Spider spy system keeps eye on the sky

A new satellite tracking system has been installed in Tauranga's rescue helicopter, allowing the chopper to be tracked in real-time.
The pilot of the TrustPower TECT Rescue Helicopter, Liam Brettkelly, said the small black box which sat on the floor of the aircraft was an excellent safety tool.
Produced by Palmerston North-based company Spidertracks, the system transmits an aircraft's position to the country's three ambulance communication centres every one to two minutes.
The ambulance centres and the rescue co-ordination centre can follow the five rescue helicopters and two fixed-wing aircraft, owned by the Phillips Search and Rescue Trust, and if another emergency arises, retask them while they are still in the air.
Because they know where all their aircraft are at all times, they can deploy the best one to get to the scene the fastest.
Mr Brettkelly said having the Spidertracks system gave him peace of mind his flights were being constantly tracked and that if anything was to go wrong, someone would know exactly where to start looking for him based on his last location.
Previously, Mr Brettkelly said helicopter pilots had relied on an Emergency Locator Transmitter going off on impact, should the helicopter go down, but this was not always successful.
The Spidertracks system also allows for satellite texting, particularly during offshore searches outside of cellphone range. Mr Brettkelly said it was likely texts would be sent by a member of the crew, possibly a St John paramedic.
The helicopter's tracking data can also be accessed via the internet by anyone provided with the access codes.