The Nelson Aero Club was formed on 28 September 1932 and so in its 80th year of operation.

The Aero Club first operated from what is now Saxton Field and moved to the airport site in the late 1930’s, although activity ceased during the Second World War. Since then the club has occupied different buildings on the airport site until finally moving to the current hangar in February 1996.

The first club aircraft was a Piper Cub. We’ve flown Dragons, Procters, Austers, Tiger Moths, Piper Cubs and Cherokees.

Now we have three planes available; two Cessna 150’s and a Cessna 172’s.

The club has trained private and commercial pilots, Many Club pilots have gone on to successful careers in the aviation industry. Sadly there are no foundation members left – but names like Sir Jack Newman, Ian Neale and Reg Kingsford are well remembered in the Clubs cups and sponsorships.

Things are looking good for the future of the club, with over 100 members, regular club trips such as the annual Brass Monkey flight to St Arnaud, barbecues for members and newcomers and competitions for both experienced pilots and novices.

We have competitions for spot landings, aerobatics, formation flying, and games such as streamer cutting where we drop a toilet roll out of the plane at 4,000 feet and follow it down to 2,000ft; trying to cut it as many times as possible on the way down! The club has a strong competition background and has successfully fielded teams in national competitions for many years.

The club also boasts an excellent safety record and planes are maintained following a strict regime.

We try to cater for families and like to see young and old up in the air.  We have students aged from 12 to over 60. You need to be 17 to get your private pilot’s licence, but you can start working on it from a younger age.

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