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We're getting a Hercules!
The RNZAF's fleet of five Lockheed C-130H Hercules transport aircraft served New Zealand for 60 years. Learn all about the aircraft from the people who flew it in the 1960s, and the final crews who operated the Hercules until its retirement. This film is a tribute to this extraordinary aircraft and to all of those who maintained and operated the mighty Hercules over those years.
#extraordinaryaircraft
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Summer fun with us
Raining? Too hot? Either way we’ve got you covered!
Pop in today with the kids or grandkids and enjoy exploring New Zealand’s military aviation history with us. There’s plenty for the younger crowd to do with our Pop-Up library space, DropZone and Balloon Busters interactive games, behind-the-scenes tours, Captured! interactive, hunts and our Mosquito Mission simulator. There’s also our café on site.
We’re open each day (except Christmas Day) from 9.30am until 4.30pm and we have a HUGE free carpark. Campervans and caravans welcome!
Plan your visit
Pop in today with the kids or grandkids and enjoy exploring New Zealand’s military aviation history with us. There’s plenty for the younger crowd to do with our Pop-Up library space, DropZone and Balloon Busters interactive games, behind-the-scenes tours, Captured! interactive, hunts and our Mosquito Mission simulator. There’s also our café on site.
We’re open each day (except Christmas Day) from 9.30am until 4.30pm and we have a HUGE free carpark. Campervans and caravans welcome!
New exhibiton: Insights
Insights
Caldwell Gallery
From delicate pastel and crayon sketches to the brutality of a crash-damaged German bomber engine, Insights offers a tantalising peek at the breadth and depth of our collection. Like many museums, space constraints mean that only a fraction of our one million or so objects can ever be on display. It is a collection containing stories more than 100 years in the making and a source of endless fascination for the team of people who work to catalogue, conserve and care for it.
Find out more
From delicate pastel and crayon sketches to the brutality of a crash-damaged German bomber engine, Insights offers a tantalising peek at the breadth and depth of our collection. Like many museums, space constraints mean that only a fraction of our one million or so objects can ever be on display. It is a collection containing stories more than 100 years in the making and a source of endless fascination for the team of people who work to catalogue, conserve and care for it.
Featured Exhibition
P-3 Orion
Located upstairs in our Cochrane Gallery, our Orion exhibition traces the origins and service history of the RNZAF’s fleet of maritime aircraft which performed exceptional service for almost 60 years.
The exhibition includes a scale model of the aircraft dating back to 1968, and a 13-minute documentary featuring interviews with pilots and crew, and a yachtie rescued by the aircraft back in 1994.
P-3 Orion: The story of an extraordinary aircraft is not to be missed!
Learn more
The exhibition includes a scale model of the aircraft dating back to 1968, and a 13-minute documentary featuring interviews with pilots and crew, and a yachtie rescued by the aircraft back in 1994.
P-3 Orion: The story of an extraordinary aircraft is not to be missed!
Our Aircraft
Explore AircraftMore to explore
After some engineering work last night our city's newest citizen - our Lockheed C-130H - was tucked up early for some beauty sleep.
Not that NZ7001 needs it!
We are now busy working on plans to showcase NZ7001 to you all in April - along with a fundraising campaign to build our Herc and its good friend our P-3K2 Orion a new exhibition space.
If you enjoyed watching the aircraft's arrival online or in person yesterday and want to learn more have a look at this short film youtu.be/7oi_8I2SaQE we've put together to tell the story of this #extraodinaryaircraft. Warning, you might need a hanky.
And if you wish to support us you can donate at If you’d like to support our #extraordinaryaircraft campaign you can donate directly at airforcemuseum.co.nz/make-a-donation/ sign up for our newsletters at airforcemuseum.co.nz/sign-up/
We're still pinching ourselves. Thanks No. 40 Squadron and everyone in the RNZAF who helped.
#rnzaf #christchurchcitycouncil #christchurchnz #rnzafpastandpresent #lockheed #c130Hercules ... See MoreSee Less
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Was great to watch and bought a tear to my eye knowing this beautiful aircraft was making is very last flight. Well done 40 Squadron for making the great landing.
Do we know how long it will be outside for before it goes in the hangar?
Well the last airframe that was flying for the RNZAF that I had previously worked on when in so a bit sad.
Did the museum get a F27? Glad to see the herk saved
I'm actually looking forward to getting up close and personal. I never once got the chance to when it wasn't retired.
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WE'VE GOT A C-130H!!! Our C-130H (NZ) Hercules landed today and we couldn’t be more chuffed. The Hercules is a national hero, with 33,000 flying hours clocked up from Antarctica to Afghanistan over six decades in the service of New Zealand.
