Event
Battle of Britain Commemoration Service
Sunday 15 September, 10.30am
Please feel free to join us for our annual Battle of Britain service in the atrium at the Air Force Museum of New Zealand.
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Please feel free to join us for our annual Battle of Britain service in the atrium at the Air Force Museum of New Zealand.
Short Talk Series
The mighty Vickers Vildebeest
Saturday 14 September, 10am
Join Darren Hammond for a talk on restoring the rare Vickers Vildebeest NZ102. Discover the challenges of using reverse engineering without original drawings and learn about its history in RNZAF service.
Find out more
Join Darren Hammond for a talk on restoring the rare Vickers Vildebeest NZ102. Discover the challenges of using reverse engineering without original drawings and learn about its history in RNZAF service.
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!
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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!
A fun way to explore the Museum together
Museum Hunts
We offer a range of fun Museum Hunts suitable for 4 – 12-year-olds, with changing themes and challenges every school holiday. Each hunt also enters you in the draw for an awesome prize!
Check out our latest Morse Code Hunts today.
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Our Aircraft
Explore AircraftMore to explore
This looks interesting. What could it be?
It's a Junkers Jumo from a Luftwaffe Heinkel HE-111 shot down by Kiwi pilot Irving Smith during the Battle of Britain in 1940,
It is also a teaser for our new exhibition called Insights which opens at the Air Force Museum this weekend.
Insights is made up of eclectic gems from our collection not normally on display and with no constraints on size, topic or quirkiness.
From the brutality of the wrecked Jumo, to beautiful watercolours painted in Antarctica, Insights is designed to have something to appeal to everyone.
Stay tuned for more information!
Exhibition opens Saturday 14 September. ... See MoreSee Less
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⚡️Sparkies have been flying into our place today for the Canterbury Westland Master Electricians Tradeshow - including the 2204 Apprentice Challenge. The apprentices are battling it out to compete at the national finals. Good luck sparkies!
Nice to have you aboard. Orange is the new black.⚡⚡⚡
#mecanterburywestlandtradeshow #masterelectriciansnz #meapprenticechallenge ... See MoreSee Less
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Great to see apprenticeships coming back! Being taught right down to the basics is a huge advantage when the fans suddenly stop going around and the noise stops.
Only two more sleeps until the day of the Beest – the mighty Vickers Vildebeest.
This Saturday (14 September) at 10am our collections manager Darren Hammond will deliver our latest Short Talk, covering the restoration of Vickers Vildebeest NZ102.
Our aircraft is a unique survivor (but only just as you can see from the 1939 picture of a landing blip) of the pre-World War Two era and represents one of the most challenging aircraft restorations being undertaken anywhere in the world.
With virtually no engineering drawings available, painstaking work using reverse engineering is being used by our team of workshop champions to piece together this sole surviving example of the type.
As well as the rebuild itself, Darren will cover the history of the aircraft in RNZAF service, with a particular focus on NZ102. This is a FREE event, but koha is always welcome.
#nz102 #vickersvildebeest #rnzafpastandpresent ... See MoreSee Less
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I almost was coming down to Christchurch for another reason and so was looking forward to attending this talk too while there.... but now the other reason for going is not happening, so I will have to miss it, sadly.
Good the see the wings from motat storage are going on to it, well done, can't wait to see it finished
I have to say that i am really looking fwd to this.
Our Avro 626 had a special visitor today - all the way from Adelaide.
Darryl Hill is a former RAAF and Cathay Pacific pilot, but most importantly, he is the owner and pilot of a 1935 Avro Cadet.
The Cadet, a two-seat biplane trainer operated by the RAAF, is the smaller sibling of our Avro 626, which sports three cockpits.
Or, as Darryl puts it, the 626 is the station wagon and the Cadet is the sedan. (Or, if you are a Mazda fan, the Cadet is the 323).
Back in the 1930s, if you wanted to buy a training aircraft your choice was between the Gipsy Moth or an Avro Cadet.
The RAAF chose the Cadet, and the RNZAF also went to Avro with an order - choosing a variation called the Avro 626.
The main difference is the 626 included a third cockpit which meant the aircraft could be used as an advanced pilot and aircrew trainer – including space for a gunner in the rear cockpit.
The RNZAF acquired four 626s, ours is the only survivor. The RAAF acquired 34 Cadets, and Darryl’s is the only airworthy survivor in Australia currently.
He’s an avid Avro fan and researcher, so he got busy taking pictures and giving the 626 the once-over to spot the differences between the two.
Visiting the 626 was on his bucket list for a long time.
“I could not miss the opportunity and it has a lot in common with my aircraft.’’
Speaking of his aircraft, the retired Boeing 747 pilot loves flying the trainer which took 15 years to restore.
“You don’t go anywhere fast and you get a great appreciation for what pioneers like Charles Kingsford Smith did.’’
He said our 626 was ‘very nice’ – high praise indeed. Thanks for your visit cobber.
#rnzaf #rnzafpastandpresent #avrocadet ... See MoreSee Less
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Great to see ! I was lucky enough to fly as a passenger on the last flight before the CAS at the time decided it was too valuable to fly.It had limitations due to crack in the crankshaft splines. A billet arrived from England to be machined into a new crank at ERS and Machine shop at 1RD at Woodbourne!!
I have about 50 hours in it post restoration, remembered with much affection
Air Force Museum of New Zealand Do you have an Avro 504?