06 September 2019
Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre Brings New Stories to Life with New Exhibits
Dangerous Skies WWII exhibition re-opens Friday, 13 September
Dangerous Skies, the World War II exhibition at the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre (OAHC) is fast approaching its
re-opening to the public as a team of talented volunteers and professionals work to bring new and inspirational stories
of pilots and their machines to life.
Jane Orphan, Omaka AHC director said “When we were faced with the challenge of remodelling Dangerous Skies, we had the
advantage of fabulous aircraft to work with and some inspiring individual stories to tell. We always like to provide a
context and that demands some special skills from our creative crew. They certainly delivered!”
The main exhibition area now holds two additional aircraft, both originals and never seen before in Dangerous Skies. The
first a Messerschmitt Bf108 once owned and flown by a German ace and 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. Other spaces have been reconfigured to better highlight the incredible stories of WW2 and to
increase visitor engagement.
The refresh of the Dangerous Skies exhibition represents the OAHC’s commitment not just to preserve significant aircraft
and memorabilia but to continually evolve and attract new generations to the museum. Story telling is the key to
realising OAHC’s mission to establish a permanent ‘living’ centre of aviation heritage, which will fascinate, educate
and inspire visitors of all ages. The new displays are another small but significant step towards the planned
multi-stage development of Marlborough’s single most visited attraction.
About Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre
Established to provide a world-class destination for the appreciation of historic aircraft, the Omaka AHC opened in 2006
with the Knights of the Sky exhibition, featuring Sir Peter Jackson’s extensive Great War collection of aircraft and
rare memorabilia. The calibre of the displays, enhanced by Weta Workshop’s mannequins and sets produced by WingNut
Films, launched the Centre to international acclaim. Dangerous Skies, the WWII exhibition opened in 2016 and was
designed and built in the same life-like style by the Omaka creative team including the exciting and thought-provoking
multi-media ‘Stalingrad Experience’.
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