Katikati College students have paid witness to a special display from a New Zealand Defence Force parachute display team.

The five-member Kiwi Blue team, has conducted a display at the school today, giving students the chance to get an inside glimpse into the New Zealand Defence Force, the air force, and parachuting.

'They'll be departing the aircraft at 9000 feet where they will then go into a freefall descent,” says Parachute Training Support Unit officer in charge Squadron Leader Glen Donaldson.

'At this point you can often see smoke at the parachutist's feet.

'They will make a formation until about 5000 feet when they will break away and then open up under canopy and look to essentially reformate.

'The drop takes only a matter of minutes from the time they hop out of the aircraft to the time they land,” he says.

The display included a real-life enactment of what the parachutists would do in a real situation.

'What they do is they come across for a low pass first and assess the drop zone area for any risks or hazards. We'd already been here a few days earlier to assess the area too.

'They also release a streamer, which tests the wind to make sure what we plan is what we get.”