The Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre is an

aviation museum An aviation museum, air museum, or air and space museum is a museum exhibiting the history and cultural artifacts, artifacts of aviation. In addition to actual, replica or accurate reproduction aircraft, exhibits can include photographs, maps, Ph ...

located at the Omaka Air Field, from the centre of

Blenheim, New Zealand Blenheim ( ; ) is the most populous town in the regions of New Zealand, region of Marlborough Region, Marlborough, in the north east of the South Island of New Zealand. It has an estimated population of as of The surrounding Marlborough wi ...

History

A resurgence of heritage aviation interest began in the Marlborough area in the late 1990s when a group of enthusiasts imported two Chinese

Nanchang CJ-6 The Nanchang CJ-6 ( zh, c=初教6) is a Chinese basic trainer aircraft designed and built by the Nanchang Aircraft Factory (now Hongdu Aviation) for use by the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). Development The CJ-6 (Chu Jiao 初教 ...

trainers and established the Marlborough Warbirds Association as a way to foster interest and provide a social network of support. As increasing numbers of aircraft were based at Omaka, word of their existence led to increasing numbers of tourists visiting the facilities. In 1997, a small group of aircraft owners and enthusiasts established the New Zealand Aviation Museum Trust to provide a means of making the aircraft accessible to the public on a more practical and sustainable basis while acting as catalyst to attract aviation business and investment to the

Marlborough region Marlborough District or the Marlborough Region (, or ''Tauihu''), commonly known simply as Marlborough, is one of the 16 regions of New Zealand, located on the northeast of the South Island. It is administered by Marlborough District Counci ...

and at the same time grow the public understanding and appreciation of aviation. A decade of collaborative activity lead to the establishment of the Marlborough Aviation Cluster, incorporating an aviation business park and the heritage centre. The initiative received support from the Marlborough District Council and Marlborough Regional Development Trust. In addition

NZ Trade and Enterprise New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (; abbreviated NZTE) is New Zealand's international business development agency that focuses on helping New Zealand businesses improve their international engagement. It is considered a Crown agent under the Cr ...

in 2004 contributed NZ$2 million in funding as part of a Major Regional Initiative grant towards stage 1 of the heritage centre. Stage One of the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, featuring the WW1 exhibition 'Knights of the Sky' occupies some 3,000 sqm of purpose-built display area and was officially opened on 9th Dec 2006. Stage Two opened in November 2016.

Knights of the Sky Exhibition

Omaka's first exhibition, 'Knights of the Sky', presents one of the world's largest collections of World War I aircraft and rare memorabilia, including a mix of static displays along with flyable planes. The collection (which is on long term loan to the museum) is managed by the 14-18 Aviation Heritage Trust, which is chaired by film director Sir

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand filmmaker. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014), both of which ar ...

. As a result of Jackson’s interest the exhibition which was designed by Joe Bleakley was able to employ the talents of Wellington's finest set builders, painters and props specialists, in particular those of

Wingnut Films WingNut Films Productions Ltd is a New Zealand production company based in Wellington, with other offices in Hollywood, United States, London, United Kingdom, and Melbourne, Australia; notably for producing and collaborating predominantly with f ...

and enhanced with lifelike mannequins by

Wētā Workshop Wētā Workshop is a creative company delivering concept design, special effects, props, collectibles, immersive visitor experiences and video games. Based in Miramar, Wellington, New Zealand. It also offers two tourism experiences, the Wēt ...

. Despite its complexity the exhibition took less than 10 weeks to complete from design to opening.

Dangerous Skies Exhibition

'Dangerous Skies' broadens the Omaka experience into the Second World War. As well as the Battle of Britain, visitors are taken on a journey through the lesser-known stories of the war on the Eastern Front. Like the WW1 'Knights of the Sky', this exhibition features mannequins made by Weta Workshop, and original, static and flyable aircraft in larger than life dioramas.

Airshow

At Easter on alternate (odd) years to the

Warbirds over Wanaka Warbirds over Wanaka is a biennial air show in Wānaka, held on the Easter weekend of even-numbered years since 1988. It is held at Wānaka Airport, 10 km south-east of Wānaka, in the southern South Island of New Zealand. Initially conceiv ...

air show, the Omaka airfield plays host to an air show called

Classic Fighters Classic Fighters is a biennial airshow in Blenheim, New Zealand, held on the Easter weekend of odd-numbered years. The airshow has been running since 2001, and is held at Omaka Airfield, just outside the main town of Blenheim. Each year the air s ...

Collection

The museum's collection contains a wide variety of military aircraft from the First and Second World Wars as well as artefacts and personal items belonging to some of the most famous aviators of World War I including some items of Baron

Manfred von Richthofen Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (; 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of th ...

memorabilia.

Aircraft on display

Curtiss MF NC903 Omaka 20170414 Zac Yates

The Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre contains the following: *

Airco DH.2 The Airco DH.2 was a single-seat pusher biplane fighter aircraft which operated during the First World War. It was the second pusher design by aeronautical engineer Geoffrey de Havilland for Airco, based on his earlier DH.1 two-seater. The ...

replica *

Breguet 14 The Breguet XIV (in contemporary practice) or Breguet 14 is a French biplane bomber and reconnaissance aircraft of World War I. It was built in very large numbers and production continued for many years after the end of the war. The Breguet 14 w ...

replica *

Caproni Ca.22 The Caproni Ca.22 was a single-engine monoplane made by the Italian company Aeronautica Caproni in 1913. Design Developed on the initiative of Giovanni Battista "Gianni" Caproni was made in a single sample for research purposes to study the cha ...

