Think Aviation

If you’re looking to find out more about General Aviation – then this website is for you.

We’re here to help you think about careers, options or just GA as a hobby or passtime. This is not just about being a pilot or an instructor – if you are interested in any aspect of General Aviation including engineering, avionics, design, air traffic control, safety, firefighting, rescue aircraft or flying commercial jets – then you have definitely found the right page!

Over time, this website will evolve with resources, information, details of training courses, scholarships and other funding mechanisms and more.

Scroll down to read more.

And to be updated on news, scholarships, partnerships and more, join our mailing list here.

Think Aviation is supported by the charitable trust of AOPA NZ (the Aircraft Owners and Pilots’ Association of New Zealand) – an organisation which brings General Aviation enthusiasts together to do something they love doing as much as possible: fly.

Think Aviation was set up to help people look at options, find out more, learn about GA, and consider their options. We really encourage people just to THINK about aviation and consider the possibilities.

We’re funded by the generous support and donations of people who fly aircraft, or who are currently working elsewhere in the industry. We want you to be able to access good information yourself.

Our trust is run by experienced trustees who give their time freely. You can read about our trustees here.

We’ve prepared a number of videos to help you understand some of the choices in the industry. This is just the beginning. Over time, we’ll develop more videos for you to look at.

Scroll through the small selection of videos below to see if there’s anything here that interests or helps you. We’ve conducted interviews with young people who recently thought about aviation – and have done something about it. Take a look and see what they say about General Aviation.

Depending on which parts of the aviation industry you are most interested in, we can help you with access to resources. You might be interested in some of the resources we’ve pulled together below. This is an initial list – we are working on a comprehensive directory.

Click here to go to the AOPA NZ website – a great resource for pilots of any age in New Zealand.

The Civil Aviation Website has a lot of information about flying and aviation in New Zealand.

If you are interested in historical aircraft, why not go to the Warbirds Over Wanaka website?

The New Zealand Aviation Federation brings together 17 separate organisations, listed here, that represent various General Aviation members from pilots through to engineers and paraglider pilots.

NZAWA – New Zealand Association of Women in Aviation – found here. This is an enthusiastic group that aims to foster friendship amongst women interested in all aspects of aviation.

AOPA NZ’s own YouTube channel with a selection of videos, ranging from General Aviation knowledge, air accident reports and destination guides, plus interviews with experienced aviators.

We will add more resources to this website over time.

We’re in the early stages of setting up ThinkAviation, and we’d love to hear from you.

If you are a young person thinking about your options, get in touch.

If you are mid-career and wondering why on earth you haven’t already got into the world of flying – professionally or just for fun – make contact with us.

If you are in the aviation industry, you’re a pilot or you have a general passion for the world of GA, and you want to give back – we’re ready to talk – there are plenty of options.

If you see something on this website that interests you, or you’d simply like to find out more, please get in touch with us.

You can email us at thinkaviation@aopa.nz.

To be updated on news, scholarships, partnerships and more, join our mailing list here.

Our charitable trust details are at foot of every page on this website, but also here, along with our NZBN number and other details:

AOPA NZ Charitable Trust
NZBN 9429052231155
Incorporation number 50213593
Date of incorporation 18 July 2024
Registered charity number CC63143