No 5 Squadron commanding officer Wing Commander Glen Donaldson, of Auckland, said yesterday’s two-plane flight around the South Island was a way of thanking the public for their support over the years.
WCmdr Donaldson grew up in Outram and joined the air force soon after he finished at Otago Boys’ High School, where he was head boy in 1996.
"It’s been heck of a 25-years," W Cmdr Donaldson said.
Of his 25 years in the air force, he had spent 23 years with the Orions.
The first of the planes was delivered in 1966, New Zealand being the first country to which the United States exported them.
While the engines, hydraulics and flight controls were all pretty old, the planes had been modernised several times over the decades.
In the late ’90s they were re-winged and the tailplanes replaced.
Later, in the early 2000s, a complete navigation, electronics and sensor upgrade took place.
"For the last 10 years, we’ve been one of the leading surveillance aircraft in the world — we’re just operating on an old frame," WCmdr Donaldson said.
The first of four new Boeing P-8 Poseidon replacement aircraft were delivered to New Zealand in December and the Orion crews were being progressively trained for it as the Orions retired.
WCmdr Donaldson described the switch to the replacement planes as "a bit bittersweet".
"It’s sad to say goodbye to the old friend, but at the same time, it’s exciting for everybody," he said.
What would happen to the airframes was up to the national disposal office, but he was hopeful they could be sold overseas and continue to be flown.
A function would be held for former air and ground crew, although he had not yet been able to figure out exactly how many people had worked on the aircraft over the years.
The planes had made a massive contribution over the years and as maritime patrol aircraft they usually operated far from the public eye.
He had plenty of fond memories, particularly around search and rescue operations, WCmdr Donaldson said.
Just a couple of weeks ago the squadron had flown out to Kiribati to help in a search for two fisherman who had been missing for a week.
"We located them within half an hour and managed to get the rescue vessel across to them," WCmdr Donaldson said.
The Orion had been an amazing, very resilient aircraft, he said.
Even on the few occasions where there had been fumes on board, or flights had been affected by an engine or generator issue, he had always felt completely safe.
"There’s still three other engines perfectly serviceable which we can come back and land on ... It’s such a robust aircraft, it can take a knock and still return you home quite safely," WCmdr Donaldson said.
