Aviation history began in New Zealand on the 5th of February 1911, when Vivian Walsh achieved sustained and controlled flight in a British Howard Wright biplane that he and his elder brother Leo had built. Many New Zealand aviators followed, building their own planes, breaking records and linking New Zealand to the world.
MOTAT's Aviation Display Hall at Meola Road is home to one of the most impressive exhibits of aircraft in Australasia. The aircraft in MOTAT's collection have taken New Zealanders across land and sea around the world, carrying people for business, pleasure, adventure and battle.
The Aviation Collection includes aircraft from New Zealand's Civil Aviation and topdressing history. Two of the most notable aircraft in the collection are the only Solent Mark IV Flying Boat in the world and one of only a handful of WW2 Avro Lancaster Bombers in the world.