Original * Curtiss MF Flying Boat. Original * Curtiss P-40N Kittyhawk Mk.IV 43-22962/NZ3220 "Gloria Lyons" formally John Smith collection

Māpua, New Zealand Māpua is a small town in the South Island of New Zealand. It is to the west of Nelson, New Zealand, Nelson on New Zealand State Highway 60, State Highway 60 and on the coastline of Tasman Bay. With a thriving wharf and commercial area, Māpua ...

Airco DH.4 The Airco DH.4 is a British two-seat biplane day bomber of the First World War. It was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland (hence "DH") for Airco, and was the first British two-seat light day-bomber capable of defending itself. It was desig ...

Original, built under license in the United States and one of two original examples known to survive. *

De Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the World War II, Second World War. Unusual in that its airframe was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or " ...

DH.98 Mosquito FB.VI TE910/NZ2336 formally John Smith collection

de Havilland Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary traine ...

NZ1467/ZK-BQB formally John Smith collection

Etrich Taube The Etrich ''Taube'', also known by the names of the various later manufacturers who built versions of the type, such as the Rumpler ''Taube'', was a pre-World War I monoplane aircraft. It was the first military aeroplane to be mass-produced in ...

replica * Focke-Wulf Fw 190A *

Fokker D.VIII The Fokker E.V was a German parasol wing, parasol-monoplane fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz and built by Fokker, Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The E.V was the last Fokker design to become operational with the ''Luftstreitkräfte,'' entering s ...

* Fokker Dr.I triplane. Four flyable replicas are maintained. * Fokker E.III Eindecker replica * Halberstadt D.IV replica *

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

. One of several taxiable replicas built for the 1969 film

Battle of Britain (film) ''Battle of Britain'' is a 1969 British war film documenting the events of the Battle of Britain, the war for aerial supremacy between the German Luftwaffe and the defending Royal Air Force waged over British skies during summer of 1940. The ...

Junkers Ju 87 The Junkers Ju 87, popularly known as the "Stuka", is a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion during the ...

Stuka replica *

Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and ...

NZ2049 *

Messerschmitt Bf 108 The Messerschmitt Bf 108 ''Taifun'' (English: "Typhoon") is a single-engine sport and touring aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). It was the first aircraft of its size to feature all ...

Morane-Saulnier BB The Morane-Saulnier BB was a military observation aircraft produced in France during World War I for use by Britain's Royal Flying Corps.Taylor 1989, 684"The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft", 2538 It was a conventional single-bay biplane de ...

Nieuport 24 The Nieuport 24 (or Nieuport XXIV C.1 in contemporary sources) was a World War I French sesquiplane fighter aircraft designed by Gustave Delage as a development of the successful Nieuport 17. The Nieuport 24 had the misfortune to be the penul ...

replica *

Nieuport 27 The Nieuport 27 (or Nieuport XXVII C.1 in contemporary sources) was a World War I French sesquiplane fighter aircraft designed by Gustave Delage. The 27 was the last of the line of Nieuport "V-strut" single seat fighters that began with the Nie ...

replica *

Pfalz D.III The Pfalz D.III was a fighter aircraft used by the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Air Service) during the First World War. The D.III was the first major original design from Pfalz Flugzeugwerke. Though generally considered inferior to co ...

, one of two flying replicas built for use in the movie

The Blue Max ''The Blue Max'' is a 1966 war film , WW I film directed by John Guillermin and starring George Peppard, James Mason, Ursula Andress, Karl Michael Vogler, and Jeremy Kemp. The film was made in DeLuxe Color and was one of the last movies filme ...

. *

Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 is a British biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. It was developed at the Royal Aircraft Factory by a team consisting of Henry Folland, John Kenworthy and Major Frank Goodden. It was one of the ...

a replica built by the Vintage Aviator Ltd. * Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 replica built by the Vintage Aviator Ltd. * Siemens-Schuckert D.IV replica *

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

Mk 14 * Thomas-Morse S-4 Scout original *

Yakovlev Yak-3 The Yakovlev Yak-3 (Russian language, Russian: Яковлев Як-3) is a single-engine, single-seat World War II Soviet Union, Soviet fighter aircraft, fighter. Robust and easy to maintain, it was much liked by both pilots and ground crew.Glan ...

The

NZ1467/ZK-BQB, Curtiss P-40N Kittyhawk Mk.IV 43-22962/NZ3220 "Gloria Lyons" and

DH.98 Mosquito FB.VI TE910/NZ2336 joined the collection from the deceased John Smith collection from

References

External links

* * {{authority control Aerospace museums in New Zealand Buildings and structures in Blenheim, New Zealand Military and war museums in New Zealand Museums in the Marlborough District 2010s architecture in New Zealand

History

Knights of the Sky Exhibition

Dangerous Skies Exhibition

Airshow

Collection

Aircraft on display

See also

References

External links