Reviews of Ashburton Aviation Museum. (Museum) in Ashburton (Canterbury).

Ashburton Aviation Museum

201 Reviews

147 Comments

Museum

470 Seafield Road, Elgin, Ashburton 7772, New Zealand

View all the reviews

Description Map Open Hours Reviews Contact Photos

Description

Information of Ashburton Aviation Museum, Museum in Ashburton (Canterbury)

Here you can see the location, open hours, popular times, contact, photos and real reviews done by the users.

This place has good reviews, this means that they treat their customers well and you’ll feel great with their services, recommended 100%!

Map

Open hours of Ashburton Aviation Museum

Sunday

12:30–3pm

Monday

1–3pm

Tuesday

1–3pm

Wednesday

9:30am–3pm

Thursday

1–3pm

Friday

1–3pm

Saturday

9:30am–3pm

Popular times

Sunday

13
14

Monday

13
14

Tuesday

9
10
11
12
13
14

Wednesday

13
14

Thursday

13
14

Friday

9
10
11
12
13
14

Saturday

12
13
14

Reviews of Ashburton Aviation Museum

This place is an absolute goldmine. Probably the best aviation museum in NZ. I don't know how it has kept such a low profile but I expect that will change. Extraordinarily eclectic array of aircraft. Being able to sit in the Canberra is great. The staff working there were friendly and helpful. The ATR72 sim was unexpected and although it's still a work in progress was very cool and I look forward to seeing the final product. Will definitely be back for a follow up visit. Congratulations to all involved in building this collection and making it available to the public.

A lovely place to visit to learn about aviation history. They have collected so many great aircrafts. A huge thank you from us for sharing your knowledge, we enjoyed it so much! A must visit for any going through Ashburton.

What an amazing collection of warplanes! This small and apparently independently owned museum had one of the most interesting collections of warplanes that I have seen in New Zealand! There were two guides there on the day we visited who were extremely friendly and informative. I was even able to climb inside one of the planes to get a feel for what it would be like to be their pilot! I would definitely recommend it as a stop along your way if you have any interest at all in airplanes, aviation history, or war history. You won’t be disappointed!!

Visited today whilst staying with family nearby. Lovely site, great informative and friendly staff and certainly a wide variety of planes and automobiles! Like how you can interact with some of them too - that's what many aviation centres lack - but certainly not here! Great for all ages, young and old.

We loved going there. It was not busy so we had all the time in the world and even got a guide from one of the volunteers. Amazing planes they have at a great location. We would to be there when an event or airshow is one. Seeing the old and new planes from this tiny, unmanned, airport would be so cool. Especially if one was able to view it from the old control tower. Long story short: we would absolutely recommend this to anybody with some time at hands and an interest in aviation. Last bit: check the opening times, they are so small that they are not always open. We will back, sometime, soon!

Was really surprised at how large the collection is at this museum. We covered quite a lot in just an hour. Very enjoyable and very friendly staff too

For years, Ashburton has been a place that my wife and I have either passed through on the way to somewhere else, or stopped for coffee/second breakfast/dinner/pit stop, not necessarily in that order. I have known for a long time about the gem at Ashburton’s airfield, which, during World War 2, was a RNZAF training base and I have always wanted to visit, but travelling schedules and the museum’s limited opening hours never seemed to coincide. So, on a recent trip to Christchurch, I suddenly realised that, this time, our travel schedule would allow a stop-off at the museum during the two hours that it would be open on that particular day. My wife said go for it and she would sit in the car with her book. I said she better have another book on standby because I was going to be inside for the full two hours. And I was. On the scale of other aviation museums, Ashburton is a small operation, but they have an impressively varied collection and I used every minute of the allotted time. Five stars.

Amazing collection of aircraft and extremely accommodating people running the museum. Highly recommended to everyone to visit specially for Children!♡

2 hangars of marvelous aircraft with so much history. My son loved it & the 2 men at the counter were generous to let us stay a little longer after closing time

For what this place looks like on the outside, they sure have a world class collection of planes. It appears they are expanding soon and I look forward to seeing it after the upgrades.

A very good museum, well worth a look, has a verity of aircraft from military to civil something for everyone

Blown away at the amount of history shoved into this place. Absolutely loved spending time here. Definitely a place to kill some time.

What a fabulous experience just so interesting, highly recommend a visit.

Outstanding exhibits. Rare opportunity to see rare aircraft. Great stories of local people's wartime and peace time lives. Very capable team there only to keen to walk around and tell you history and interesting stories. Will be going back to have another look.

