Explore Marlborough’s leading visitor attraction
The Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre has combined a rare collection of WW1 and WW2 aircraft with creative display techniques to present a remarkable experience that captures the imagination.
Omaka is a world-class destination for appreciating historic aircraft and sharing the stories of the men and women behind the machines.
Step Into the World of Sir Peter Jackson’s Knights of the Sky
The Great War (WWI) is the stage on which the story of aviation and the ‘Knights of the Sky’ comes to life. This is the personal collection of film director Sir Peter Jackson and through his generosity a series of dioramas, created by WingNut Films and enhanced by lifelike mannequins by Weta Workshop combined to provide a museum experience, never seen before its opening in 2006.
Rare memorabilia on display; the envy of any national collection ranges from beautifully crafted ‘trench’ art through to personal items belonging to national flying heroes such as the USA’s Eddie Rickenbacker, France’s René Fonck and Germany’s Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen and the infamous Hermann Goering.
Discover the Thrills of Dangerous Skies
Opened in November 2016, the exhibition Dangerous Skies broadens the Omaka experience into the more familiar territory of World War Two, even while breaking new ground. As well as the Battle of Britain, visitors are taken on a journey through the lesser-known stories of the war on the Eastern front, including that of the world’s top-scoring female fighter ace Lydia Litvyak and the most famous of all women regiments, the Soviet 588th Night Bombers or ‘Night Witches’ as the Germans called them.
Like World War One’s Knights of the Sky, Dangerous Skies features mannequins made by Wētā Workshop, and original, static and flyable aircraft in larger-than-life dioramas, capturing specific snapshots in history. Dangerous Skies underwent a refresh in 2019, with further alterations since. The main exhibition area now holds four additional aircraft, all originals and never seen before at Omaka. The first a Messerschmitt Bf108 once owned and flown by German ace Franz Stigler, the second a Lockheed Hudson, an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft which has been suspended in a dramatic crash scene in the depths of a Pacific island jungle. Two aircraft from the John Smith Collection have also joined the exhibition; the magnificent de Havilland Mosquito and the famous ‘Gloria Lyons’ P-40 Kittyhawk.
About Omaka
Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre is run by a charitable trust; most of the aircraft and memorabilia are on loan from private individuals. As well as aircraft, there are the smaller items—letters, logbooks, clothing, photographs—that help convey the human stories and give the machines their relevance to history. All need to be conserved, documented, and made accessible.
We aim to foster growth in aviation by stimulating interest and enjoyment through the museum and the biennial Classic Fighters Airshow. Schools visit regularly to learn about the aviators of the World Wars and the amazing machines that were developed during those years. Education in both history and technology is central to our mission.