Overview
NZAero is a New Zealand aircraft manufacturer based at Hamilton Airport that builds short-field utility turboprops for skydiving, cargo, agricultural, and remote-area operators. It is the current trading name of NZSkydive Ltd, which acquired the assets and type certificates of Pacific Aerospace in 2021 and adopted the NZAero identity in 2023. Its current production aircraft is the NZAero SuperPac 750XL-II, the 900-shp-class evolution of the 750XL line.
Heritage
The company traces to James Aviation, a Hamilton agricultural-aviation firm that became Pacific Aerospace Corporation and then Pacific Aerospace Ltd, a New Zealand builder of single-engine utility aircraft including the Fletcher topdresser, the Cresco, and the CT/4 Airtrainer military trainer. Pacific Aerospace type-certificated the P-750 XSTOL (the PAC 750XL) in 2003 and built it until the company was liquidated in 2021. NZSkydive Ltd bought the business out of administration that year and continued production under the Pacific Aerospace name. It renamed the company NZAero in 2023.
Design Signature
NZAero airframes are built for payload and field performance rather than speed. The 750XL family mates the wing and Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A powerplant of the agricultural Cresco to a large slab-sided fuselage, fixed tricycle gear, and a high-lift wing, producing an aircraft that lifts a useful load greater than its own empty weight off unimproved strips under 800 feet. The current 750XL-II adds a more powerful PT6A-140A, a four-blade propeller, an extended-range wing, and Garmin glass while keeping the short-field character of the original.
For Owners
NZAero supports a worldwide fleet of 750XL and P-750 XSTOL aircraft and builds the 750XL-II to order from Hamilton. The PT6A engine is supported globally, though airframe parts and type-specific expertise are concentrated in New Zealand and at regional distributors. NZAero types are flown in skydiving, bush cargo, and aerial-work operations where short-field access and payload are the priority.