Awesome place to visit with the kids if they are interested in aircraft. Displays, simulators and history.

Great collection of aircraft, well worth it if you are in the area 👍

Volunteers trying to preserve aviation history in a small but important town of Ashburton. They have the only Harrier in the Southern hemisphere.. definitely a must see in the South Island New Zealand!

Very nice little museum with some amazing aircraft

Thank you to the friendly guys who work here, especially to our guide who took us around and shared much interesting things about the exhibits. Lots to see here if you are an aviation enthusiast! My husband, children and myself enjoyed our visit very much.

i enjoyed it alot with my partner really nice planes to watch here

Hidden gem of a place with super selection of aircraft.

Very nice museum....credit to all the volunteers who are involved. Spent 2 hours there and could easily have spent longer. Great value at $10 per adult and kids free. Would recommend visiting.

Bloody great bunch of blokes. Loved the planes also

So much better than I was expecting. Really awesome.

Pretty impressive museum recommend a look.Harrier jump jet was awesome and to actually get into the Canberra bomber cockpit was pretty cool.

3 large hangers of aviation stuff. Great bunch of guys to help you with any questions. Fun displays with a lot you can climb into or under including a flight simulator. I will be back.

Old planes brought back memmories. Got a Devon, Vampire, Skyhawk etc

Really nice people, throughly enjoyed the experience 👍👍👍

Very nice. Went through 2 hangers with a nice lot of planes. Even had some little gocart pedal power on for the under 5s. Kids enjoyed it and I enjoyed it. Really worth a look

Great place to visit for all the family. Not just a blokes place!! This airport trained hundreds of pilots in WW2. Amazing number of planes to view.

Well worth making time to visit. A credit to all the volunteers and contributors who make it possible. Also has an incredible display of models for those with that passion also

Impressive collection, excellent museum. Friendly volunteers. Harrier, tiger moth, vampire, skyhawk and more.

To think... the best strike force of aircraft in New Zealand is probably sitting in the hangers at little'ol Ashburton. Incredible set of aircraft, and always something new each time we visit. Well done to all those involved with creating such a great collection.

Amazing displays. Pleasant helpful informative staff. Highly recommended to family's plan an afternoon so much to see and do

Fascinating history here. Volunteers help make it tick.

Stunning! another classic Kiwi gem. Huge number of aircraft paraphernalia and you can get right up close to the aircraft as well

Fantastic museum! Very friendly staff who know alot and are happy to give personal tours. Very interesting remaining of a Soviet satellite can be seen in addition to heaps of powerful and quirky aircrafts.

Some really interesting aircraft on display

I was really impressed. The aircraft are very accessible and getting close is encouraged by the staff. The tower is worth a look too. There is a real sense of passion here, well worth a visit. See and get into helicopters, a DC3, get close to a Mig, Canberra cockpit, Skyhawk, Macchi, Airtruk and many more.

Loved it, awesome aircraft to look at

Enjoyed the set up, not cluttered. Had our own guide who was very informative

Wonderful experience. Only $10, value for money. Very friendly people. Great displays.

Nice people, they spend a good time explaining anything about the planes or pictures

This place is a hidden jewel but is a must see. An awesome and beautifully restored collection of aviation craft and other memorabilia. Well worth a detour and visit

My 6 y/o and I had a great time in the ATR-72 Simulator.

It's a lovely treasure for aviation enthusiasts and a great place for family time. Helpful and friendly team.

Absolutely amazing collection of aircraft. A hidden treasure. If your interested in aircraft from gyros to jets this is a must see, I'll be back. Great staff too. Cheers.

Great museum, was my second visit, cool to see the MIG this time. Such a treasure trove of aircraft that not many know about. Worth a visit!

There are over 25 aircraft on display in the Two Museum Buildings and more in the work shop. These include Devon, Vampire FB5, Harvard, Porterfield, Airtruk, Benson Gyro Glider, Weihe Glider, Hughes Helicopter, Olympia, Flying Flea, Harrier GR3, Canberra B2 Bomber Cockpit. F8 - Meteor, Zlin, DC3, Vampire T11, Link Trainer, Slingsby T31, Bergfalke, Cropmaster, Tiger Moth. The Museum is also home to the Southern DC3 Trusts Historic Airliner ZK AMY. Latest aquisition is a Thompson Refueller, one of only 9 on display worldwide. Ashburton Aviation Museum are thrilled to have obtained an ex RNZAF Skyhawk that has been added to their extensive collection. This is a US built jet which are known by many as ‘Scooters’. This large aircraft is about 44 feet long (13.41 metres) and the wingspan is 30 feet (9.14m). At its peak, it is 5 metres high. The Skyhawk is sure to be yet another attraction to add to the wonderful collection at the Ashburton Aviation Museum.

