The daring adventures of a New Zealand search and rescue pilot. 'Somewhere, up ahead, a person is bleeding, but you have to put that out of your mind. Your job is negotiating with time and space. You have your clock, that person has their own, and in the end, whether the rate at which your clock is clicking matches theirs is out of your control.' John Funnell is one of New Zealand's longest serving search and rescue pilots. Often referred to as a 'search and rescue daredevil', John has just retired after an incredible 49 years flying search and rescue helicopters. He is perhaps best-known for the 800-kilometre mission to save a scientist attacked by a shark on the remote sub-Antarctic Campbell Island, when he set off into the night knowing the distance was twice that of the helicopter's normal fuel range. Clocking an incredible 19,000 hours of flight time, John is a hero to hundreds of victims all over New Zealand. What's more, he's a natural-born story-teller, and his stories in Rescue Pilot are utterly gripping.

Selvbiografisk beretning af pilot fra New Zealand om sin tjeneste i RAF under 2. verdenskrig

Rod Hall-Jones is a Te Anau-based author who has flown fixed-wing aeroplanes and helicopters since taking flying lessons at the age of 17. He has overcome more than a few hurdles to get to where he is today - including an examiner determined that he should not become an instructor, six engine failures, a wire strike, and a CAA medical branch restricting his medical. He sailed, flew, and ate his way through more than 20 countries during his six years flying as part of the Cousteau crew. Rod now lives in his beloved Fiordland and is lucky enough to still be flying and loving it, 50-plus years later. As the quintessential 'Southern Man', he enjoys nothing more than sharing the special beauty and history of Fiordland to inspire others to treasure and care for our national heritage as much as he does.

Jean Batten was born in Rotorua, New Zealand and developped a love for aviation from an early age. Her father did not approve of her love of flying and she and her mother moved to London in order to pursue her dream of becoming a pilot. Jean received her license at the London Aeroplane Club at Stag Lane and began planning for a flight from England to Australia to surpass the Amy Johnson's record. After two failed attempts, she succeeded in 1934, flying a Gipsy Moth and became a great hero in Australia, New Zealand and England. In 1935 she broke James Mollison's records for England to Brazil and Dakar to Natal and became the first woman to fly solo across the South Atlantic. She also shared a Harmon Trophy with Amelia Earhart in 1935. In 1937 she set another record for an Australia to England flight both ways. During World War II Jean Batten gave up flying and eventually became a recluse, living with her mother in Majorca, Spain and appearing in public only for a few events. She died in obscurity in Majorca in 1982. The international terminal at Auckland Airport is named in her honor.