New Zealand Fighter Pilots Museum facts for kids

The New Zealand Fighter Pilots Museum was a special place in Wānaka Airport, located in New Zealand's South Island. It was like a home for old airplanes, especially those used in wars. The museum closed its doors in 2011. After it closed, a new museum called Warbirds & Wheels opened in December 2011. This new museum also shows military aircraft, along with classic cars and motorcycles.

The New Zealand Fighter Pilots Museum was started by a person named Sir Tim Wallis. It was built in a new building at the Wānaka Airport. The museum first opened in 1993. A retired Group Captain named Colin Gray helped open it. The first person in charge of the museum's collections was Ian Brodie. In 1996, the museum became one of the first airplane museums to have its own website! The museum had a special part called the Alpine Fighter Collection. This part was all about the fighter planes New Zealand used during World War II. The museum also received some money from the Community Trust of Otago to help it run.

The Alpine Fighter Collection: Old Planes Flying Again

The Alpine Fighter Collection was a group of amazing old airplanes kept at the New Zealand Fighter Pilots Museum. Sir Tim Wallis, who was known for his helicopters and deer farming, created this collection.

The collection began in 1984. Sir Tim bought a North American P-51 Mustang plane from someone in the United States. This plane was painted in the colors of the RNZAF (Royal New Zealand Air Force). It got a lot of attention because it was the first flying World War II fighter plane seen in New Zealand for many years! This plane helped start a big interest in "Warbirds" (old military aircraft) in New Zealand during the 1980s and 1990s.

The collection did something very special. They worked to find and fix up old Warbirds from countries that used to be part of the Soviet Union. They were the first to fix up Polikarpov I-16 planes (they fixed six of them!) and Polikarpov I-153 planes (they fixed three of these) so they could fly again. They also fixed up the first Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa plane to fly since the 1940s.

In 1988, the people who ran the collection started the first Warbirds over Wanaka airshow. This show was a way to display their amazing planes. About 14,000 people came to that first show! The collection still helps make the Warbirds over Wanaka Airshow happen every two years. In 2006, over 100,000 people came to see the show!

Over the years, some planes from the collection were sold. Today, one plane that can still fly is a Hawker Hurricane Mk IIA. There is also a de Havilland Vampire FB5 and a copy of a Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a that are on display, but they don't fly.

Some of the aircraft from the collection, like the Hawker Hurricane and the replica S.E.5a, were later moved to the new Warbirds & Wheels museum.

See also

• Warbirds and Wheels, Wānaka
• Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum

External links

• NZFPM website
• Warbirds Over Wanaka