Great little aviation museum. The kids loved it. Amazing to see a Harrier Jump Jet there too.

Skyhawk, Aermacchi & a Harrier Jump Jet, worth going just for these three. Plus many more planes, all in little ol Ashburton. Very impressed with the effort of all the members to get this collection together.

Thoroughly enjoyed this place. The simulator is well worth a drive.

Much wider range of aircraft than one would expect and always growing

Nice display go have a look if passing by or visiting ashburton

Despite being a wet day, it was nice being able to wander amongst the aircraft under cover. Well presented with good narratives accompanying all displays.

Fantastic collection, friendly people, and for a fantastic cause... To preserve and reflect the past and present of aviation. Well worth your time and travel

Wonderful place to visit run by a dedicated bunch of volunteers who are dedicated to restoring and display NZ Aviation.

Great museum. Massive collection of all types of aircraft and memorabilia. Well worth the visit for the family.

Great place to find out about the history of our Air Force as well as the planes we have so many war heroes from New Zealand Air Force didn't even know thank you guys for the history lesson

great museum, a lot of airplane,10 bucks for entrance

Great place friendly staff good time lots of airplanes and you can even sit in some

Very interesting didn't have time to have a good look around as was at a private function but intend to take my grandson to visit.

Great collection where you get right up to all the aircraft. There's even a decent range of jet fighters.

Great place very impressed with all the information and the displays

A great collection of planes and memorabilia. Well done!

A must for aviation enthusiasts

Very interesting exhibition, for me the old airliner. Amazing leg room compared with the modern ones

All you could ask for. Well displayed. Nice people to welcome you .

One very nice little museum

great display

Absolutely fascinating, and you can climb aboard many of the exhibits.

The museum is exceptional, well laid out over 2 hangers , well worth a visit , very knowledgeable staff .

Great museum, lots of info and memorabilia.

Amazing place hidden away, well worth it, MiG! Harrier!?

Wonderful displays very friendly staff

Amazing collection of interesting aircraft. Open daily 1pm to 3pm. Opens at 10am on Wednesday & Saturday

Function centre is awesome with lots of character, charm and history with the decorations and paraphernalia. Friendly staff as well.

This was great place to wander around and take look at some aviation history

Loads of aircrafts to see. Great for outing for an aviation loving family.

Unexpectedly world-class. Some rare planes here.

Best aviation display in NZ. Very extensive range of jet fighters.

Fantastic day out, best place for someone love the airplane.

A reasonable collection of aeroplanes, including a Harrier

Nice range of aircraft on display

Worthwhile visiting and my family member from out of town loved it alot

Astounding exhibits and staff know their stuff too. reasonable prices.

It's a great place to visit. Just awesome place

Fantastic place lots of things to see will be going back.

Fantastic displays and helpful, knowledgeable staff

Fantastic small collection of aircraft and memorabilia.

Great setup. Friendly people. A hidden treasure

Very nice

A good range of aircraft and interesting stories.

One of best air museums on Zealand

Great display of NZ aviation history

Good place to see all kinds of planes

Fantastic. Brings back so many memories from my childhood

An interesting display with m7ch information about Ashburton and WW2

A must see for aviation enthusiests

Nice place for having sky diving experience

Didn't know this existed, recommend a visit, will be going back.

Model of WW2 training base at Ashburton

Was awesome.daughter loved it.

A great experience and very interesting

Awesome collection especially for a small town

Worth a look

Has a remarkable number of exhibits.

Brilliant display of war birds

great place awesome air#ield

Fantastic. Recommended.

Very friendly people.

🛩️👍😁

Great museum.

Excellent place to visit!

Great display of aircraft

Great place worth visiting

Surprisingly good

Not bad

Very good

Awesome family spot

Fantastic place to visit

Brilliant

Awesome

Well worth a visit

Very interesting and informative

Great place!!!

Great place.

Really good

Wonderfull place

(Translated) 🤩👍👍 This place was an important military base for New Zealand during the 2nd World War. Time has passed but not the passion for aviation. A group of enthusiastic people maintain a very interesting museum. What great energy. Well done to them. (Original) 🤩👍👍 Cet endroit était une base militaire importante pour la Nouvelle-Zélande pendant la 2ème guerre mondiale. Le temps a passé mais pas la passion pour l'aviation. Un groupe de personnes enthousiastes maintient un musée très intéressant. Quelle belle énergie. Bravo à eux.