The Lockheed P-3K2 Orion NZ4203 was decommissioned in Blenheim and will arrive at the museum's Wigram base by road this month, where it will be stored in the reserve collection hangar until an exhibition space large enough to house it can be built.
NZ4203 is 36m long, has a wingspan of just over 30m, and its tail stands 10.3m tall.
Said museum director Brett Marshall: "Our current exhibition halls are too small to accommodate it, so we’re busy working on plans for a new space to exhibit it.
"We will keep everyone posted on our plans as they progress."
NZ4203 has flown more than 27,000 hours during its 54-year career, including hundreds of search and rescue operations, anti-submarine patrols and border protection missions.
Marshall said it has been a long wait to get an Orion.
"To say we’re excited would be an understatement. NZ4203 will be the largest aircraft in our collection and one of the most significant.
"We are delighted to be able to ensure its preservation for the nation.
"We look forward to being able to tell the many stories associated with this extraordinary aircraft type which served us so well for so long."
Built by Lockheed in Burbank, California, in 1966, NZ4203 entered service with the RNZAF in April 1967.
In 2021 it became the first of the type to retire from service when it flew a farewell mission to RNZAF Base Woodbourne.
Marshall said NZ4203 deserves a happy retirement at the museum where it will be preserved as the only surviving RNZAF example of the type.
It will be in the same shape as it was on its last mission - minus the sensitive military equipment.
"NZ4203 was the first RNZAF Orion to land in Antarctica back in 2006," Marshall said.
"It has also taken part in numerous humanitarian and search and rescue missions and has been a lifesaver for many people who have found themselves needing help a long way from home."
NZ4203 served with No 5 Squadron at RNZAF Base Whenuapai and was regularly upgraded to extend its lifespan, receiving new avionics and radio systems in the 1980s and new wings in the 1990s.
- Find out more at airforcemuseum.co.nz
By David King
