More than 90 specialist staff lost their jobs in the collapse. The new owners have hired back 22 of them, including now chief executive and head of engineering Stephen Burrows. He had been with the previous entity since 2016, also working for another incarnation, Pacific Aerospace Corporation, in the 1990s.
The assets included IP, parts and World War II-era hangars and buildings on nearly 5ha of Hamilton airport-owned land. However the costly and complex securing of New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) certification for aircraft and parts manufacture has had to be done all over again.
NZSkydive has all but completed certification for six aircraft types operating in 52 countries, said Burrows.
This certification will continue to confer prestige on New Zealand, entitling it to a seat at the world's aviation regulators' table.
While the failed entity was 50 per cent owned by a subsidiary of China state-owned giant Beijing Automotive, and some assembly of the popular New Zealand-designed P-750 XSTOL aircraft had started in China before Covid crushed the world aviation market, the IP was never transferred from Hamilton, Burrows said.
This year marks 70 years of continuous aircraft manufacture for Pacific Aerospace or its legacy entities at Hamilton, during which time 700 aircraft have been produced, he said.
The collapse of the previous entity was a bad moment for more than creditors. New Zealand and global operators of Pacific Aerospace aircraft need parts and backup service to stay in the air. To be legal, parts must be made by Pacific Aerospace.
At least 50 of New Zealand's 80-odd agricultural aircraft fleet are made by Pacific Aerospace. Overseas, the 10-seater P-750, which can take off and land in extremely tight spaces, is a freight and emergency lifeline for isolated communities, and is popular for skydiving, firefighting and aerial survey work.
Young said with set-up and operational costs, the new company has so far made a loss of $1.3m. The big certification costs have yet to land.
"We've got all our IP and certificates back and we're working on sales. But we still don't have anything to sell. I can see why they went belly-up - they were selling things for under cost. We've spent about $200,000 on maintenance alone. There's a lifetime's work here just fixing the leaks."
Burrows said the new team is making parts, and supplying spares and repairs from stores.
"We're also picking up the Super-Pac. A lot of work had gone into that but they never quite got there before the liquidation. So NZSkydive will take it to conclusion. It will be a primary focus for new aircraft from 2022 onwards.
"We expect to have one flying in the new year under an experimental certificate to complete the certification process, and then we're looking to produce a number of these over the 2022 year."
Hamilton-based company Flight Structures is providing all the design effort on the Super-Pac, he said.
Meanwhile, Young said with the soaring value of land, and the already substantial ground rent to Hamilton Airport likely to rise, the new company must find ways to make the big site pay.
Opening a roadside cafe is on the cards, and he's keen on building new hangars with attached apartments for aircraft owners.
The airport company is putting in a new taxiway to the main runway to which Pacific Aerospace must contribute.
"We could develop some really nice buildings around it. We don't want the 12 acres as a burden just for processing aeroplanes."
Aircraft manufacturing is a tough game. The Hamilton manufacturer has hit financial turbulence many times over the years.
If the last incarnation didn't work out with the Chinese state's huge resources behind it, who's to say this new chapter will end happily?
Burrows gives no guarantees.
"It's very, very expensive. Certification costs are huge."
The market is highly cyclical. Covid destroyed the previous company's pretty solid order book, he said.
"The supply chain is broken, manufacturers are struggling. But we have great products. People who know the aircraft, have flown them, phone weekly. We can't guarantee we aren't going to run into trouble but the advantage for NZSkydive is we are starting from fresh.
"With a small number of staff we can focus on areas we know will work - that is after-market support and a small number of new-build aircraft. We won't be relying solely on manufacturing and selling aircraft. It's about moderation and not setting too high expectations."
What is it that keeps getting this veteran manufacturer back in the air after nosedives?
"Passion," said Young.
"The capability of this company is reliant on the skilled, talented people who have worked here. Most of the people here have been, or are, pilots. We are very determined people - and passionate."
And making aircraft is a labour of love.
Burrows said while a lot of manufacturing today is computer-controlled while a machine "spits out the bits", making an aircraft involves a lot of skilled handwork.
"It takes a long time to build those skills and knowledge. The world has changed. Aviation manufacturers are struggling. A lot of big names have gone, there's few left.
"We want to be one of those."
