What's on at Air Force Museum of New Zealand
Latest from the museum
Latest Exhibition
Tall Tails
Our Tall Tails exhibition features the mounted tails of the C-130 Hercules and P-3 Orion, this new exhibition brings visitors closer to two extraordinary aircraft and the stories they carry. It also highlights the importance of finding a permanent home for them, as the Museum continues to fundraise through the Home for Heroes project.
Tall Tails is on display in our Thérèse Angelo Wing.
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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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Support Us
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.
Book a birthday party
Our Aircraft
Explore AircraftMore to explore
❓MYSTERY CONTROL COLUMN COMPETITION❓: The finance team has requested we make our competitions more difficult because we are giving away too many coffee mugs.
And so, in the spirit of cost cutting, we present the mystery control column competition.
All you have to do is identify which aircraft in our collection this control column (we accept joystick) belongs to.
Correct answers will go in the draw to win one of our stunning Air Force Museum of New Zealand roundel coffee mugs.
They are round, with roundels and perfect for dunking.
The very best of luck. You are going to need it.
If this proves too easy, finance has suggested a mystery spark plug comeptition.
We've been warn#MysteryObjectbj#wedonthaveacluea#ImpossiblePuzzleuzzle ... See MoreSee Less
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The Wright Flyer I think
Westland HAS Mk 1 Wasp For stirring the pilot's tea ... are we back to the tea trolley again 😆?
Control stick of the Westland Wasp
It is the cyclic control stick and cockpit of the Westland Wasp.
It is a Westland Wasp’s HAS.1 helicopter cyclic control RNZAF serial no. NZ3906
It comes with the "fortunate son" switch 😉
Looks like a Wasp
Helicopter Cyclic. Westland Wasp
RNZN Wasp... the stick handle has a NZ NSN attached to it
That "joystick" is the Cyclic control on a Westland Wasp
I would say it’s from the Bell UH-1H NZ3801
What about a mystery typo spotting competition 🧐🤣🤭
Westland Wasp HAS Mk 1 ?
I don’t know, I’ll just wait until someone posts the correct answer. Oh look! There’s one. The Westland Wasp Helecopter cyclic control lever thingy.
Definately Westland Wasp helicopter. Clue Hoist, Down and Cargo Release
This is the 'joystick' and instrument panel of the RNZN Westland Wasp, NZ3906 😎
I was going to say it look similar to one from an iroquois but then everyone else said a Westland Wasp soooooo I officially change my guess to a Westland Wasp as well
Control stick of the Westland Wasp HAS.1 NZ3906
Air Force Bell UH-1H Iroquois (“Huey”)
By deduction, its a helicopter 🚁 with the hoist button, but not the Sioux (no hoist) and not the UH-1H (instrument panel completely different) so must be the Westland Wasp ! Elementary my dear Watson!!
I was going to say Westland Scout, but I've noticed people even giving the Serial number for the exhibit, so I guess they're correct 😁
The Westland Wasp. The centre console is a giveaway too. Very British switches!
Westland HAS Mk1 Wasp. I remember seeing them as a kid. Probably about time I go back to the museum, it had been a while.
Westland Wasp H.A.S Mk1 cyclic control
Flight control grip out of the bell helicopter the one they used in the mash tv series
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📢🚨WHOOP WHOOP - GET THE KETTLE ON - WINNER ANNOUNCEMENTS!📢🚨: take a bow Denise Fuller and Zealand Lass - winners of this week's mystery aircraft competition.
Denise wins for correctly identifiying the object as the Radar Warning Antenna from our TA-4K Skyhawk. She gets extra kudos for visiting our museum and spotting it!
Zealand Lass wins the most imaginative answer award. She incorrectly identified it as a: "Tactical Avocado: A highly classified, military-grade superfruit deployed by the Air Force to ensure pilots always have fresh guacamole during long-range sorties.''
This was a tough competition with high calibre entries. Honourable mentions go to Don Simms for his comprehensive and authoritative answer, and Kate Luff for referencing Alien, the best movie of all time.
However, we are not made of mugs and only two can be afforded this week.
Denise and Zealand Lass must now email communciations@airforcemuseum.co.nz and we'll sort out delivery of your exclusive Air Force Museum of New Zealand roundel coffee mugs. They're round with roundels.
We'll need your address so we can feed the coordinates into the computer and fire up the Bristol Freighter for a tactical delivery.
Thank you so much for all your entries and support of our museum.
Tougher competition next week. We promise.
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Oohhh so close 😵💫. But the avocado answer was 👌
Thanks so much !! So thrilled to win a Airforce coffee mug ! Much appreciated 😃 Always impressed by the great work that is done at the museum !
Well done congratulations 👏
MEET THE HEAPS: So where does a retired RNZAF Sergeant take his kids on holiday?
To see an Orion of course!
Back in 2001 young Stephen Heap joined the RNZAF as an aircraft technician and spent a fantastic 16 years working flying all around the world.
After training at Woodbourne, he served in No. 3 Squadron at Ohakea working on Iroquois before getting posted to No. 5 Squadron at Whenuapai – where he met the Orion.
The family were in Christchurch for the holidays and Stephen’s no 1 request was to give his children Zara and Alex a look at the Orion – which they had already heard a lot about!
Stephen loved his air force career.
“I’d recommend the forces to anyone. The friends I made are friends for life.
“It’s always all about the people – it was a lot of fun.’’
Highlights included flying on the Orion all over the world, including Scotland, Malaysia Australia and Texas, where he worked on the Orion upgrade that turned them into P-3K2 aircraft.
These days Stephen lives in Napier and uses his RNZAF engineering skills to look after horticultural equipment.
And the kids say he can fix anything around the house.
Thanks for your service to Aotearoa New Zealand Stephen, and for visiting your museum!
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Gidday Heapy, Stephen Heap so, 6 Sqn doesn't remain in the memory, then, aye ??
Hey kiddos- your Dad is a rockstar human… you guys won the parent jackpot🤗🤙🏽🌺
Classic dad move Stephen Heap 😆🤣
Nice one Heapy didn’t recognise you with a beard.
I remember teaching this kid how to iron!
Those kids will be taller than you soon Heapy! 😮 Looking great you guys!
Good to see you looking good Heapy, true legend.
Ray Watts similar story!! We just live down the road from the museum now though.
Top bloke is Stephen Heap enjoy your holiday with family
Lol to the Airforce museum 🤣
Amazing dad and career
Great choice 😀
Awesome
Daniel Swanson get a load of this guy
Nice one!
Nice one beardy boy!!
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