Classic Flyers Museum
Encyclopedia
The The Classic Flyers Museum is an aviation museum
located at the Tauranga Airport
, Mount Maunganui
, New Zealand
, owned by a registered New Zealand charitable trust, the Bay of Plenty Classic Aircraft Trust.
The museum has a range of flying and static aircraft displays as well as a cafe. The museum features a Hawker Hunter
.
-era hangar at the Tauranga Airfield could be renovated for use. The hangar proved to be unsalvageable but the group decided to build a new facility instead and formed the Bay of Plenty Classic Aircraft Trust. The new hangar is at the entrance to the Tauranga Airport, on Jean Batten Drive, Mount Maunganui.
The founders decided to focus on creating a flying museum, as opposed to one that just had static displays, with the intention of having a high number of museum aircraft movements.
The museum was officially opened on Saturday 28 May 2005 with an air display and fly-past.
The Trust focuses on preserving aircraft and memorabilia that has a connection to the Bay of Plenty
area or New Zealand generally.
vehicles, Jeep
s, uniforms and weapons.
Aviation museum
An aviation museum, air museum or aerospace museum is a museum exhibiting the history and artifacts of aviation. In addition to actual or replica aircraft, exhibits can include photographs, maps, models, dioramas, clothing and equipment used by aviators.Aviation museums vary in size from housing...
located at the Tauranga Airport
Tauranga Airport
Tauranga Airport is a regional airport 2NM to the north east of Tauranga city in the Bay of Plenty on the North Island of New Zealand.Scheduled flights are operated by Eagle Airways and Air Nelson, divisions of Air New Zealand, using Raytheon Beechcraft 1900D and De Havilland Dash 8 Q-300 aircraft...
, Mount Maunganui
Mount Maunganui
Mount Maunganui is a town in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, located on a peninsula to the north of Tauranga. It was independent from Tauranga until the completion of the Tauranga Harbour Bridge in 1988....
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, owned by a registered New Zealand charitable trust, the Bay of Plenty Classic Aircraft Trust.
The museum has a range of flying and static aircraft displays as well as a cafe. The museum features a Hawker Hunter
Hawker Hunter
The Hawker Hunter is a subsonic British jet aircraft developed in the 1950s. The single-seat Hunter entered service as a manoeuvrable fighter aircraft, and later operated in fighter-bomber and reconnaissance roles in numerous conflicts. Two-seat variants remained in use for training and secondary...
.
History
The museum was started in 2000 when several local businessmen, who were also aviation enthusiasts, decided to see if an existing World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
-era hangar at the Tauranga Airfield could be renovated for use. The hangar proved to be unsalvageable but the group decided to build a new facility instead and formed the Bay of Plenty Classic Aircraft Trust. The new hangar is at the entrance to the Tauranga Airport, on Jean Batten Drive, Mount Maunganui.
The founders decided to focus on creating a flying museum, as opposed to one that just had static displays, with the intention of having a high number of museum aircraft movements.
The museum was officially opened on Saturday 28 May 2005 with an air display and fly-past.
Aims
The museum aims are:- Preserve classic and historic aircraft
- Support the retention of New Zealand’s aviation history
The Trust focuses on preserving aircraft and memorabilia that has a connection to the Bay of Plenty
Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BOP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name...
area or New Zealand generally.
Collection
The museum aircraft collection includes:- Cessna A-37 DragonflyA-37 DragonflyThe Cessna A-37 Dragonfly, or Super Tweet, is a United States light attack aircraft developed from the T-37 Tweet basic trainer in the 1960s and 1970s...
- de Havilland Devon - 2
- Fletcher FU24 300
- Hall Cherokee IIHall Cherokee IIThe Hall Cherokee II is an American high-wing, single seat glider that was designed by Stan Hall and introduced in 1956 as plans for amateur construction....
- Hawker Hunter T75Hawker HunterThe Hawker Hunter is a subsonic British jet aircraft developed in the 1950s. The single-seat Hunter entered service as a manoeuvrable fighter aircraft, and later operated in fighter-bomber and reconnaissance roles in numerous conflicts. Two-seat variants remained in use for training and secondary...
- North American Harvard - 2
- Pacific Aerospace Corporation CT-4B Airtrainer
- Supermarine Spitfire Mk VSupermarine SpitfireThe Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
- replica
Moreland Collection
The museum also has exhibits on loan from Andy Moreland's Tauwhare Military Museum in a "M*A*S*H Chopper Hangar" that is located behind the main museum building. This collection includes UnimogUnimog
Unimog is a range of multi-purpose auto four wheel drive medium trucks produced by Mercedes-Benz, a division of Daimler AG. The name Unimog is pronounced in German and is an acronym for the German "UNIversal-MOtor-Gerät", Gerät being the German word for machine or device...
vehicles, Jeep
Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...
s, uniforms and weapons.