Huge thanks to No. 40 Squadron and the RNZAF team for delivering the aircraft safely.
We are sorry this had to be cloaked in secrecy. The crew had a lot to contend with today with a short landing in a nor-wester without having to worry about crowds as well.
This was a huge undertaking – it is about 30 years since Wigram closed as an operational RNZAF base. Our thanks to our neighbours for your understanding, and FENZ, Police, Christchurch City Council and St John Ambulance for your help to manage this event.
We will be posting more pictures and videos as soon as we can.
The Hercules will now go through a demilitarisation and conservation process, and the public will get a chance to see it up close and personal at a series of open days in April. Stay tuned for details.
Now we need your help! The Herc is a little, ahem, tall and wide (not chubby – just big boned) to fit in our current spaces.
We’re planning to build a new $16 million exhibition space large enough to house the Hercules and its best friend the P-3K2 Orion we have in storage.
If you’d like to support our #extraordinaryaircraft campaign you can sign up for our newsletters at airforcemuseum.co.nz/sign-up/ or donate directly at airforcemuseum.co.nz/make-a-donation/
#rnzaf #christchurchcitycouncil #christchurchnz #rnzafpastandpresent #lockheed #c130Hercules Mark Peters - Councillor for Hornby Ward ... See MoreSee Less
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Air Force Museum of New Zealand Wonderful, congratulations on the arrival of your new baby 😉, a wonderful addition to an awesome and very worthwhile museum, the end of an era in one way but the beginning of a new exiting time in this aircrafts history. Great that her last journey could be in the same way she lived and not on the back of a truck and partially dismantled. Time for a well earned rest but also to bring pleasure to 1000s in the years to come.
A prime example of what it is good at and why they have been the successful workhorse they have been for 60 years
Amazing machines, have loved seeing them. So awesome to have her fly to her final resting place, not trucked! Well done to all involved xx
I wonder if anyone has measured the distance from touchdown to stop, what an impressive landing to watch. Well done everybody involved.
Bit if a bump, but impressive short landing
Welcome home Charles. Many time you’ve bought me home to NZ
Spare a thought too, if you will, for the crew who flew these beauties for soooo many years on countless missions, globally, knowing this was likely the very last time they’d ever get to plan and execute the flight and landing we were just privileged to watch.
Welcome to your new home Hercules 🥰
For those wondering about the bounce, it’s because the herc has been stripped as empty as can be, and because it’s a lot lighter the herc bounces instead of sits down. In the 2nd landing you will notice the pilot pushes the nose wheel down and breaks.
Anyone had a look at the two rubber skid marks on what was a taxi way.... Well done guys 👍
No TV aerials were harmed in the making of this video
Beautiful piece of landing thankyou for the big effort by everyone involved
Hopefully the demilitarisation process retains enough to show everyone what the capabilities of these hero’s has been!! We’ve vested time and money in them for defence and rescue ops capabilities literally for decades so I personally feel it’s important that enough physical ‘evidence’ of what they did is available for the decades ahead. It’s history. Our NZ history, and it needs to be able to be displayed adequately to all who come before us. So they know what was achieved in the name of Aotearoa, and why, and how.
Legend has it a spatula was required to remove the pilots' faces from the windscreen after that landing.
Double WOW! 💙
Air Force Museum of New Zealand great 👍 stuff guys and Brett 😊👍 im looking forward to see it on display 🥰😍❤️ im going miss them flying they are the best Aircraft in the World I Loved them 😞
So exciting!
Absolutely amazing aircraft can’t wait to see it up close
That’s epic!
What a beautiful plane
Nice landing 👌
They can land these loaded on aircraft carriers. Why did it take 2 attempts? These planes are designed to land on gravel roads ... did the pilots get nevous due to a massive crowd of ppl.
Hana Hope the view from the front 👌
Dad Andy Hamill your baby's home
That was definitely a nail-biting landing congratulations to the pilots
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NZ7001 is here! Our C-130H (NZ) Hercules landed today and we couldn’t be more chuffed. The Hercules is a national hero, with 33,000 flying hours clocked up from Antarctica to Afghanistan over six decades in the service of New Zealand.
Huge thanks to No. 40 Squadron for delivering the aircraft safely.
We are sorry this had to be cloaked in secrecy. The crew had a lot to contend with today with a short landing in a nor-wester without having to worry about crowds as well.
