What's on at Air Force Museum of New Zealand
Latest from the museum
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
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
⚡WINNER CHICKEN DINNER! 🍾 Come on down Steve Pullman, winner of this week's mystery object competition.
Steve correctly identified the object was a rolleron from the fin of a Raytheon AIM-9 Sidewinder missile.
The Sidewinder rolleron is a passive, air-powered gyroscopic stabilizer used to manage roll rate and stability.
Sitting on the trailing edges of the missile's rear tail fins, the four rollerons provided gyroscopic stabilization to keep the missile steady, which was essential for the infrared guidance system to effectively track targets so the heat-seeking air-to-air missile worked properly.
The RNZAF's A-4K and TA-4K McDonnell Douglas Skyhawk fleet was equipped with Sidewinders, and we have three missiles on display if you want to see the rollerons in real life.
Well done Steve and to everyone who answered correctly!
Please get in touch by emailing communications@airforcemuseum.co.nz and we will fire up the Bristol Freighter* and fly yourexlcusive new Air Force Museum of New Zealand roundel coffee mug** out to you Steve.
**They are round with roundels and have been regularly described as the World's Most Desirable Coffee Mug***.
***#Skyhawkn#sidewinder#skyhawk #sidew#mysteryobjectck#wedonthaveacluec#impossiblepuzzleue #impossiblepuzzle ... See MoreSee Less
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WHO CLIPPED YOUR WINGS? One of the common questions our guides get from visitors is 'why did you clip the wings on your Supermarine Spitfire?'
The Spitfire is known for many things, chief of which was its graceful silhouette with beautiful elliptical wings.
More than 20,000 Spitfires were built, and the design was constantly refined to meet the challenges of enemy aircraft.
While elliptical wings were good for lift at higher altitudes, they had shortcomings at lower level, especially when they came up against more nimble German fighters.
This was fixed with a wing clip either side.
By shortening the elliptical wings by 1.2m on each side to remove the distinctive wing tips, the Spitfire’s surface wing area is reduced . The aircraft was more easily manoeuvred at lower levels, and the modification made it perfect for ground attack purposes in North Africa and in Europe.
Clipped wings were first introduced on some versions of the Mk V Spitfire*, which was in production from 1941 until 1943.
Our Spitfire TE288 is a Mk XVIE version** – a much later version of the aircraft built in May 1945 – and it came with the clipped wing option.
*If you aren't Roman or British, that is a Mark 5.
**Mark 16E.
#supermarinespitfire #spitfire #thatspitfirebird ... See MoreSee Less
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Air Force Museum of New Zealand …. negative. Wingspan difference between full elliptical and clipped wings was 1.4m, not 1.2m per side. Edit: Note that I say ‘wingspan difference’ of 1.4m - the original post states 1.2m ‘each side’ which is a difference of 2.4m in wingspan.
My old friend, the Avro 626 in the background
You'll clip yourself for not know-ticing it until it was pointed out to you......
Do people REALLY think the museum did the clipping?!?
Wow, I certainly knew about the clipped wing versions of the Spitfire but had no idea they took so much off each wing. That 8 foot overall in the old money which must have made a big difference in other areas to like materials used to manufacture, storage when shipping to the med or pacific etc.
"The clipped wing on the LF XVIE made the aircraft a delight to reef about at low level. It was easily the most offensively-optimised Spitfire I ever flew, and the Packard Merlin was a great engine for the job." Flt Lt Raymond Baxter (Spitfire – Flying Legend)
And if you're not American, it's an American-built Packard, not British Rolls-Royce, Merlin engine under the Mk XVI's hood😉
I am neither Roman nor British, but I do undestand the Roman numbering scheme for the Spitfire.
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YOU CAN'T PARK THERE MATE: Here's a Fleet Air Arm Seafire after crashing on the flight deck of HMS Indefatigable after a parking/landing snafu.
Landing a Seafire on a tiny, rolling landing deck at sea must be no mean feat, so thre is no judgment here!
The aircraft is from either No. 887 Squadron or No. 894 Squadron.
The photo, reference number 2010-344.79, is from the personal collection of Bruce Petrie, a New Zealand pilot serving in the Fleet Air Arm.
His significant photo collection is a fantastic resource, and you can access it here:
fotoweb.airforcemuseum.co.nz/fotoweb/archives/5023-Bruce-Petrie-personal-col#youcantparktherematek#supermarineseafirei#hmsindefatiguablefatiguable ... See MoreSee Less
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Trusty old Tarpon (Avenger) saves the day ….. what a catch!
Interesting way to park… you’ll be able to get more aircraft on the deck parking like that! 👍🏾👍🏾
They gave me a Seafire to beat up the fleet.....
whopsies