- Jim Hickey is selling his hangar home near New Plymouth airport, built in 2008.
- Hickey, a former TV weatherman, sold his plane and is moving closer to the city.
- The property includes a hangar and a three-bedroom apartment.
Former TV weatherman Jim Hickey knew it was time to sell his hangar home overlooking New Plymouth airport when he looked around and realised he didn’t even have a plane to put in it anymore.
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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 in 2008 bought a 650sqm leasehold site at 192 Airport Drive, right beside New Plymouth Airport’s runway.
They built a customised commercial hangar with an adjoining three-bedroom unit. 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.
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
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.
Hickey told OneRoof a throwaway comment to Craig, who was in the hospitality industry, led to them launching Airspresso. “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.
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Hickey said his years by the airport meant he could identify what planes were landing by the sound of their engines.
“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.
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
“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.”
Until recently, Hickey stored his own Yak 52 at the hangar. It now has a new owner, and Hickey, now in his 70s, said it was time to sell the couple’s “special place” and move closer to the city into a house with fewer stairs.
“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’.”
Bayleys listing agent Kathy Gulliver said Hickey’s property was a dream home for aviators.
The north-facing building was the only three-bedroom premises situated within New Plymouth City Council’s special purpose airport zone. The current lease runs through to 2036, with a further 10-year right of renewal.
- 192 Airport Drive, Bell Block, New Plymouth, is for sale, deadline closing December 11
