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.
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Our Aircraft
Explore AircraftMore to explore
✨Mānawatia a Matariki!✨
Today we celebrate the arrival of Matariki in our skies - which signals the lunar New Year for Māori.
The occasion marks a time for reflection, remembering those who have passed, celebrating the present, and looking ahead to the future.
We're FREE and open as usual from 9.30am until 4.30pm, so come along and commemorate, celebrate and look forward with us.
And, if you're curious about Matariki and navigating with the stars, we've got a volunteer guide on duty today called Kerry who knows all about celestial navigation from his time as a navigator in the RNZAF.
Kerry (seen in his happy place in the Devon dome) is a young man but he pre-dates GPS. He spent his days peering out at the heavens from the top of a De Havilland Devon.
Mā te wā - #Matarikio#freethingstodoinchristchurchoinchristchurch ... See MoreSee Less
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Woooopeee
ANDOVER DAY! As part of our tribute to the Hawker Siddeley Andover on World Andover Day*, our number one Andover fan has been on holiday in England and he has visited ... you guessed it... Andover.
And so we present, with some hesitation, and just in time for Andover Day, a tribute to Andover, and Andovers!
You're welcome!
*Andover day falls on 9 July, the day the first production variant of the C.1 Andover flew from Woodford** Aerodrome near Manchester in 1965.
**Woodford Aerodrome is our twin. The historic home of Avro, it closed in 2011 with its runways being turned into a housing development, but is still home to the Avro Heritage Museu#andoverd#hawkersiddeleyandoverdover ... See MoreSee Less
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It’s a sign
Has anyone got photos of an Andover, fly-over of Napier Airfield during Ex GOLDEN FLEECE ‘88, those that know will know ?
I was at the Avro Heritage Museum last week. A fabulous place.
ANDOVER DAY! To celebrate 9 July - World Hawker Siddeley Andover Day - we present this tribute to the aircraft.
The first production model of the Hawker Siddeley C.1 Andover took to the skies on this day in 1965.
The Andover was a military variation of the Avro HS 748 airliner and was designed for short to medium range tactical transport operations.
The Avro HS 748 itself was an important bit of aviation history as the last aircraft designed by Avro before the company was absorbed into Hawker Siddeley.
To turn the Avro HS 748 passenger aircraft into a mean military machine, an upswept rear fuselage was added to accommodate a loading ramp, ingenius kneeling landing gear was added, and it was powered by beefier Rolls-Royce Dart engines with massive four-blade propellors.
The RNZAF’s fleet of 10 Andover aircraft was purchased in 1976 to replace the Bristol Freighter. They were allocated to No. 1 and No 42 Squadrons.
Much loved by crews, the Andovers served for 22 years, retiring in 1998.
In all only 34 C.1 Andovers were built with the RAF and RNZAF the main customers. Because of the limited production run, parts became scarce for the RNZAF, which led to the Andover’s retirement.
By comparison, the RNZAF’s C-130H Hercules fleet served for 60 years before the type was replaced by new C-130J Hercules.
More than 2,700 C-130 Hercules have been built and the aircraft is still in production.
#avro #andover #hawkerdsiddeley #rnzafpastandpresent ... See MoreSee Less
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What a Tactical Aircraft, which filled an essential gap in our capacity for short haul work. Served relentlessly in many theatres and man alive so very forgiving 😳😳 The days of 1 & 42 Sqn, what units they were. Outstanding teams both Air & Ground & support staff which operated more like a family than a work place. Such great memories 👍👍👍🍻🍻🍻🍻
Just visited the only other surviving Andover at the RAF Museum in Cosford. Life is now complete 🙂
Not to be left out, even Accounts Clerks played a part here. I put together and untangled a few Overseas Flight Imprests , and just had to get that in on behalf. The late great Don Scully, Ed Harvey et. al.
I jumped out of a few of them with the army doing parachute training and continuation courses
Loaded ,unloaded and jumped out of them , such a fantastic aircraft, a decline in my hearing is probably the result with working around them
Not the most enjoyable aircraft to maintain, but took us a lot of places. Good fun looking back.
One Jacko Jackson posing during a repaint
The Andover was the first aircraft I flew on as aircrew. I absolutely loved them. As Pete Falleni said earlier, they were so forgiving especially with some of the strips we'd go into in the islands. So many great memories with fellow 1 & 42 Sqn folk.
Had the largest propeller in the western world and the water methanol injection into the engines gave it a real kick for short takeoffs
Flew on these as a passenger. Very nice, powerful and agile aircraft.
My first operational aircraft. Tours with 84 & 46 Squadrons RAF, helped make many long term friends. Many thanks to Brett Marshall for letting me have a look at the aircraft, in the Wigram hangar a few years ago. .
Has anyone got photos of an Andover, fly-over of Napier Airfield during Ex GOLDEN FLEECE ‘88, those that know will know ? Ken McMillan ??
No photos, didn't happen 😄😄😄
It was a great machine in its STOL role. I think I enjoyed flying it more than working on it.
My favourite RNZAF aircraft is celebrated on my birthday! Now that can't be coincidence.
Lucky to have served at Ohakea on them, blue band airways, para jumped them as well. Still have my original sqn tail transfer :-)
No but I got this one from back in my day John Hickman- we put 7-Up!
An amazing aircraft it serviced us well
Flew in 1 a few times , whilst in the NZ army
Yes have been in one the seats are the other way round if I remember correctly 🤔
Many memories of working on these when 42 Sqn had moved to Auckland.
A nice aircraft.
Yay what an amazing day!
When I was a RAAF exchange Officer as F/C SAMF at 1RD in 1995, we flew from Woodbourne to Whenuapai in an Andover. The aircraft having just completed parachute training, I was amused at the netting seat restraints.
🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
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