Classic Flyers Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 2005 |
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| Location | Tauranga Airport, Mount Maunganui, New Zealand |
| Type | Aviation Museum |
The Classic Flyers Museum is an exciting aviation museum located at the Tauranga Airport in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand. It is owned by a special group called the Bay of Plenty Classic Aircraft Trust, which is a registered charity. This museum is unique because it has both planes that are on display and planes that can still fly! You can also find a cafe there.
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How the Museum Started
The idea for the museum began in 2000. Several local business people, who loved airplanes, wanted to fix up an old World War II-era hangar at the Tauranga Airfield. The hangar was too old to be saved, but the group decided to build a brand new facility instead. They formed the Bay of Plenty Classic Aircraft Trust to make this happen. The new hangar is right at the entrance to the Tauranga Airport.
The founders wanted to create a "flying museum." This meant they planned to have many of their museum aircraft actually fly, not just sit still. The museum officially opened on Saturday, May 28, 2005. There was a big air show and planes flew past to celebrate!
In October 2012, the museum opened its Legacy Jet Centre. This celebrated the arrival of an Aermacchi aircraft that was going to be restored. The main hangar was named "The Legacy Jet Centre" because of funding from the Legacy Trust.
What You Can See Today
Today, the museum uses three hangars next to each other. The first hangar holds the visitor centre, the Avgas Cafe, and most of the museum's exhibits. The other two hangars are home to most of the classic aircraft that are still able to fly. These hangars also store the museum's important records and archives.
You can also see more airplanes displayed outside the hangars. One of these is an old New Zealand National Airways Corporation DH-Heron. Visitors can go inside this plane, but it cannot fly anymore.
Why Classic Flyers Exists
The main goals of the Classic Flyers Museum are:
- To keep classic and historic aircraft safe.
- To help preserve New Zealand’s aviation history.
The Trust especially focuses on saving aircraft and items that have a connection to the Bay of Plenty area or to New Zealand in general.
Amazing Aircraft Collection
The museum has a fantastic collection of aircraft, including:
- Aermacchi MB-339
- Boeing Stearman
- Cessna 188 AGwagon
- Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina (fuselage)
- Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk
- de Havilland DH 104 Devon C.1
- de Havilland DH 114 Heron
- de Havilland Vampire
- de Havilland DH 112 Venom
- Douglas A-4K Skyhawk
- EEL ULF 1 ultralight glider
- Fletcher FU24
- Grumman TBF-1C Avenger
- Hall Cherokee II glider
- Hawker Hunter T75
- Hughes 300
- North American Harvard
- North American F-86 Sabre
- Pacific Aerospace Corporation CT-4B Airtrainer
- Pitts Special S-1C
- Schleicher Ka-6CR glider
- Slingsby T-45 Swallow glider
- Supermarine Spitfire Mk V - replica
- Victa Airtourer T-3A
- Yakovlev Yak 52
