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Home For Heroes
Join us in building a forever home for New Zealand’s C-130 Hercules and P-3 Orion – icons of service.
For more than half a century, these legendary aircraft carried our nation’s courage across the world – in peace, crisis, and discovery. Now, they need a home worthy of their legacy, where their stories of service, innovation and humanity will continue to inspire.
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Birthday Parties
Mission: Best birthday ever
Zip up a flight suit, grab your dog tags, and dive into a fully hosted birthday “mission”. From air & sea adventures for preschoolers to rescue and cadet challenges for older children. Our Programmes team runs the activities, the children get awesome photo moments (and party bags), and you can add catering through our café.
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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.
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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.
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Our Aircraft
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FLYING LAWRENCE OF ARABIA: It's International Archives Week, so we would like to share a tiny documentary snapshot in time from the archives of the Air Force Museum of New Zealand.
In January 1918, Major Robert Howell arrived in Cairo to act as a Staff Officer with the Royal Flying Corps there. Not long afterwards he found himself flying over the desert from Cairo with a single passenger in a BE.2e aircraft.
The passenger was certainly a VIP.
His name was Thomas Edward Lawrence and to the world he would come to be known as Lawrence of Arabia.
Howell was to transport him to re-join the rebel Arab army at Aqaba, which he famously led against the Ottoman Turks.
In the noisy and windswept aircraft and without radio, communication was impossible.
As was usual, they would communicate on tiny scraps of paper.
Unsure of their location, Howell scribbled a note, while trying to control the aircraft: “Have we passed Nekhel yet? RH”.
He passed it to Lawrence, who replied in neat handwriting: “No. We are almost over El Nahdein, 15 miles W of Nekhel. TEL”.
After the safe arrival, Howell kept the two tiny scraps of paper and mounted them in a frame with an inscription and a picture of a BE.2e.
He later moved to New Zealand and served with both the New Zealand army and later the RNZAF and an airfield controller at Harewood.
Later, his collection came to the Museum, and thus, this brief, silent conversation with no words with one of the great figures in military history found its way into our collection of taonga.
📸TE Lawrence, otherwise known as Lawrence of Arabia. Image: Wikimedia Commons.
📸Message chit exchanged between Squadron Leader R. H. Howell and Colonel T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") when flying a BE.2e over the Sinai Desert between Cairo and Aqaba during the Arab Revolt against the Turks of 1916-1918 during World War One. 1983/479.3
📸 Portrait of (later Squadron Leader) Robert Hugh Howell. Image: MUS9418335a ... See MoreSee Less
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Here's how we put our Tall Tails togther - in under a minute! ... See MoreSee Less
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Cool project thank you Wigram team for this and your many other projects over the last 7 years we have designed and built.
URGENT SPITFIRE CLARIFICATION - AGAIN!: This is our annual clarification of the differences between the Triumph Spitfire and the Supermarine Spitfire.
This confusion is so rampant we think there is a deliberate misinformation campaign raging!
The confusion is not surprising. As well as having the same name, these doppelgangers share rakish good looks, stunning performances, and both Spitfires were plucky battlers that took the world by storm.
However, there are a few subtle differences that the untrained eye might not spot, so we’ve put together a handy guide so you can tell them apart at a glance.
The first major difference is under their graceful bonnets.
The Triumph Spitfire was powered by a gutsy 1.1 litre inline four producing 63 horsepower, and had a top speed of 148 km/h. This little beauty went from 0 to an infringement notice in a brisk 16.4 seconds.
By contrast the Supermarine Spitfire was powered by a slightly more powerful 27-litre V12 Rolls-Royce Merlin engine capable of producing up to 1860 horsepower, depending on its supercharger.
This little sportster would earn you a fine by the time you took off and could exceed 700km/h when you decided to give it the jandal.
The second major difference to look for is in armament.
Triumph did not provide its Spitfire owners with gun choice as a factory option.
By contrast Supermarine gave its owners variety, with an early choice of eight machine guns and, in later models, four 20 mm cannons.
Bombs were also an option for some models. Of course, disappointed Triumph owners could always go for retrofit options.
Finally, the biggest, and probably most easy-to-spot giveaway, is in colour choices.
The Triumph Spitfire came in a huge range of colours, ranging from Leyland White to some 1970s stunners such as Carmin, Burgundy, Scarlet, Mimosa and, of course, British Racing Green.
Spitfires came in shades of green, brown and sometimes with a two-tone pattern to distinguish their undersides. Later models came with black and white racing stripes but they were mostly variations of green and brown, and it was a dull range compared to the Triumphs.
So, there you go – hopefully you will never be confused again.
And one more appeal - please, whoever you are, stop confusing the people!
#rnzaf #rnxafpastandpresent #spitfire #triumphspitfire ... See MoreSee Less
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I have sat in both kinds. I definitely prefer the one with the whirly spinny thing on the front.
Thank you. Also: the Supermarine Spitfire in this picture is very clearly Czech. Which was quite unusual for Triumph Spitfires.
... to be fair the first thing you do with both after putting them away for the night is placing a drip tray under the engine ...
One performed air strikes, the other was built when the workers weren't striking.
But - isn't the camo machine a BSA Spitfire? If it wasn't for the tail wheel, it'd be identical
Always found the easiest way to tell them apart was looking for the rear wheel hanging out the back. In the “Road” version, that wheel is neatly tucked in the boot!
You forgot to add that the throaty roar of the Spit flying overhead left no one in doubt about the difference between the two. One piece of advice: never let AI write these articles because whoever is writing these has superb writing skills! "Give it the jandal". Priceless!!! 🤣😂
I agree with Esther; You know you’re reading a post from a quality NZ publication when they co-opt the phrase “give it the jandal” to describe handling a RR Merlin V12. That’s the kind of sneaky use of code phrases that will befuddle our enemies in time of war.
What about if you've got a two wheeled Spitfire, such as the BSA Spitfire? In the 4 wheel Spitfire, you use a wheel to steer the wheels. In a 3 wheel Spitfire, you use a vertical stick to make it lean left or right to turn. With a 2 wheel Spitfire you lean to make it turn while holding the horizontal stick (handlebars). Though they're all British and all run on fermented dinosaurs, sadly only two are designed for performance.
Phew, thanks for that mate. I was confused, but too embarrassed to ask.
Easy mistake to make
The Triumph came with engines upto 1491cc in latter times. As for Supermarine colours you forgot PR pink, amongst others.
... both could be "fun" to work on, what with all those rather odd British nuts & bolts sizes ...
Most Supermarine Spitfires have lasted a lot longer than the Triumph one that did like to fall in half
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