Withdrawn from use in 1972 and sold in 1978. Eventually turned up on the New Zealand register as ZK-TVI in 1997. Photo from: Des White/Air Force Museum of New Zealand

Leased aircraft. Returned to ZK-PTA in 2014. Photo from: RNZAF/Air Force Museum of New Zealand

Ex RAF, passed to the RNZAF ahead of the fall of Singapore. Operated from Fiji pending the arrival of Catalinas. Photo from: Air Force Museum of New Zealand

Highly symbolic of the end of the era of exploration in aviation: an American and a British flying boat on route surveying flights meet up in far-flung New Zealand. The Short S.23 Empire of Imperial Airways is G-ADUT Centaurus. Pan Am's Samoan Clipper arrived back in Honolulu on 3 January 1938. Unfortunately, during her next flight to New Zealand she exploded south of Pago Pago, American Samoa, on 11 January, kiling her seven crew including the famous Captain Ed Musick. Photo from: Whites Aviation Collection/Alexander Turnbull Library

The Do 24 entered Luftwaffe service as an expensive rescue asset - the equivalent of today's heavy combat SAR helicopter. As such it saw action all around Europe. Built on the Dutch Do 24 production line, CH-EV was delivered to Seenotstaffel 7 in Athens in December 1941. It was damaged by Allied naval gunfire in this small Egyptian port on 12 August 1942, and declared a Totalverlust (total loss) on 28 August. The Allies retook Mersa Matruh during the Second Battle of El Alamein early in November. Photo by: MD Elias/Alexander Turnbull Library

NZ6210 crashed at Ohakea on October 24, 1989 when it collided with another aircraft returning from a Kiwi Red formation training exercise. Photo from: RNZAF/Air Force Museum of New Zealand

'Ruth Nichols, society aviatrix, who plans another transatlantic attempt in the near future, made first test flight of her reconstructed plane, the Akita, at Jersey City, NJ, airport, on Aug. 26. She is fairly recovered from spine injuries she suffered June 23 [actually 22] when her plane cracked up at the St. John, NB, airport on her contemplated ocean flight.' Nichols' delays allowed Amelia Earhart to become the first woman to solo across the Atlantic in May 1932. Below the cockpit it reads 'Loaned to Ruth Nichols by Crosley Radio Corp.' Crosley Radio Corp. titles on tailfin. The strange c/n 619 was assigned by the CAA according to Lockheed records. Photo from: Federal Aviation Administration

Operated by the Aeronautics Branch, Airways Division. Photo from: Federal Aviation Administration

The Civil Aeronautics Authority at war. 42-71464 and 41-19502, on the right, are two of the three XP-39E aircraft, which had supercharged Allison V-1710 engines. Allison is reported to have tested these two airframes at its Indianapolis plant. Information that 41-19502 was written off on 8 February 1943 is apparently wrong. 43-6012 is a P-51A Mustang. Photo from: Federal Aviation Administration

'On May 24, 1946, the CAA publicly demonstrated the world's first radar-equipped control tower for civilian flying at the Indianapolis airport.' Retired to the Smithsonian museum in 1953, this Boeing 247 had taken part in the London - Melbourne race in 1934 as NR257Y. Photo from: Federal Aviation Administration

Indianapolis was home to the Experimental Station of the CAA, which became the FAA in this year, 1958. BuNo 99854 was apparently on loan from the US Navy. Later used by US Department of Agriculture as N32A. To Confederate Air Force in 1980 as N227GB. Photo from: Federal Aviation Administration

Molt Taylor flew his first Aerocar for the first time on 8 December 1949 at Longview, Washington and this is an early photo. Note the hood ornament! This machine is on display at Oshkosh. Photo from: Federal Aviation Administration

Based at St Eval, Cornwall. Photo from: Air Force Museum of New Zealand

Leased by the RNZAF. Returned to Pacific Aerospace in 2014 and became ZK-PTM. Photo from: RNZAF/Air Force Museum of New Zealand

Ex Australian navy aircraft. Withdrawn from RNZAF service in 2001 and sold as N142EM in 2012. Photo from: RNZAF/Air Force Museum of New Zealand

Written off as the result of this forced landing. Donated to the Ferrymead Aviation Society. Photo from: Des White/Air Force Museum of New Zealand

Withdrawn from use in 2001 and sold in 2012 as N342EM. Photo from: RNZAF/Air Force Museum of New Zealand

A Pan Am 'Strato Clipper' over the Hawaiian islands with Diamond Head, Oahu in the background. Aircraft inherited from American Overseas Airlines. Renamed Clipper Mandarin at some point. Withdrawn from use in 1960. To Israel in 1962. Preserved at Hatzerim. Photo from: SFO Museum

Freighter based on the M.57 Aerovan, with four small Blackburn Cirrus Minor engines. The central fuselage was a detachable container. The aircraft could be flown without it and with the rear fuselage moved forward. The sole example first flew on 22 August 1947 and was already scrapped in 1948, Miles Aircraft having gone bankrupt. The photo is assumed taken near the factory at Woodley airfield, also known as Reading. Photo from: Nationaal Archief (Netherlands)

Withdrawn from use in 2001. Now with the Museum of Technology and Transport in Auckland. Photo from: Air Force Museum of New Zealand