Skyhawk fighter jets in must-go auction

A spoof ad on TradeMe is offering the RNZAF's 17 Skyhawks for sale to the highest bidder.

The air force's mothballed Skyhawk fighter jets have been offered for sale to the highest bidder on the TradeMe auction site.

In a spoof on the Government's inability to sell the 17 jets, they were offered for sale on the TradeMe website today and within 40 minutes bids had gone from $880 to $1510.

The seller said they would prefer an overseas buyer but invited local buyers to bid if they had the room.

They had all been upgraded since Vietnam and the new owner had to pay for shipping and delivery charges.

One browser wanted to know if they had a current warrant of fitness and another asked when they had had a 100-hour check.

Yet another asked if they came with a full tank of gas.

Another asked if they would get to Australia and back with a load of bombs.

"Well actually the bombs wouldn't be coming back."

The 17 Skyhawks were decommissioned in 2001 and later sold by the Government for $155 million to an American company.

The sale has yet to be approved by the US State Department and the aircraft are still in storage at Woodbourne air base in Blenheim.

- NZPA