Importing a GA Aircraft from Australia to New Zealand

[TheFlyingPavlova]

Hi there,

My first post here soo I hope I'm posting this in the right section and all (please correct me if im wrong).

I'm a 19 year old student pilot at Ardmore, Auckland, New Zealand and I'm about 5 hours away from my PPL checkride. I am looking to get my CPL straight after and so I've decided to buy an aircraft.

I'm currently looking at a 1979 PA-38-112 Tomahawk as a cheap to run hour builder which is the aircraft that I've trained in. But the only issue is that the only available one I could find is located in Australia.

I was hoping someone here would have experience or know someone who has imported an Aircraft from Australia and registered it in New Zealand.
Was looking to get an idea about the whole procedure and the ballpark cost of doing so.

Cheers!

[Pilot DAR]

You may have more regional specific knowledge if you post on the Australia/New Zealand forum, though your post is very welcomed here too.

I have no knowledge of the import requirements, so I'll leave those comments to someone else.

In the mean time, I very much enjoyed Tomahawks when I flew them. That said, I believe there are life limits on the airframe, so make sure you are familiar, and considering such limits on the price you might pay for the plane. Also be familiar with the the availability of repair parts, as these airplanes might not be as well supported as you hope. I'm not saying anything bad about the plane, I liked them, but legacy planes are not so well supported now, and aging airframe concerns are attracting more attention. Make sure you know what you're buying into...

[RatherBeFlying]

Best to buy something that will be easy to sell later on. Having imported two gliders from the US to Canada, the bureaucracy is a total pain. With the COVID-19 situation, you can multiply the aggravation.

Visit the local airports and check the bulletin boards to see what's on offer, then talk to the local pilots to see how it's been cared for.

But before you do anything, pick up Mike Busch's book on Airplane Ownership.

[TheFlyingPavlova]

Thanks for the replies! I'll post this in the New Zealand and Australia thread too. I'll surely have a look at that book and look around for more aircraft located around me. Surely would make sure that I'm completely satisfied with the aircraft that I would be getting and will check if the parts are easy to come by

[BalusKaptan]

Importing

I've sent you a PM. You may find it of help if you are still thinking of doing this. Overall not too difficult.

[VictorGolf]

You might want to consider a Victa Airtourer. Although the original design was Australian, they were later manufactured in New Zealand so the paperwork trail might be easier? I love mine although servicing can be a bit tricky here in UK.

[flyinkiwi]

As there are already Pa38's on the NZ register, the paperwork while weighty should be straight forward as you won't be blazing a trail. And Pilot DARs note about parts sourcing is important, Piper bits are becoming harder to find these days, even for something that was as ubiquitous as the Traumahawk.

[Katamarino]

Try asking on the Kiwi Pilots Facebook group, it's very active.

[Runaway Gun]

I second the advice to buy an Airtourer. You can also learn aerobatics on it.

[NZMongo]

Hi there,

Did you have any luck gathering info on importing to NZ?