- Former TVNZ weatherman Jim Hickey sold his hangar home overlooking New Plymouth airport to a local pilot.
- The buyer plans to store his aircraft in the hangar and stay in the three-bedroom apartment.
- Hickey and his wife moved to be closer to the city, seeking a house with fewer stairs.
Former TVNZ weatherman Jim Hickey has sold his dream hangar home overlooking New Plymouth airport to a fellow pilot.
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The buyer, a local, plans to store his own aircraft in the hangar and stay in the three-bedroom apartment above.
Bayleys listing agent Kathy Gulliver declined to reveal the sale price but told OneRoof there had been a lot of interest in Hickey’s home, which hit the market at the end of last year.
She said the leasehold property on Airport Drive, in Bell Block, was in New Plymouth City Council’s special purpose airport zone.
Jim Hickey: "I grew up loving aeroplanes. My father was a Spitfire pilot in the war, and I’ve been flying for many years." Photo / NZME
Hickey and his wife, Sue, built the unique property in 2008 after selling up in Auckland. Photo / Supplied
“That was part of the uniqueness – that you could live there,” she said, adding that Hickey and his wife, Sue, were also pleased with the outcome.
Hickey told OneRoof late last year that the couple had decided to list their “special place” to move closer to the city to a house with fewer stairs.
https://www.oneroof.co.nz/news/former-tvnz-weatherman-i-sold-my-plane-and-now-im-selling-my-dream-home-48713
He had already sold his Yak 52 plane, which he stored at the hangar, and had realised it was time for him to also move on.
“I’m getting a bit older, I’m in my 70s now. I think, ‘Oh, I haven’t got an aeroplane. Time to move on,'” he told OneRoof.
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The passionate aviator quit his job as TVNZ’s weatherman 22 years ago to move home to New Plymouth to look after his elderly parents.
Hickey and wife Sue sold everything in Auckland and bought the leasehold land and built a customised commercial hangar with a unit on top. Hickey said it had been a really convenient location because he only had to walk 150m to catch a commuter plane to Auckland for part-time presenting gigs.
Hickey told OneRoof he was already in throes of planning his next home in New Plymouth - a modern replica of an early settlers cottage. While being a new build, the couple wanted the home to feature reclaimed vintage artefacts such as old doors and even a fireplace sourced mainly in Taranaki.
Hickey said the aim was to “capture a pinch of pioneer architecture – stuff largely exterminated by avaricious developers”.
Hickey used to store his Yak 52 at the hangar, but since selling the plane, he rents out the space to other pilots. Photo / Supplied
The leasehold property is within walking distance of New Plymouth Airport. Photo / Supplied
Hickey told OneRoof last year that his apartment was also close to the New Plymouth branch of Airspresso – an airport cafe the Hickeys co-own with Ozone Coffee Roasters owners Kate and Craig MacFarlane.
He said a throwaway comment to Craig, who was in the hospitality industry, led to the launch of the business. “I happened to say to him what many people say, ‘Why is it you can never get a decent coffee at an airport?’ It was almost a cliche.”
The brand now has cafes in Dunedin, Hawke’s Bay, Nelson, Queenstown and New Plymouth.
Hickey told OneRoof that his years by the airport meant he could identify what planes were landing by the sound of their engines alone.
“I can tell when an Air New Zealand arrives with an ATR or a Dash 8, the Q300 with 50 seats, or one of the ATRs with 68 seats. You get to know them all. And when the Yaks [Soviet era planes] go up, they sound like little V8 cars – quite noisy, rumbly little things. There are two or three of those here.
“We get a few corporate jets coming in. There are some big engineering outfits here, and the oil and gas sector.
“You get to know them all. I grew up loving aeroplanes. My father was a Spitfire pilot in the war, and I’ve been flying for many years, so you just get attuned to it.”
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