Question about New Zealand

[flyboy]

I found this on Scramble:

In 2001 the government decided the Air Force had to withdraw its Air Combat fleet. As a result, all A-4 Skyhawks and MB339s were withdrawn from active duty on 13 December 2001. This leaves the service at the start of 2006 with a maritime squadron flying Orions, a transport squadron with C-130s and B757s, a helicopter squadron operating Hueys and Bell 47s, a maritime rotor squadron operating the SH-2Gs, a multi-engine conversion squadron with Beech 200s and a Flying and Pilot training school with leased Airtrainers.

This mean New Zealand has no fighter force at all....Right?

I was updating my New Zealand set and I have all covered except for the Bell 47s.

[MIKE JG]

Correct. I guess they figure no one would ever bother them way down their way.

[flyboy]

I knew at one time they were looking at F-16s, but I guess they decided they did not need them. I find it strange that a country with the air force military history as New Zealand would drop all combat aircraft without some kind of replacement in the works.

[mikek]

Yip, you have all the aircraft currently in service, unless you want to count the Historic Flight aircraft (1 Harvard and 1 Tiger Moth) that fly as part of Central Flying School.
There are no plans to re-instate the Air Combat Wing anytime in the future.
Over the next few years, the UH-1H will be replaced by the NH90 TTH and the Bell 47 will be replaced by the A109LUH.

[flyboy]

As I updated my New Zealand set found:

Name: rnzafa21.zip Size: 29,659,394 Date: 02-28-2009 Downloads: 649
FS2004 Royal New Zealand Air Force AI Airshow Package 2 Redux. A complete AI package of scenery, aircraft and flight plans, this is an airshow practice and sortie package which focuses on Ohakea airbase in New Zealand. You will see multi-ship crossovers and manoeuvres at high and low altitude, and heavily-armed aircraft depart for training on far shores, later to return unladen. Aircraft include F-16C, F-16D, and CT-4 trainers. Repaints are by Steve Jenks. Steve has also done a special RNZAF Anniversary paint for Kirk Olsson's F-16 Viper. Callsigns by Keagan Garkeuken, AFCADs, flight plans and other bits by Charl du Toit.

NOTE: I know the F-16s are not part but some pretty cool flight planning again.

Name: rnzafa11.zip Size: 39,055,799 Date: 02-27-2009 Downloads: 1,004
FS2004 Royal New Zealand Air Force AI Package 1 Redux. Complete AI package of aircraft and flight plans. Royal New Zealand Air Force aircraft including Boeing 757, C-130 Hercules, P-3 Orion, CT4 Airtrainer, King Air, NH90, Seasprite, and Iroquois helicopters. This is the definitive RNZAF package. All previously issued RNZAF packs should be removed. Packaged by Charl du Toit.

Name: whenuapai_military_nzwp.zip Size: 4,930,692 Date: 06-06-2009 Downloads: 604
FS2004 Scenery--Whenuapai Air Force Base, New Zealand (NZWP). Welcome to Whenuapai Air Force Base. The base is situated north west of Auckland City, in Waitakari District. Whenuapai is home to several different R.N.Z.A.F. squadrons, with varying aircraft and helicopter types, including the Lockheed P3 Orion, Lockheed C130 Hercules, Iroquois and Seasprite helicopters. This scenery is designed and built to fit the "RealNZ Auckland City" photoreal scenery (payware) by Robin Corn. It will however, work fine without the RealNZ scenery. The scenery contains some custom items, and also custom ground textures for all 4 seasons to replace the original RealNZ ground textures, but also requires some EZ Scenery object sets (see install instructions for details). The scenery was also designed to work with the updated RNZAF AI package, RNZAF Redux by Charl Du Toit. The AI package is freely available (RNZAFA21.ZIP). By Lawrie Roache.

Name: waiouru_military_nzru.zip Size: 3,974,241 Date: 06-07-2009 Downloads: 415
FS2004 Scenery--Waiouru Military Airfield, New Zealand (NZRU). Welcome to Waiouru Military Airfield. The airfield is run by the New Zealand Army, and is situated in the central North Island of New Zealand. The scenery also contains a bonus of the Waiouru Live Firing Range Airstrip (N145), that is located not far from NZRU, on the foothills of Mount Ruapehu. The scenery was also designed to work with the updated RNZAF AI package, by Charl Du Toit (RNZAFA11.ZIP). There is a traffic file done by Charl Du Toit included in the scenery, using C130s and helicopters from the package. You will need this AI package installed to see the aircraft. Scenery requires some EZ Scenery object sets (see install instructions for details). By Lawrie Roache.

All from flightsim.com

[fishlips]

The is also the "New Zealand and Australian A-4 Skyhawk Complete Package" available on Avsim.

The package comes complete with the NBAI A-4 Skyhawk model, textures, afcad and ground scenery.

The A-4K's would look great if you swapped them for the F-16's in the above formation package.

Mark

[fishlips]

Guy's

New Zealand is just another State of Australia. I'm in Queensland and I know more Kiwi's than Australian born. We have a saying here in OZ, "the last person to leave New Zealand, please turn out the lights".

Australia looks after New Zealand's air defence, even though Australia can hardly look after its own borders without the U.S Pacific fleet.

[james84]

I knew at one time they were looking at F-16s, but I guess they decided they did not need them. I find it strange that a country with the air force military history as New Zealand would drop all combat aircraft without some kind of replacement in the works.

Right, they were supposed to get some F-16A initially destined to Pakistan and stored at AMARC after they have been embargoed. Scroll this page down until the middle
http://www.f-16.net/f-16_users_article28.html

[BLACKCAT]

No political slant intended at all. Decision to scrap the RNzAF's 'combat' capability was driven by through by a female Prime Minister of left-wing (and that's political dogma, not the ability to fly straight and level) leanings.

[fishlips]

Is that a Women.