Classic Flyers turns ten

It was visionary when it began. And now on its 10th birthday the Classic Flyers Museum is a jewel, a ‘must do' on any visit to the Bay of Plenty. And it remains visionary.

The museum at the gateway to Tauranga airport was created as a repository for some of New Zealand's rich and precious aviation history.

Andrew Gormlie and the Classic Flyers Skyhawk

And you don't have to be an aficionado to appreciate the workhorse Fletcher top-dresser, the rowdy Harvard Air Force trainer, the CT-4B air trainer, the de Havilland Devons, a Hawker Hunter, a half-scale Focke-Wulf and the ‘piece de resistance', a full size replica Spitfire MkV.

The mark the occasion 150 people with close association to the museum gathered this weekend for a beer, a wine and a chat.

'We will be discussing where we have been and where we are headed,” says Classic Flyers CEO Andrew Gormlie.

It began in 2000 when local businessmen with a passion for aeroplanes and flying decided to renovate an old World War II hangar.

That didn't work, it was unsalvageable; so they opted for a new purpose-built facility.

Classic Flyers was born.

'It's hard to find outfits like this – historic, commercial and sustainable. We are moving forward when a lot of other museums are struggling or have gone,” says Andrew.

The museum has just hosted the ‘From Tauranga to the Trenches' exhibition. 'It was a phenomenal success,” says Andrew 'Because 15,000 people went through.”

The appeal of Classic Flyers is it's a working museum, a living museum. Not only does it have a great collection of aircraft and military items, but also hosts air shows.

It does have plenty of vehicles, weapons, photographs and other memorabilia. But the object was to create a working flying museum as opposed to static displays.

Other airplanes are on display outside the hangars – one is an old NAC DC-3. You can climb aboard but it's not airworthy.

The museum was officially opened on Saturday, May 28, 2005, with an air display and fly-past. Classic Flyers turns 10 this week.

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1 comment

Excellent Collection

Posted on 31-05-2015 17:34 | By Watchdog

If we don't at least preserve a few of the old things, it is like they never happened. I flew around NZ on Bank transfers, Whangarei, Whakatane, Napier, Gisborne, Rotorua, Tauranga, Palmerston North, Wellington (the roughest flight of my life!!!)and such places, the old DC3's. They were great when taking off. The engines would rev the brakes would be released while at full throttle and we would be firmly pushed back into our seats. They couldn't fly very high though and often you would get caught by turbulence. No radar in those days (1950's and 1960's) so, often you just sucked in the tummy and enjoyed the air pockets. A full scale thunderstorm coming back from Napier saw people really scared as we were tossed around like a leaf. And three attempts to land at Rongotai before we were down safely. Memories.


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