Aviation things to do in New Zealand

I am not aware of what became of the other two Argosy aircraft operated by SAFE Air, but I assume they were both scrapped. One exited service earlier than the other, and a replacement took over near the end of their service. There was talk of one being preserved at Omaka but I assume this is the one at Woodbourne now. If you’re looking for the plane, don’t expect it to stand out on the roadside because it’s not. It is behind the old service station at Woodbourne, which is now the Argosy Cafe’. Driving past you may not even see it. So if you’re heading west from Blenheim, it’s just past the RNZAF base, look for the huge gym on the right for a guide ofm when to slow down.

As for Freighters, as mentioned there are preserved freighters at:
– Ardmore, outdoors in a sad state
– RNZAF Museum Wigram, Chch, a war vet looking nice
– Ferrymead, Chch, had one and a bit (and yes the only Viscount left in NZ)
– Waitomo, now a hotel room (formerly a cafe at Waihi)
– Omaka, outdoors, a bit shabby
– Nelson Founders Museum, outdoors but beautifully kept when I saw it in 2004

I think that’s all of them

Mr.B175
If memory serves correctly (and I may be missing one or two), there is an almost complete Freighter at Ardmore (missing tail-feathers),
One in store at Wigram,
The one at Blenheim,
and a nose (indoors with a Moggy Minor) and cockpit section (above the entrance) at Ferrymead.

The only Viscount I recall is the one at Ferrymead.

On a separate note, I flew in the Catalina out of Wanaka (amongst a few other flights while in that wonderful country), and carried out two touch-‘n-go’s on a nearby lake. Sitting in one of the blisters as we flew back to Wanaka, with the sun dipping in the sky behind us, is still one of my greatest aviation memories !

My wife went up for a flight in a yellow Tiger Moth at Wigram in 1993 – she really enjoyed it. The young pilot was a nice bloke and made her feel really at ease before the flight (during which they looped).

I was really saddened to hear about the Tiger moth accident a number of years later and always wondered if it was the same aircraft.

When I was at Wanaka in 2000 I took (as is mandatory) the Tiger Moth scenic flight, (oh boy is it scenic) but watched enviously as somebody went up in the P51. I understand that the pilot thereof was sadly killed shortly afterwards, but did the P51 flights continue?

Yes, the Argosy is at Woodbourne, approx 6km west of Blenheim on the road to Nelson. There’s a lovely Freighter at Nelson too in their Founder’s Museum

Dave

Thanks for confirming that because I’m planning to get down to NZ this year also and want to see the Argosy and as many Freighter’s/Viscount’s as I can get to, therefore and if possible, can you confirm the following for me?

What happened to the other Argosy ZK-SAF? A friend of mine remembers seeing the fuselage close to the preserved ZK-SAE around 1997 but not heard of it since. I presume it was scrapped?

How many Bristol Freighters are there still extant in NZ? And if poss, can you provide a list of where they are?

How many Viscount preserved and where?

Any info you can provide would be gratefully received and would help me plan my trip 🙂

Ta.

ZK-CAC is a Druine Turbulent Ultra Light, not a P-40. The P-40N is ZK-CAG.

Maybe the Masterton-based Old Stick and Rudder Company does have shares in the P-40N ‘Currawong’, I don’t know. I did read somewhere they’d bought a P-40N but could not find where I saw it.

I understand the company has purchased at least part-shares in the ex-OFMC aircraft but I don’t know if the OFMC still has any part-ownership or what. It is still on the ZK-register as listed to OFMC.

No publications seem to have explained this, and I guess it’s not really our business anyway. I’m just very glad the two RNZAF fighters were brought back to NZ by Ray before his death. If he hadn’t done so, we may never have seen them here again I guess.

As an aside the ex-OFMC Yak 3 was sold before Ray’s untimely death and will stay in Wanaka, according to the latest Classic Wings. More good news for NZ.

Great to hear…have a great trip.
There is also the good collection at ashburton, worth a look as you drive south.
Ardmore airfield on a sunday afternoon has a good chance of some of the warbirds about and ??the DC 3 might be flying…
Them there is ardmore during the week for the businesses.
Then if I wanted to be sarcastic, there is on the grass, behind the fence outside any of our airforce bases…..;-)

Thanks for all the suggestions so far – very helpful.

The picture I saw on Airliners.net was of P40 ZK-CAC in the same hangar as the ex-OFMC Corsair, think this is the Darby/Hogan aircraft. Typically I can’t now get onto Airliners to get a link to the picture to be sure! What is the story behind the Masterton aircraft? Are they still connected with OFMC or is it a whole new operation – just wondering out of curiosity!

None of the Masterton aircraft are yet listed on the official website but it has been widely reported that three P-40’s will be in attendance including the Masterton example. The example based at Masterton is the ex-OFMC P-40E. I don’t think Garth Hogan’s P-40N has moved down there (he told me he still owns his share, only Charles Darby sold his). But the P-40E, P-40N and the newly restored NZ3125 should all be at Wanaka. I’d imagine the Corsair will also be there.

Yes, the Argosy is at Woodbourne, approx 6km west of Blenheim on the road to Nelson. There’s a lovely Freighter at Nelson too in their Founder’s Museum.

If going to Blenheim then Omaka is a must-stop, but as Dave advises, try to arrange ahead to get into any of the hangars.

Of course in Christchurch there’s the Ferrymead Museum (it has a Hudson, Mosquitoes, C-47 variant from Antarctica, Freighter, Viscount, etc).

And south of Chch is Ashburton which has a very good aviation museum by all accounts.

You may get some more helpful suggestions thatwe’ve forgotten if you also post on Wings Over New Zealand
http://rnzaf.proboards43.com/

Cheers
Dave

I would say the Masterton aircraft will be attending ‘Warbirds over Wanaka’ being held over Easter weekend 14-16 April, although I haven’t seen the attendance list so no guarantee.
MOTAT in Auckland is worth a look, and Wigram is a good museum, particularly if you take the tour of the storage hangars.
You would have to inquire in advance if you wanted to visit the private collections, like Subritsky, and the Omaka WW1 Collection at Blenheim, as the new Museum is not yet open.

Dave

WW2 types aside there’s plenty of Bristol Freighters to go and find together with the Argosy Trust’s AW.650 Argosy which if I recall correctly is at Blenheim.

On the Biffo’s front, you’ve got to spend a night in this!!!! 🙂

http://www.woodlynpark.co.nz/ – click on ‘Plane Motel’