Spitfire has new home at Whenuapai airbase

Photo: CAROLYN THOMAS

HAPPY LANDINGS: SkyCity Cinema Westgate manager Gordon Wood is glad its Spitfire replica will remain in the area after impressing moviegoers for more than a decade.

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A full-size replica of a World War II Spitfire fighter has a new home at Whenuapai airbase, after the plane was donated by SkyCity Cinemas Westgate.

The replica was custom-made for the complex in the late 1990s. Cinema manager Gordon Wood says the aircraft theme tied in with the area's history, but it was time to freshen up.

"It seemed natural to give it to the air base," he says. "It's such a unique object. It's great it's going local."

The plane was wired for lighting and plumbed with a sprinkler system. Moving it earlier this month was a big job, with a small crane brought in to assist. It is likely to be displayed outside at the airbase after a few alterations. The cinema also has two life-size figures to give away from the action movie Judge Dredd, starring Sylvester Stallone, ideally to a not-for-profit or community group in the area.

Email: westgate@skycitycinemas. co.nz.

- © Fairfax NZ News