South Island residents are being treated to the final flight of the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s P-3K2 Orions today, after nearly 60 years’ service.
The last pair of the Orion fleet were scheduled to take a final flight to RNZAF Base Woodbourne, in Blenheim, today, after a formation flight over the South Island.
They were expected to fly over Christchurch about 11.50am, Oamaru at 1.34pm, Dunedin at 1.49pm, Invercargill at 2.15pm and Queenstown at 2.45pm.
The flight marks the end of service for the fleet of six maritime surveillance planes, which were delivered in 1966 and flown by No.5 Squadron.
The fleet is being replaced by four Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft.
On board the aircraft will be chief of the defence force, Air Marshal Kevin Short, and chief of the air force, Air Vice-Marshal Andrew Clark, both former No.5 Squadron personnel.
The air force employed the Orions for surveillance and reconnaissance of New Zealand’s areas of economic interest, exclusive economic zone, the South Pacific and the Southern Ocean including the Antarctic.
Crews had also found hundreds of missing people drifting in vessels in the Pacific and the aircraft had been the first to arrive at the sites of natural disasters.
