For 20 years the Royal New Zealand Air Force has operated two Boeing 757s. The aircraft have performed many and varied missions from Antarctica to the Pacific Islands, and from the Middle East to Europe, but a replacement is overdue. Jim Winchester reports
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) disbanded its air combat force at the end of 2001, leaving two Boeing 727-200s as its only jet aircraft in service with No.40 Squadron. The former United Airlines aircraft (serial numbers NZ7271 and NZ7272) entered RNZAF service in 1981, joining the unit’s five Lockheed C-130H Hercules based at Whenuapai in greater Auckland. The demise of the A-4K Skyhawk and Aermacchi MB.339 jet squadrons, which came about for political rather than budgetary reasons, was unpopular within the RNZAF but did free up money for other things. The government’s Long Term Development Plan (LTDP) for defence issued in June 2002 called for NZD$1bn to be spent on upgrading and renewing essential elements of the air force. By this time its Boeing 727s were showing signs of corrosion and were facing increasing noise restrictions at airports worldwide.
Replacement of the 727s was becoming a priority and a Fixed Wing Transport Review was begun in July 2002. In Nove…
