Aircraft of the Year
Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?
Voting is now open in the Air Force Museum of New Zealand’s Aircraft of the Year poll.
Last year the mighty Lockheed P-3 Orion saw off stiff competition from the McDonnell Douglas TA-4K Skyhawk and the Bell UH-1H Iroquois to take the top prize.
You can choose from any aircraft in our collection – so you’ve got plenty of beauties to choose from.
Make the most of democracy and have your vote!
Vote Now
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
Now here's an interesting coincidence. Or is it? Or are there mysterious forces at play?
Our workshop team has brought our Cessna O-2A Skymaster in from storage for some conservation work, coinciding with polls opening in our annual Aircraft of the Year competition.
You can vote here: airforcemuseum.co.nz/aircraft-of-the-year/
Is someone pushing the Cessna, pulling your vote in?
The Cessna O-2A was flown by RNZAF pilots seconded to the United States Air Force (USAF) in South Vietnam.
Skymasters were used as forward air control aircraft, and 14 RNZAF pilots were sent to serve with the USAF flying the Cessnas between 1968 and 1972.
The aircraft in our collection is on loan to us from the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.
The little Cessnas proved to be a great success as both military and civilian aircraft. They have two engines - one front and one rear - in a push-pull configuration. More than 2,900 rolled off the production line#aircraftoftheyeare#usaf##cessnaessna ... See MoreSee Less
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HELLO KITTY: Nathan 'Barf' Bosher loves the Kittyhawk, and so he should, he painted it! Hear why Barf thinks you should vote for the iconic Curtis fighter in our Aircraft of the Year competition.
youtu.be/7uV9Rvz41Pk
airforcemuseum.co.nz/aircraft-of-#aircraftoftheyeart#p40kittyhawk0kittyhawk ... See MoreSee Less
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VOTE SCOOTER! Back in the day, young Bob Janek went for a spin in a TA-4K Skyhawk, and it was an unforgettable experience for the RNZAF fire fighter. That's why our volunteer guide says vote Skyhawk in the Aircraft of the Year competition.
airforcemuseum.co.nz/aircraft-of-the-year/
youtu.be/pKrv-t9OoD8 ... See MoreSee Less
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DON'T FORGET TO VOTE TODAY! Exercise your democratic rights and vote today in our Aircraft of the Year poll (although we are aware there is another election going on!)
Have your say in our annual poll to find the aircraft (fixed wing or rotary) that soars above them all in our collection.
In today's video our volunteer guide Geoff Church makes the case for the Lockheed Hudson.
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