diff --git a/simgear/nasal/cppbind/detail/to_nasal_helper.cxx b/simgear/nasal/cppbind/detail/to_nasal_helper.cxx
index e8d77090..14ffe909 100644
--- a/simgear/nasal/cppbind/detail/to_nasal_helper.cxx
+++ b/simgear/nasal/cppbind/detail/to_nasal_helper.cxx
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ namespace nasal
     //    }
     //    virtual ~NasalMainLoopRecipientSingleton() {}
     //};
-  NasalMainLoopRecipient mrl;  
+  SGSharedPtr<NasalMainLoopRecipient> mrl;
 
   //----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   naRef to_nasal_helper(naContext c, const std::string& str)