Tāwhaki said their ability to offer tests in their special-use air space zone was attracting operators with busier skies. Photo: Supplied / Tāwhaki National Aerospace Centre
The national aerospace centre is aiming to line up overseas customers to test hydrogen-powered planes south of Christchurch.
The Crown-iwi joint venture Tāwhaki has pivoted away from rockets to put the priority on advanced aviation, which it and the government see as a better bet.
Tāwhaki executive director John Holt said their ability to offer tests in their special-use air space zone was attracting operators with busier skies.
"The flying cars are very close, so we're looking for that, and we're also looking particularly to Europe to a lot of the actual retrofitting of existing aircraft frames which is generally around hydrogen propulsion," Holt said.
Some of these aircraft were 60 or 70-seat passenger jets, Holt said.
He heads to Europe next month with what he said was the realistic aim to sign up eight customers this financial year.
"We've got quite detailed discussions on a couple of those opportunities - one from Australia and one from further afield - that should come to something or not within next probably three months."
Tāwhaki's clear air space was a big plus.
"It's amazing, even in Australia, it is quite difficult, is the feedback we're getting, to find locations which have that sort of regulatory okay and are free from significant aircraft traffic."
That was the case in Europe and the US, he added.
Talks were also still bubbling away with a couple of possible rocket launch operators, he said.
Tāwhaki's business case called for installing two launchpads, however, Holt said the double-width runway on Kaitorete Spit was large enough for some small vertical takeoffs, plus some start-ups were getting into mobile launchpads that packed down into shipping containers.
"A lot of them are now looking at how can we be more efficient."
That might have a lower environmental footprint, too, which fit with especially the iwi's goal of restoring the spit and lake.
Tāwhaki had a firm policy against the testing of anything armed - defence "kinetic" aerospace - and relaxing that was not an option, he said.
But he was bullish about the prospects around of other types of defence aviation under the government's new defence industrial strategy.
"Most of it in terms of live action is around search and rescue and sort of disaster response, and that's where a lot of these aircraft are really playing a big part for New Zealanders well outside the war fighter scenario," he said.
"I think it's going to get a lot more air with entrepreneurs and innovators here, given that they can basically go and listen to some of the problems and challenges that defence has, again mostly at a supply and logistics level, and actually get some tacit support to develop platforms to solve those problems."
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