Planes
Super Hercules among $20b Defence spending plan
The government will spend more than $1 billion on new aircraft, a decision Defence Minister Ron Mark says is driven by climate change and a responsibility to help our Pacific neighbours. Video, Audio
The no-fly journey from England to China
Dr Roger Tyers is an environmental sociologist at the University of Southampton who's just travelled from Southampton to Beijing without flying. He speaks to Jim about taking on the no-fly challenge.
…Reclining plane seats
Some plane passengers are too laid back for the tastes of others. One of the top annoying things about air travel, according to one report, is the passenger infront of you reclining back in their… Audio
47 people rescued after plane crashes into the sea
Passengers and crew on board an Air Niugini Boeing 737 flight were rescued by a flotilla of boats when the plane appeared to miss the runway, crashing into the sea in Micronesia. Video, Audio
Ron Mark under pressure to replace Hercules planes
The Defence Minister Ron Mark is now under pressure to replace the Airforce's ageing Hercules planes before their useby date in three to five years. They frequently fly on humanitarian aid missions… Audio
New planes for the NZDF
The government's confirmed the purchase of four new maritime patrol planes. It's costing $2.3bn. Green MP Golriz Gharaman doesn't want to see them fitted-out to carry missiles and bombs and that leads… Audio
Four classical tunes for hypersonic travel
How fantastic would it be to travel from Wellington to Sydney in just 20 minutes? We’ve put together four well-known classical pieces that match the future travel time to Sydney. Video
Drone caused me to crash my plane, Rod Vaughan says
Rod Vaughan believes a drone caused him to crash the light airplane he was flying near Waihi beach yesterday. He told John Campbell the damage was consistent with what a drone would cause. Audio
Air NZ stalled by faulty replacement plane
A plane brought in to cover a faulty Air New Zealand aircraft has caused problems of its own with homebound passengers delayed up to 18 hours in Sydney. The plane is one of two chartered from the… Audio
Rolls-Royce maintenance disrupts Air NZ flights
There will be cancellations and delays to Air New Zealand long- haul flights for weeks as Rolls-Royce does urgent maintenance to is Boeing 787 engines. Earlier this week a flight to Japan had to turn… Audio
Autonomous ships on the horizon
Self-driving cars, driverless trucks, and airliners that fly on autopilot. They'll soon be commonplace. But how about crewless ships? New Zealand interest in the technology - which could allow ships… Audio
Army helps ease fuel crisis with tanker drivers
The Defence Force is helping ease the crisis by driving fuel tankers full of jetfuel to and from Marsden Point. Leading that operation is Major General Tim Gall, the Commander of the Joint Forces. He… Audio
Paul Brennan: Bring Our Birds Home
Aviation enthusiast Paul Brennan has launched a campaign to track down planes that flew in New Zealand between 1959 and 1981. He has identified planes of "cultural significance" - the Lockheed Electra… Audio
When NZ aviation went national
Seventy years ago, New Zealand’s various small airlines were amalgamated and nationalised into the National Airways Corporation (NAC). Audio
Air Tattoo at Ohakea to mark RNZAF's 80th year
Aircraft new and old, from the F-16 fighter jets, to the Hercules; to the Catalina and Harvard - everything's on display at Ohakea airforce base tomorrow as part of the RNZAF's 80th anniversary. Audio
The stories of Papers Past
It's almost daunting - so far there are almost 5 million pages of New Zealand historical documents to be explored, online and for free, on the National Library's Papers Past website.
There are… Audio
First scheduled arrival of the Airbus A380 at Chch airport
About 1000 aviation enthusiasts in Christchurch turned out to watch an A380 Airbus touch down from Dubai. The aircraft is 24 metres high, over 70 metres long, and can sit 615 passengers. Audio
Avoiding mid-air collisions: the Budgie Paradox
Professor Mandyam (Srini) Srinivasan from the University of Queensland has recruited a high-flying team of 10 budgies and is flying them down tunnels to try to make them bump into each other. He's… Audio
Police investigate laser strike attacks against pilots
Police are investigating a series of laser strike attacks on pilots last night - and the Civil Aviation Authority says they are still too easy to obtain. Audio
US lawyer's MH370 wreckage find confirmed
US lawyer and blogger Blaine Alan Gibson is on a year-long search for missing airliner MH370, and found a piece of the wreckage on the coast of Mozambique last month. He joins Checkpoint. Audio