

“From the insurance, to getting the consent, to people chipping in bits and pieces, just so all those little things are covered, help towards making a profit after the sale for the Endowment Fund ... and JR Construct have just worked tirelessly,” she says.

“They know the work that they’ve done over the last few months will see generations of their family and friends benefiting from the service in the community.

“If everything goes according to plan and everything lines up, this could actually see the contributions from Mitre 10 Mega contractors and sponsors, and supporters of the build get to $1 million.”

The first Helicopter House, built in 2017, raised $142,000, the second in 2019 raised $210,000, and the third in 2022 raised $253,350.