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
DES OF ALL TRADES: Des Gyde dropped by to visit his old workmates the P-3 Orion, and Bell UH-1H Iroquois and the Bell 47G Sioux.
Young Des joined the RNZAF in 1973 and spent the next 22 years building what is arguably the most varied career we’ve ever heard of.
He was recruited for the safety and surface trade and spent six years completing his training and building his skills.
In 1980 he retrained as a helicopter crewman and spent the next six years on No. 3 Squadron, accumulating about 2000 hours mostly in the Iroquois.
After he’d mastered that he retrained as an air ordnance specialist, and he spent seven and a half years with No. 5 Squadron, accumulating 4000 hours on Orions.
He then retrained again, joining the Aviation Medicine Unit and looking after the hyperbaric chamber at Clark House, Hobsonville.
Over 22 years his postings included Hobsonville, Hong Kong, Singapore, Antarctica, Sinai, Whenuapai and beautiful Wigram.
Des could be described as a lifelong learner.
“I always thought to be successful in a trade you had to fully understand the other trades around you, not in a nosy way, but to know what everyone else needs from you to be successful.
"So I kept on asking questions and learning.
“I was fortunate in my career that I was able to do whatever I was interested in, and the RNZAF was good enough to teach me what I needed.
“It is not about being lucky, as making your own luck!”
He refuses to pick a favourite aircraft – they’re all favourites to Des.
But two Orion highlights were winning the Fincastle anti-submarine warfare trophy in 1988 and being part of an Orion crew that helped saved lives during the Queen’s Birthday Weekend storm rescue in 1994.
Des is part of the growing team lending their support to our #homeforheroes campaign to build the Orion – and the C-130H Hercules – a new exhibition space.
“The Orion absolutely deserves it,’’ he says.
📸Des with P-3K2 Orion NZ4203's tail. Des (back row, far right) at Hobsonville in 1975.
#homeforheroes #rnzaf #p3orion ... See MoreSee Less
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❓MYSTERY CONTROL COLUMN COMPETITION❓: This week's mystery control column competition is officially, in our opinion, extremely difficult.
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 #MysteryObjectbj#wedonthaveacluea#ImpossiblePuzzleuzzle ... See MoreSee Less
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Yeah, no clue. I see lots of people believe it's the devon though
The control ground lock confirms it!.
Devon, the pneumatic park brake selector gives it away
Based on the different control columns of other DH-104's this is definitely the port side column on your NZ 1803.
Devon, I used to fly one.
The Devon. If I could smell the cockpit I'd be 100%. IYKYK.
first thought was the Devon and there are pommy instruments behind it
I once flew a DH114 and it did indeed have the “ teaspoon “ differential brake actuator and yoke just like this. So I’m going to go De Havilland DH104 just to be different 😎
And the pneumatic brake control Mike is on the LHS of the yoke as well!!
differential air brakes.....devon
Dunno but it's a Pommy aeroplane and the dead give away is the brake lever on the LH control column for the joke was rudder pedals central, equal braking to both mains, rudder pedals either full left or right, braking to that main only. Usually Pom aeroplanes only had the "park" facility on the LH control column as well.
Don't know was RNZIR, never got that close to that area of the aircraft.👍♦️😳
De Havilland DH 104 Devon LH side control column (yoke).
cockpit control column from a de Havilland Devon twin-engine light transport aircraft.
Unmistakable Devon NZ1803. Spent time back in 1986-87 getting this aircraft ready for the museum.
de Havilland DH.104 Devon. NZ1803
Left side control yoke DeHavilland Devon.
Yoke of a De Havilland DH104 Devon
De Havilland DH 104 Devon NZ1803 Control Collum
DeHavilland Devon. Would you also accept “yoke”?
Dehaviland Devon.
D.H.104 Devon
de Havilland Devon
Your mum's Wolsley
Lockheed P-38 Lightning
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📢🚨WHOOP WHOOP - GET THE KETTLE ON - WE HAVE A WINNER!📢🚨: Come on down Ian Hocking - deserved winner of this week's mystery object competition.
The objects were indeed dip sticks for the Bristol Freighter - one for the outer tanks, one for the inner.
These high-tech pieces were not vampire stakes as one reader suggested, but this sent us on a hunt for De Havilland dip sticks as a side quest.
Ian, we hope this prized coffee mug makes your life complete!
Please email communications@airforcemuseum.co.nz and we will fire up the Auster and fly the mug out to you.
We would normally use the Freighter but fuel prices mean we've had to introduce Austerity (geddit?) measures.
A new mystery awaits next week. ... See MoreSee Less
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Awesome prize. Can we have one us Infantry boys might know the answer to,I.E. Where do we hold the Para courses at.
Thank you, I’ll drop in later today, I live just off Springs Road 😊
Got it.
Awesome congratulations to the winner