Tasman Flying Plane

Less than ten minutes from Nautilus lies the Qantas S26 Sandringham Flying Boar – now here is something different. With a wingspan of over 30 metres this bulky giant, abandoned and dumped in the Harbour after a mishap which rendered it unfit for further service, was discovered in 1978, after quite a search, as a fascinating dive site. To successfully explore the "Tasman", the diver needs to plan for 40 metres maximum depth. The mooring line leads onto the tail plane and from there it is easy to swim above the wreck gaining an overall view of the plane and drop onto the nose, climb through the cockpit window and out the other side, and peer through the many windows. The spaciousness of the interior is surprising and the vastness of the wings which kept this old bird airborne is astonishing – just a reminder of the days when air travel was a long slow process. This particular craft was also a record breaker – she was the first plane to fly the Tasman Sea from Auckland to Sydney in less than eight hours!! Near Iririki Island Resort Tasman Flying Plane is also known as VH-EBW, Qantas S26 Sandringham, Sunderland Mk V.