Setting a new benchmark

Using a helicopter is sometimes the easiest, most efficient way to get materials to site.

“The really exciting part of this lift is that it had a bit of a challenge to it. We had to unload 800kg of benchtop made up of three slabs while the helicopter hovered above waiting for the crate to be empty so it could be lifted back to the truck on the driveway. Now this is easier said than done, but after a couple of practice runs at the Wellington Granite depot prior to the lift, the boys were happy that they could unload the crate and get it all secure again in under the target time of five minutes.

“The day of the lift ran like clockwork, everyone worked awesome together as a team and that extra practice and planning with getting the benchtop out of the crate paid off.” – Noah Wellington Helicopters.

“We were halfway through a renovation and addition in Wellington with typical tight streets and difficult access when we were told the kitchen designer had secured a single piece of granite weighing almost half a ton and measuring around 4m x 1.2m.

“After going through all the options, including demolishing the stairs and entrance, eight people carry crate, pullies and wheels, we quickly realised the safest and eventually most cost-efficient way was to helicopter the benchtops in. We got in touch with Noah at Wellington Helicopters to assess our site and give us a quote for lifting the benchtops down to site. We accepted the quote as it was much cheaper than we had envisioned and far outweighed the carrying and remedial works that were originally proposed,” says Alex and Niamh Windy City Builders.

“During the site visit, we meet face to face with the client and complete a walk around of the area to identify where the safest most effective spot is to stage from. ‘Plan A’ is always to try to stage from an off-road area. Although staging from the road carriageway can be done, it requires traffic management services. In this case there was a nice big driveway adjacent to the house with a flight route that took us over a garden area away from houses.

“From this point we go back to base and draft up a plan, Task Risk Analysis and Council submission. This all gets submitted to the City Council and we await approval. Depending on the complexity of the site, approval times can be between five days and three weeks. A more complex site normally involves traffic management, requiring traffic plans to be approved thus delaying the approval to about three weeks. In this case we had approval within five working days.” – Noah Wellington Helicopters.

“Once we put Noah in touch with Wellington Granite to organise the loading and unloading, we mostly sat back and followed instructions from the very organised and meticulous team at Wellington Helicopters,” says Alex and Niamh Windy City Builders.

“The lifts themselves went very smoothly from our point of view – a safety toolbox meeting prior to the lift, then we sat back and watched it all unfold. We found the whole process extremely easy in large part thanks to Noah and the team, and fantastic unloading skills from Wellington Granite. Next time we’re faced with a similar site, we won’t be hesitating to call them in!” says Alex and Niamh Windy City Builders.

Using a helicopter to deliver materials into difficult to access sites can be the most cost effective and efficient solution. Our experienced team will look after you from start to finish. If you have a difficult site, give Wellington Helicopters a call on 04 472 1550.