KiwiFlightSim Limited has recently released their rendition of Hokitika Airport (NZHK) for Microsoft Flight Simulator. This uncontrolled aerodrome serves the homonymous city in New Zealand and has a yearly average of 40,000 passengers.
The airport’s history dates back to the early days of aviation, with records going as far back as 1923 when Captain Maurice Buckley landed his Avro 504 in Hokitika. This marked a significant milestone for aviation in the region and demonstrated air travel’s potential to connect isolated communities on the West Coast.
Eleven years later, Captain Bert Mercer established New Zealand’s first commercial airline – Air Travel NZ Ltd –, operating flights between Hokitika and other settlements in South Westland.
Air Travel NZ’s route coverage expanded greatly during World War 2, taking passengers to Greymouth, Westport, and Nelson.
Its location, though, has changed over the years because of the previous area’s susceptibility to flooding, leading to the construction of an entirely new airport in 1951.
The new aerodrome attracted new airlines, with its first indeed scheduled service starting in 1953 with NAC, flying their DC-3 from Paraparaumu, Nelson, and Westport.
It’s currently served by Air New Zealand, with ATR flights to Christchurch.
The scenery features an accurate rendition of the airport, with custom aerial imagery, custom 3D modeling, custom ground service equipment, hand-crafted apron markings, custom night lighting, custom windsocks, and more.
It’s available on SimMarket for roughly $10.43, requiring at least 1 GB of free hard disk space to install.
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