Rapid Relief Team’s backing helps brighten night skies for Gisborne rescue chopper

Rapid Relief Team Gisborne team leader Clarke Judd (left), second-in-command Barker Vigis (centre) and Eastland Helicopter Rescue Trust chairman Ian Parker look forward to the arrival of the new night vision goggles.

An organisation that helps others in times of need has made a donation to Eastland Helicopter Rescue Trust that will have a lasting impact.

The Gisborne arm of the Rapid Relief Team – a global group founded by Plymouth Brethren Christian Church – offered $20,000 to pay for a much-needed new set of night vision goggles for the Trust Tairāwhiti Eastland Rescue Helicopter service.

“When the quote came back, the cost of the NVGs was actually $27,000, so we thought ‘let’s just do it’,” Gisborne Rapid Relief Team lead Clarke Judd said.

“They are absolutely essential for the team’s night-flying, so we were absolutely happy to do that.”

A long waiting list means the new white phosphor NVGs will not arrive until mid-2026 when they will be added to the team’s stock of two older green sets and another of the more modern white.

They magnify ambient light thousands of times and are vital for medical and search missions carried out in darkness.

“It is a long time to wait and that’s why it was so important to get the team’s order in now,” trust chairman Ian Parker said.

“As well as offering the most up-do-date technology, the new NVGs will provide cover when other sets are sent away for maintenance and calibration checks, so are critical to the crew, and we’re thankful to the Rapid Relief Team for funding them.”

Judd is no stranger to the helicopter service.

In 2019 he, on behalf of Rapid Relief Team, gifted the trust $10,000 for a syringe injector and fluid warmer that are important parts of the on-board kit.

Sixteen years before that, he himself was on board after suffering serious burns when, while working on a friend’s farm, a drum blew up in his face.

“They managed to drive me to Gisborne Hospital but I had to be transferred to Waikato. The team were worried that the altitude could affect my breathing if I’d inhaled chemicals, so they flew as low as they could.

“I remember seeing the forestry workers on the hills below, and watching all the little cars on the roads.”

The then-15-year-old’s treatment at Waikato Hospital’s burn unit was a great success.

“So I really know what it means to have access to the rescue helicopter service and how important that is.”

Judd said donations were funded by Kiwi businesses linked to the Brethren Church.

“We are an international organisation, but donations from New Zealand businesses go to New Zealand causes.

“We thought it was high time we again did something for the Eastland Rescue Helicopter, so were delighted to fund the night vision goggles that are so critical to the team’s work in our region.”