Air Force Museum to open up C-130H for the public

From the 11th till the 14th of April, you might will be able to get up close and personal with the Air Force Museum of New Zealand’s recently delivered C-130H before it enters storage.

A now retired RNZAF C-130H Hercules | Photo: Noah Stohr-Waldren

Recently, on the 19th of February, the RNZAF made their final landing of a C-130H(NZ) Hercules. For the first time since at least 2009, a C-130 landed at ex-airforce base, Wigram. The special landing took a lot of planning and was an incredible feat, with the aircraft stopping in just 300 meters. The landing was viewed by hundreds of spectators that rushed to Wigram the moment it was known the Herc would make its final landing.

On March 4, the Air Force Museum announced that they will be opening up the Herc for the public to get a closer look. From Friday 11 April until Tuesday 14 April, you will be able to see the aircraft upclose at the Museum. The open days are timed to be during the school holidays to allow the most people to visit the iconic plane. The Hercules will be receiving visitors in the Air Force Musuems No. 2 hangar, which is only a short walk from the main exhibition halls.

The open days of the Herc will also coincide with the opening of a new C-130H Hercules exhibition which will cover the extraordinary 60 years of service of the RNZAF's Hercules.

A C-130H Hercules at RNZAF Base Auckland | Photo: Noah Stohr-Waldren

Unfortunately, the Herc is too large for the current exhibition halls so will go into conservation storage until a new large exhibition hall is built for the C-130 and the Air Force Museums, P-3K Orion.