History of aviation in New Zealand

After the war, the civil aviation industry began to take shape as aero clubs became active from the late 1920s and Trans-Tasman flights were attempted.

In the post war years, the RNZAF acquired jet fighters, helicopters, maritime patrol and transport aircraft.

In 1894, a young American woman, Leila Adair, toured New Zealand, attracting large crowds to watch her parachute from a hot-air balloon.

The first recorded aviation fatality came in 1899, when David Mahoney, known as 'Captain Lorraine' perished after his balloon was blown out to sea off Lyttelton.

Richard Pearse, working in isolation in South Canterbury, built a monoplane powered by a two-cylinder engine.

[2] Herbert Pither built a plane at Invercargill in 1910, but was apparently unsuccessful in achieving sustained flights in tests there and at Timaru.

Arthur Schaef made short powered hops in his first aircraft, the New Zealand Vogel, at Lyall Bay, Wellington, in 1911.

The first major company was Union Airways of New Zealand, which began services in 1936 between Palmerston North and Dunedin via Blenheim and Christchurch.

[citation needed] New Zealand received a number of surplus military aircraft from the United Kingdom after the First World War as part of the Imperial Gift.

New aircraft were ordered, and bases developed at Ohakea and Whenuapai as part of a new government focus on aerial defences.

New Zealand became a major source of aircrew for the RAF, forming part of the Empire Air Training Scheme.

New Zealand pilots were awarded three VCs, to James Allen Ward, Leonard Trent and Lloyd Trigg.

After the war, its flying boats serviced the Coral Route to Tahiti via Fiji, Samoa and the Cook Islands from 1951 to 1960.

Main aircraft types operated by NAC included the Douglas DC-3, de Havilland Heron, Vickers Viscount, Fokker F27, and the Boeing 737.

[citation needed] In the early 2000s, New Zealand ceased operating jet fighter aircraft when the Skyhawks were phased out and not replaced.