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
❓MYSTERY OBJECT COMPETITION ❓: Righto aviation experts, can you tell us what this mysterious thing is and what aircraft it belongs to?
Bet you can't.
Put your answers in the comments below and you'll go in the draw to win an Air Force Museum of New Zealand roundel mug.
They are round with roundels and are perfect for every occasion.
Goo#MysteryObjectte#wedonthaveacluet#impossiblepuzzleiblepuzzle ... See MoreSee Less
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Oooh this one's easy, extra large in-flight dominoes ✅
It’s the side of a laundry basket, no?
It's a sausage dispenser
Filtered air intake for the engine on a P51 mustang.
Merlin P-51 alternate air inlet on the lower cowl.
That's the built in connect four game so the crew don't get bored on flights. It's a trick question because they are installed on every one of our planes that have at least two crew. Fun Fact: sometimes they are installed on the outside of planes because crews have gotten bored playing the same game for decades so an element of danger was added to make it exciting again. I can't wait to drink coffee out of my new mug! 😍😅
Is it the cessna
I'm going with the auxiliary air intake on a P-51.
An external air intake from the Beechcraft T-6C Texan?
Bit like sonobuoy ejection ports but wrong orientation given the hint of an undercarriage at the bottom of the photo.
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GOING BOEING: Fresh in from Seattle, Washington, we introduce Edward Lowe!
Edward is a retired Boeing aircraft mechanic who dropped by as part of his itinerary for his third holiday to New Zealand.
He worked for the Seattle aircraft manufacturer for 28 years before his retirement.
Starting with lowest numbers first, Edward worked on the 737, 747, 767 and 787 aircraft lines at the Everett factory, one of the world’s largest buildings.
He stopped by to inspect our Boeing 727 undercarriage, a model he did not build but he’d ‘walked underneath’ a few 727s in his time.
His favourite model over all those years?
The 787 Dreamliner.
“They’re so big, so comfortable and so much went into them, he says.
“When you work on just one section of an airliner each day you get very focussed on it. But then you look up and look around there’s always a real sense of wonder about them – especially the Dreamliner and the 747.’’
Edward has aviation running in his veins, both he and his wife are private pilots and fly a Cessna.
They love New Zealand and what better thing for pilots to do on holiday than visit an aviation museum?
Kia ora and thanks for visiting our museum.
#seattle #boeing #787dreamliner ... See MoreSee Less
Comment on Facebook
Its a landing gear, not undercarriage
🚨📢WINNER CHICKEN DINNER📢: Sound the klaxons, we have a winner in our latest mystery object competition, and we're throwing in a bonus prize!
Take a bow @AndrewHaworth, who was one of the many who correctly identified the mystery object as the tail light off a BAC Strikemaster, otherwise known as a Blunty (the aircraft, not the tail light).
Andrew wins - wait for it - an Air Force Museum of New Zealand roundel coffee mug AND a James Blunt 'Back to Bedlam' 20th anniversary CD.
We have been trying to give away this James Blunt album for some time. So, since James 'Blunty' Blunt shares a name with the Strikemaster, it only seems fitting to jettison the album this way.
Well done Andrew! You're beautiful!
Please email communications@airforcemuseum.co.nz and we will fire up the Bristol Freighter and air drop your prize out to you.
For the record, things the mystery object was not include:
A Dalek eye.
The Evil Eye.
A reversing camera.
But thanks for your guesses!
Toug#jamesbluntt#MysteryObject #freejamesblunt##BACStrikemasterre#MysteryObjectac#wedonthaveacluey#impossiblepuzzleonthaveaclue #impossiblepuzzle ... See MoreSee Less
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Yep most of us know the challenges involved in giving away a James Blunt Album.