News

The Warbird Dakota Syndicate (Also known as ‘Fly Dakota-NZ’) will be offering unique opportunities for anyone wanting to attend the Warbirds Over Wanaka International Airshow in comfort and style.

When the DC-3 flies from Ardmore to Wanaka and then onto Queenstown on April the 1st, places will be available for return travel to and from Wanaka and Queenstown.

On the 26th of February, the Minister of Defence, the Hon Dr Wayne Mapp, opened a $1.2 million workshop at RNZAF Woodbourne that will be used by the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technolgy (NMIT) to train not only its own students, but also RNZAF engineering officers who had previously trained overseas.

In his speech, the Minister said that ...

Commercial fixed wing general aviation operators—those whose aircraft carry nine or fewer passengers—are celebrating a period of five years free of fatal accidents, while it is some nine years since the last fatality involving equivalent commercial helicopter operations.

Irene King, the chief executive of the Aviation Industry Association (AIA), said, “This is a great record but one that ...

Late last month, Air New Zealand announced normalised earnings before taxation of $96 million for the six month period ended 31 December 2009 (this represents an increase of $70 million on the same period last year), and normalised earnings after taxation of $64 million.

This was despite an operating revenue that was down 15%, and passenger demand down by ...

At the end of January, Boeing moved the 787 Dreamliner fatigue test airframe to its structural test rig in the northwest corner of the Everett, Washington site. The company says that test set up is expected to begin immediately, with tests commencing midyear.

“Unlike static tests, where loads are applied to the aeroplane structure to simulate both normal ...

Safe Air in Blenheim, which is an engineering subsidiary of Air New Zealand, is planning to reduce its workforce by up to 100 positions—almost a third of the company’s total workforce.

The staff reduction has become necessary because of extensive delays by Canadian companies in delivering the first of the RNZAF’s upgraded C-130s. Initially, it was intended that ...

New Zealand’s national carrier has been selected as the “Airline of the year” for 2010 by Air Transport World (ATW) magazine at its 36th Annual Airline Industry Achievement Awards. In a press release announcing the winners, ATW stated that Air New Zealand was “being honoured for its superb commitment to safety and operational excellence, typified ...

Although 2009 might be remembered by many companies as a particularly poor one, such was definitely not the case for Airbus, which achieved the significant record of delivering its greatest number of new aircraft in a single year; the company delivered 498 aircraft in 2009, which was 15 more than in 2008.

Of the 498 aircraft, 402 ...

Ken Ross, the man who attempted to organise a major air show (Wings Over Waikato) in Hamilton in 2008, was convicted of five criminal fraud charges and six charges laid under the Fair Trading Act, in relation to the failed air show, when he appeared in the Hamilton District Court last month.

Numerous ticket-holders, exhibitors and sponsors collectively ...

Coinciding with the 2009 “Wings” graduation ceremony for students of Massey University’s School of Aviation, the school received the last two aircraft of a 14-aircraft order announced last year that, collectively, is valued at around $8 million.

The two new Diamond DA42 twin-engine aircraft with composite structures, are powered by Avgas-fuelled engines and feature Garmin G1000 avionics. ...