JEM Aviation Ltd

01/10/2026

01/10/2026

A bitter-sweet day today. After 7 years (!) in the shop Yak-7B ZK-YKB ' Liberte' (ex N7YK) flew the coop and took up roost at her home field of Tauranga.
Nick Rowe completed his rating with Ryan Southam today and took her north via Napier on a lovely spring day.
'Liberte' has been with us for 1/3 of the companies existance (!) and her leaving will leave a huge hole in the hangar.
Like a child leaving home, it is time, and we are glad to see her on her way and wish Mike and the team at Tauranga many happy flying hours in the future.
We will look forward to seeing her back for Marlborough Lines Classic Fighters Omaka in 2027!
Lastly, thanks to the JEM team, many not with us now, who toiled over the years to turn this machine into the aeroplane it is today. It's been a long haul and it is a credit to owner Mike O'Rourke's determination, patience and understanding that we are here today.
Of course, the upside is that we now have space in the hangar for some projects that have been taking a back seat for too long!

24/09/2026

Time to whip this baby into shape!

28/08/2026

A successful week with the issue 2 new C of A’s!
DH-2 replica ZK-DHR is ready to fly pending test pilot approvals and Fokker D.VIII replica ZK-FMT is not far behind, just awaiting approval of its maintenance programme for the Classic Aero Machining Service Gnome 9B rotary engine.
Will be great to see these up and about!

18/08/2026

Wicked!

BIG NEWS FOR CLASSIC FIGHTERS 2027!

In 2027, the Royal New Zealand Air Force celebrates 90 years of service to New Zealand, and we’re proud to announce that the RNZAF will be joining us at Marlborough Lines Classic Fighters 2027 to mark this very special anniversary.

Expect a major RNZAF presence in the air and on the ground, bringing together aircraft from the past and present.

And make sure you plan for the whole weekend; Sunday will feature a special RNZAF 90th anniversary flying programme.

There’s plenty more to be announced.

👉 Read the full story and secure your tickets at https://tinyurl.com/4t3w8sj7

28/07/2026

Put this together with Aeroplane Monthly last month! Came out rather well I think. A bit hard to find hard copies in NZ shops so if you see one grab it for me and I'll buy you a b**r!

28/06/2026

Some great photos of the F-45 taking shape in depths of Hangar 2 at JEM Aviation under Mike Lagunowitsch’s care attention to detail!

05/06/2026

Moisture in the air this afternoon!

05/06/2026

As we wrap up for the weekend I thought it was about time Jeremy Hughan had some Fighter Flights V-12 time… might have needed a booster seat!😆
There was certainly some moisture in the air!