28 | NORTH & SOUTH|JUNE 2019
businessskills.Dadpasseddownthe
practicalskillsandappreciationof
equipment.TheReidshavealwaysbeen
knownforclean,well-maintained
equipment,andI’mreallyproudto
keepupthefamilytradition.Wehave
technologynowtotrackthehelicopters
constantly,whichDadwouldn’thave
hadintheearlieryears,butevenasa
kidI neverworriedabouthissafety.
Flyingwasjustwhathedid.
MumandDadwerealwayssupportive
ofmychoicesinlife.I wasguttedto
havetogiveupbasketball,buttheyen-
couragedmetothink,‘Righto,what
now?’That’swhenI wentabroad,but
theturningpointbacktowardsaviation
washelpingBillwiththeAnson.That
wasa reallygreattimewithhim.
I’dtakensomeflyinglessonsandgot
myaeroplanelicenceinAustralia,andI
wasabout 19 whenI gotmycommercial
helicopterlicence– aroundthetime
MumandDadweresellingtheircom-
pany– butI wenttoworkoverseas
again.Thegenerationshavenever
handeddownthebusinesses;weallset
upindependently.WatchinghowMum
andDadbuiltthingsupandpersevered,
howhardthey’dworked,helpedinmy
approachtobusiness.I’mjustfortunate
Rachaelhasa similarphilosophyto-
wardshardwork.
NowBillworksforme,there’smore
ofa professionalrelationship,too.He’s
veryhelpfulbecausehe’ssoexperi-
encedasa pilot,buthedoesn’tgetin -
volvedwithrunningthecompany.
I didn’tappreciatewhatMumand
DadachieveduntilI experiencedit my-
self.AndnowRussandOlliearedoing
allthethingsI usedto.I lovehaving
themaroundandcomingflying.Dad
andI aresimilarlikethat.
Itwasdefinitelyimportanttousto
liveneartoMumandDadwiththe
boys,andstilllivingalongsideBillon
thefarmheremeanshegetstospend
timewiththem,whichisgreat.
NowI canseeI hada prettyinter-
estingandamazingchildhood,fullof
bothindependenceandguidanceat
thesametime.I askedRussrecently
whathewantedtodowhenhe’solder
andhesaid,‘Flychoppers.’Olliewould
probablysayhewon’t,butI’msurehe
willalwayshavea keeninterest.It’s
prettyhardforthemtonotfeelcom-
fortableina helicopterwhenthey’re
inthemsomuch;it’sjustlikehopping
in a car.” +he’dbejustthesame.
DadsaysI wasaboutninewhenI took
thecontrols,withhimalongside.I’d
spentsomuchtimeinthechopperby
then,I’dpickedthingsup.Mumand
DadweresobusyworkingthatAmelia
andI werejustpartofthat,goingoffin
thehelicopterforworkasa family.But
wecertainlyhadfun.Myboysnoware
justasinvolved.Theycomeoutonjobs
andsometimesI wishtheyknewit’san
opportunitymostkidsdon’thave.They
don’trealisehowluckytheyare.
I thinkI wantedtobea pilotfroma
youngage.Youcan’tbearoundit forso
longandnotgetattachedtotheindustry.
Therewasneveranyexpectation,
though.MumwastheCEOanda clever
business lady, and I’ve picked up herI hopeI’mmakingupforit bybeinga
goodgrandfather.Thegreatestgiftfrom
Tobyis thosegrandsons.I’mveryfortu-
natetolivenextdoor.I’mjustsoproud
ofhim.That’shardtokeepsaying, and
maybe I don’t do it enough.”
To by, 3 5
“Irememberasa kidflyingaround,
sittingalongsideBillandhimshowing
mehowtoturnalltheswitchesoffonce
we’dgottoourdestination.
He’sa patientman,alwayshasbeen.
Hewasverycool,calmandcollected,
rarelygettingfrustratedorheated.I’d
see him arrive back from rescues and
Top:Tobyplayswiththehelicoptercontrolsatjusta fewmonthsofage,proppedup
byhisfather’shelmet.Above:AcuddlefordadfromToby,asBillliesinhissleeping
bag at Goat Creek Hut, in the Mōkihinui River area on the West Coast, 1992.