SOUTHAMPTON FREIGHT SERVICES LTD

Q: How do you squeeze a helicopter into a container?

Tight squeeze

Well the answer is, of course, with great planning and precision!

Our partners Compass Shipping in Christchurch, New Zealand required transportation of a used Bell 206 Helicopter for their client, a business based on the South Island of New Zealand providing a range of services from supporting the local farming industry to hunting trips, filming and photography and also flight training.

The collection and loading into a 40’Hc (high cube) ocean freight container was relatively straightforward, although quite an amount of preparation work is required to ensure certain parts are removed for loading and that the Civil Aviation Authority have approved the aircraft for export and supplied the necessary certificate.

In order to load the helicopter into the container a specialist vehicle with a hi-ab lift was required to lower the 40′ High cube onto the ground. The blades were then removed and the  chopper was gently edged inside, as you can see with very little room to spare!

The helicopter will be stationed in South Canterbury, in the centre of South Island, an area of immense landscape and picture postcard views. It is bounded by the Rangitata River to the north and the Waitaki River to the south, and across from the Pacific Ocean to the Southern Alps; natural beauty at it’s very best. You can view a YouTube video link here showing the helicopters in use.