This was a huge undertaking – it is about 30 years since Wigram closed as an operational RNZAF base. Our thanks to our neighbours for your understanding, and FENZ, Police, Christchurch City Council and St John Ambulance for your help to manage this event.
We will be posting more pictures and videos as soon as we can.
The Hercules will now go through a demilitarisation and conservation process, and the public will get a chance to see it up close and personal at a series of open days in April. Stay tuned for details.
Now we need your help! The Herc is a little, ahem, tall and wide (not chubby – just big boned) to fit in our current spaces.
We’re planning to build a new $16 million exhibition space large enough to house the Hercules and its best friend the P-3K2 Orion we have in storage.
If you’d like to support our #extraordinaryaircraft campaign you can sign up for our newsletters at airforcemuseum.co.nz/sign-up/ or donate directly at airforcemuseum.co.nz/make-a-donation/
#rnzaf #christchurchcitycouncil #christchurchnz #rnzafpastandpresent #lockheed #c130Hercules ... See MoreSee Less
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Now that's what I call a Herculean effort.
Living where I do in Auckland these two types have been something I have grown up with. A plane nut but no military service they give goosebumps when seeing them around. Thank you for the memories and thank you people for not taking care of them.
Having been an airforce photographer, I have been inside the fuel tank of a C130 at No2 Hangar at Whenuapai to photograph a crack in a support joint - it was a very tight spot, with an air feed to breath whilst inside the tank and obviously not using an old style flash bulb - I was just amazed that this airframes guy had found this crack!
‘Not chubby, just big-boned’?! They’re not known around turbine as ‘Fat Albert’ for no reason!
It was an amazing site to see i was one of the many in the crowd on Loadstar Avenue, well done to the crew and all involved in an amazing landing, you guys made it look easy
Did you at least get a video of its landing and approach.also who do we approach to offer help in the restoration of aircraft I'm an ex planewright.
This pre show of rounding up hares was gold
Welcome home old girl. Thank you for bringing me home from those deployed places. Rest and be remembered by all those who have travelled on you
Well done to everyone involved to get such an iconic aircraft safely to the home of the air force. A mammoth effort all round and executed beautifully.
I feel like another clarification post may be needed... Thought you were talking about a C130 Nissan Laurel as it was a little ambiguous 😉
Had to wait awhile on the boundary but man it was worth it! Well done RNZAF!
Brilliant! ✈️
Donated - small amount but something to help you out.
Wow!! What an amazing achievement by the whole team and a fitting tribute to a legend of the sky!!
The RNZAF can land one of these on a postage stamp they are that good very proud of the RNZAF
Such a historic event lots of people would have loved to have seen, why bother if there was crowds anyway
Hope the new area will have an enough space for the Andover aswell😀
Hope it will be kept in flying order with it to continue to fly our country
It was definitely a surprise to see from the office 💫
After all the years and hard work she deserves a good retirement. A big thank-you to the crews and pilots who flew us into and out of all the hotshots during my service career nga mihi.
Well do and so awesome. Loved the approach and touch down. You could have backed up and taken off again. 😉
Fantastic work by the RNZAF im sure lots of emotion all round for the crew and plane enthusiasts alike . Delighted to have the mighty Herc home where she belongs 👌😍
Just like landing at the base over many years during my Naval service on SATS outside Airmovements. Many memories from outside the fence today. BZ to all.
Remembered with much fondness with working at USAP for many Seasons.......
At Invercargill as well
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Welcome home Charles! ... See MoreSee Less
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My father was an airframe mechanic at Whenuapai and probably worked on it when it first arrived.
What a landing that was well done to the pilots was impressive flying to see
Congratulations to all involved, always impressive Just as she was 26 years ago in a far away land 🛬❤🤍💙
Better than the Aussie’s managed to do,as I understand it they left theirs to rot outside the museum, and it was eventually demolished!
Just awesome
Great work by all concerned. Wigram airstrip preparation team, 40 Sqn Maintenance, Ops, Flight Crew, and everyone else involved. If you squint your eyes and look real close through the windscreen you may just see what is almost certainly the last flight of an RNZAF Air (Flight) Engineer,
What an amazing landing , I can’t wait to see what you guys have in store for us I can’t wait to visit this beautiful beast of a aircraft
What a sight to see so pleased we got to see the landing
My first flight was in that bird My last airforce flight home to hobsonville landed whanuipi I'm 68 last week 7001 kept us safe I have my last Sunderland flight over the coat hanger to I was so little then
Happry retirement
Its also the first C 130-H to enter service...anywhere.
Very sad.. It happened right in front of me 🥹 videyco.id/NewsLive
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