North & South – June 2019

26 | NORTH & SOUTH| JUNE 2019

together.Wewereflyinginthesame

circuitalongsideeachother– I just

feltsoproud.I getquiteemotionaljust

thinkingaboutit.

I knowtherearerisks,butyoucan’t

dwellonthemandI don’tworryabout

him;you’dgonutsif youdid.Youhaveto

trust,andI alwaysknowhedoestheright

thing.I’malsoreassuredthathelooks

afterthehelicopters.Themaintenance

onthefleetisfirstclass.HeandRach

havegotreallygoodengineers,keepthe

helicoptersimmaculate,anddon’tpush

theweatherlikeweonceusedto.

Tobywasina helicopterata fewdays

old.We’djustmovedtothefarmand

therewasa flood,sotheonlyoptionwas

toflytoNelsonhospitalforhischeck-up.

Robynlovedbusinessandanythingto

dowithit,andfortunatelyToby’spicked

thatupfromher.I’mproudhetooka

littlebitfrombothofus.

Asa kid,he’dhangoutwithmeinthe

hangar. Sos, too. They’d ride bikes

Tragically,Robyndiedofcancerin

2017.ButToby,havingbuilta housenext

tohisparents’onthefarminWakefield,

isgratefulhismotherwasabletogetto

knowhisownhangar-rats,Ollie,now

six,andRuss,who’sjustturnedfive.It

wasalsofromthisbasethatBill– helped

byRobynandToby– embarkedonan

11-yearprojecttorestorewhatisnow

theworld’sonlyairworthyAvroAnson

Mk1 bomber,housedatOmakaAviation

HeritageCentreinBlenheim.

Inhis 2004 bookBorntoFly, Billtells

thestoryoftheReidfamily’sthreetrail-

blazinggenerations,withtheirsenseof

adventure, enterprise and courage.

Bill, 66

“I’vef lownata fewfiresalongside

Toby,butPigeonValley’swasthefirst

time we’ve been at a really serious event

wasa bittensebeingincompetition,
untilheretired,”saysBill,who’dbeena
“hangar-rat”asa kid.“Itwasprettycool
havinga fatherwhowasflyinghelicop-
ters,butwewereevenmoreimpressed
he’dbeena fighterpilot!”
Robynranthebusinessfromthe
ground.ShereceivedtheinauguralDi-
rectorofCivilAviationAwardforher
workinfurtheringsafetyintheindus-
try,andin 2016 wasinductedintothe
BusinessHallofFamebytheNelson
TasmanChamberofCommerce.
To byandyoungersisterAmelia(nick-
namedSos)wereinvolvedfromanearly
age,flyingwiththeirparentsandhelping
outinthehangar.Tobywas 19 whenhe
qualifiedasa commercialpilot.Rachael
hadqualifiedatthesameage,andthe
couplewentintobusinesstogetherwith-
inmonthsofmeetingeachother.(Ame-
lia,now33,hasa successfulactingcareer,
includingsixyearsonShortland Streetas
receptionist BellaDurville.)

Top(fromleft):BillReidwithfatherJohnandsonTobyatPatonsRockBeach,northofTākaka,in2004.Aboveleft:RobynReid
speaksafterreceivingherHallofFameawardfromtheNelsonTasmanChamberofCommercein2016,withAmeliaandToby
seated to her left. Above right: Bill with Toby and baby Amelia, in front of his company Nelson Helicopters’ Hughes 500D, 1987.