What's on at Air Force Museum of New Zealand
Latest from the museum
Latest Exhibition
Victory!
It is 80 years since the end of the Second World War.
Our Victory exhibition, upstairs in the atrium, marks this significant milestone in world history, and the story of the RNZAF.
Victory includes images and memories of Victory in Europe (VE) Day and Victory over Japan (VJ) Day which have been sourced from photographs, letters, postcards and personal histories in our collection.
Victory includes insights into how Kiwis celebrated, and how they felt.
Many found it difficult to rejoice after so much loss and suffering.
You’re welcome to come along and learn all about the end of World War Two with us.
Exhibition
The Mighty Hercules
The Mighty Hercules exhibition is on in the Cochrane Gallery upstairs in our atrium. Come and visit and learn all about this extraordinary aircraft.
Learn More
Update
Overseas visitor charge
A $15 entry charge was introduced for all international visitors to the Air Force Museum of New Zealand from 31 March 2025. Tickets available online or from our Welcome Desk on arrival.
The charge is required to cover rising costs and to contribute to our new $20 million extension to house the newest members of our collection – our historic Hercules and Orion aircraft.
Learn More
Our Aircraft
Explore AircraftMore to explore
URGENT CLARIFICATION: We’ve received an urgent request to clear up any possible confusion between the Ford Raptor and the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor ahead of Warbirds Over Wanaka at Easter – when the South Island will be wall-to-wall with Raptors.
The confusion is understandable of course. As well as sharing a name, the Raptor twins are blessed with sleek good looks, twin exhausts, aggressive styling, stealth and a reputation for getting the job done.
And, to the untrained eye, they’re virtually identical.
To help out, we’ve put together a handy three step guide to telling your Raptors apart.
Obviously the first, and most obvious difference, is in the afterburner department.
Lockheed Martin Raptors come fresh from the factory with twin Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 afterburning engines and thrust vectoring exhaust nozzles.
The Ford Raptor does come equipped with twin exhaust nozzles, but Ford chose not to give it afterburning capability and the nozzles are in a fixed position.
While we are talking locomotion, the other key difference is under the bonnet, a spot where our twins can be quite easily separated out.
The Lockheed Martin Raptor comes with twin P&W powerplants, producing a combined 70,000 pounds of thrust. With the jandal down, a Lockheed Martin Raptor driver can top out at 2,414 km/h or Mach 2.25. With supercruise control on it could manage Mach 1.35 or a little over 2,000 km/h.
The Ford Raptor, in its top specification, comes with a 3.0 litre EcoBoost petrol engine capable of producing up to 400 horsepower – with its top speed limited to 180 km/h.
The final easy to spot difference is in the manoeuvrability. The Ford Raptor has a turning circle of 12.8 metres – which does not qualify it as the most nimble beast in the DIY store carpark, espcially with a trailer.
By comparison the Lockheed Martin Raptor is renowned for its ability to perform tight turns and vertical pitch 'cobra' manoeuvres that defy conventional limits.
So, there you have it. Never confuse your Raptors again!
See you at Warbirds!
#urgentclarification #f22 #ford #warbirdsoverwanaka ... See MoreSee Less
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The F-22 has four cargo bays and the Ford has just one!
F-22 Rapror pilots no longer rely solely on stick-and-rudder skills; they are highly cognitive, tech-savvy "quarterbacks in the cockpit" who manage complex, data-driven "kill webs" rather than just dogfights. As aerial warfare shifts toward beyond-visual-range (BVR) engagements and AI integration, the core attributes required have evolved to emphasize mental acuity, rapid decision-making, and high-level system management. Ford Raptor drivers tend to be ummmmmm........ not so much...
Ha ha ha ha ha 😂 😄 😆.
Love these comparisons 😄
Michael McKenzie
Once again it’s worth noting the difference in undercarriage retract ability on the respective Raptors. Fords currently lack this feature and early attempts to add that ability have been problematic. 🤭
Visit your local Repo store today 😁
You're less likely to find a dickhead driving an F22
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TALKING TAONGA TODAY! Join Keith Mitchell, who has accumulated 3,000 hours flying Douglas DC-3 (C-47 Dakotas in military use), for a talk on the history and the legacy of this extraordinary aircraft at 10.30am and 1pm today.
Volunteer guide Keith argues our C-47, NZ3551, is the most significant aircraft in our museum, and it is hard to argue with him!
More than 10,000 C-47s were produced by Douglas during World War Two, and they delivered extraordinary service all over the world. Amazingly, there are still examples of these extraordinary workhorses flying in service today.
The RNZAF’s first C-47 arrived in 1943, and the last of the fleet of 49 aircraft retired in the late 1970s.
This talk is FREE and part of our ongoing Talking Taonga series.
When: Sunday 18 January. 10.30am and 1pm.
Where: At the Dakota in the Aircraft Hall. Just turn left after the Hudson.
#freethingstodoinchristchurch ... See MoreSee Less
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Explain to us the womble on the undercarriage please
My Favourite plane!
RULE BRITANNIA! Today’s a very special day in aviation history – the anniversary of the flight of a military aircraft in our skies.
On the afternoon of 17 January 1914, Joe Hammond took off in Auckland on a test flight in New Zealand’s first military aircraft, a Bleriot XI-2 patriotically named Britannia.
Joe, the New Zealand’s Government’s official pilot, circled the Epsom Showgrounds in Britannia seven or eight times before landing.
The following day he took off again and flew around Auckland and the Waitemata Harbour for an hour.
The Bleriot had been presented to New Zealand by rhe Imperial Air Fleet Committee. The committee was made up of a group of British businessmen whith a vision to sow the seeds for military aviation in each of the King's self-governing possessions.' Hence the name - Britannia!
Technical issues meant the Britannia only flew briefly in New Zealand before being packed up and shipped back to the United Kingdom in October 1914 following the outbreak of World War One.
We have a replica, built in 1985, of Britannia on display in our atrium. ... See MoreSee Less
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JJ Hammond was the chief pilot for the Australian Air Mission (Bristol) and was the first person to fly a powered aircraft in Perth, 3rd January, 1911 in Bristol “Boxkite” No. 10. Subsequently, he and Leslie Macdonald flew at Altona and then from several locations around Sydney. These places included Ascot (a street is named in his honour near the heliport on KSIA) and Holsworthy Military base near Liverpool. The pair of Boxkites (including No. 11) but only one Gnome Omega Rotary engine, were sold to Parramatta dentist, William Ewart Hart for 1330 pounds. Self-taught, Hart flew from Belmore Park on the Thornton property at Penrith on 2nd November 1911 and, on the following day, took his brother Jack, to Parramatta where they landed on Parramatta Park after a very eventful descent and approach. This was the first cross-country flight by an Australian pilot in NSW. Hart cleared land at Ham Common, near Richmond, for his nascent flying school in early 1912. This ultimately became RAAF Richmond. The damaged Gnome went to WA to power the Kalgoorlie “Kangaroo” and parts of the motor are extant in the RAAFAWA aircraft Museum in Bull Creek.
I thought it was political and disciplinary issues, rather than technical issues, when Hammond took an actress up for a ride without permission - getting him sacked - that saw the machine grounded?
Joe Hammond died in 1918 in a aircraft accident 😢