Sir Keith Park Memorial Airfield, Thames
Upcoming Events
Piako Gliding Club
The Piako Gliding Club will be visiting Thames early January allowing our Club members the experience of flying gliders from the Thames Aerodrome. It is anticipated that approximately 8-12 gliders will be operating with approximately 20 pilots using a light sport aircraft (LSA) tow plane.
Past Events
The 1st Auckland Aviation School, 34 youth, 33rd National Aviation School, 1st out of Auckland. Flight introduction flights were enthusiastically completed by the Scouts on Friday and Saturday 26th & 27th September 2025. Here is a slideshow of the lucky participants
Thames Battle of Britain Commemorations 14th September 2025 starting at 11 am
This event is open to the public and will include the unveiling of the 2.3m bronze statue of Sir Keith Park and the inauguration of the completed memorial.
The statue of ACM Sir Keith Park has now been installed at its permanent site, under the Stage 1 Hurricane Fighter at the Thames Airfield.
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Hauraki Aero Club Student Forum
A good turnout was achieved at our Student Get-together Saturday 6th September.
Our Guest Speaker, Murray Connell, gave an entertaining talk/discussion on his career as an Air New Zealand Pilot, flying 787 Dreamliners; and, he is also an ex-helicopter pilot. Murray is an active member of our Club and flies his own microlight.
Home Built Radial Engine Aug 28th 2025
HAC members were invited to view a home built twin row 14-cylinder radial engine. This engine has been in construction now for 10 years. It is built using Yamaha cylinders which are 835cc each. This equates to an engine that is 11,700cc! It produces around 600HP. Those who walked in behind the propeller were ‘blown away’ quite literally!
A bit of excitement at our airfield!
Cliff witnessed this manoeuver at our airfield the other day. A bit sad to see ZK-HUD dismantled and shipped back to Christchurch. See the following slideshow.
…… and, just like that, it’s all packed in the container and on its way to a new owner.
Thames Air Cadets, No 37 Squadron ATC weekend
Hauraki Aero Club had pleasure in hosting the Thames Air Cadets, No. 37 Squadron ATC March 15/16
Their photos available on their Facebook site. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Pgz5QRLoW/
Vintage and Classic Gliding Club Rally Feb 2nd – 7th
How many of you remember when Gliders were a part of our Aero Club’s past history?
The Hauraki Aero Club once had their own Gliding Division for many years.
The Vintage Classic Gliding Club held this year’s rally at the Hauraki Aero Club in Thames. It was a tremendous success and many past Thames Gliders popped in to have a look and a chat. The following photos courtesy of Cliff McChesney and Sandy Siberer.
Open NOW in Thames – Watch this space!
Dargaville Social Calendar
Wings over Wanaka 2024
Wings over Wanaka 2024 Offiicial Video
Wings & Wheels, Thames, 2024
Wings & Wheels was a tremendous success at the Sir Keith Park Memorial Airfield in Thames on January 27th.
Wonderful to see the Warbirds doing their stuff.
MBAC Airshow 22/10 Photo Wally Pendray 
MBAC Airshow 22/10 Photo Wally Pendray 
MBAC Airshow 22/10 Photo Wally Pendray 
MBAC Airshow 22/10 Photo Grant Weston 
MBAC Airshow 22/10 Photo Grant Weston 
MBAC Airshow 22/10 Photo Grant Weston MBAC Airshow 22/10 Photo Grant Weston 
MBAC Airshow 22/10 Photo Wally Pendray 
MBAC Airshow 22/10 Photo Grant Weston
Mercury Bay Airshow Buffalo Beach 22 Oct 2023
A great display and sunny weather. A good day out.
See the Whitianga Aerodrome Facebook page for Wally Pendray’s excellent camera work.
Also watch this amazing video of the skydivers exiting the Dakota
Oz Runways Presentation
Hauraki Aero Club were delighted to host a very detailed and interesting presentation by Joe Calder of Oz Runways on 17th October. We had an excellent turnout including meeting new pilots from Matamata and Waiuku.
I’m sure everyone gained a more comprehensive appreciation for the extent and ability this software product has to make our navigation easier and more accurate.
Parawai School Trip
Do we have some future pilots coming through the ranks? We hope so!
It was a privilege to host the Parawai School for their school educational trips designed to introduce their students to technology systems. It was a pleasure to demonstrate how planes fly, and to see their enthusiasm when sitting in the plane and getting a feel for all the controls. See the slideshow above.
Battle of Britain Commemorations 2023
The Battle of Britain Commemorations were held on Sunday 10th September at 11am at the Sir Keith Park Memorial Airfield.
Richard Hornell Photography captured the moments.
Training Courses offered by Hauraki Aero Club:
Two successful training courses have been run at our Club, presented by our CFI, Cliff McChesney.
The first one was Radio (FRTO) which was held on Saturday July 1st and was well received with most participants completing the exam.
The second course, Aviation Law, was held on Saturday August 26th and was very successful.
More courses will be scheduled throughout the year.
Watch this space!
Hauraki Aero Club 
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