From Rural Dreams to Soaring Heights: The Journey of a Lasallian Alumnus Leading the Royal New Zealand Air Force's Black Falcons

As a youngster, Hamish Reichardt watched silvery single-seater airplanes in the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s fleet fly over his rural farmstead home of Rerewhakaaitu, New Zealand (about 35 km south of Rotorua). He dreamed of one day taking the pilot’s seat in planes himself, inspired by the glimmering aircraft humming overhead.  

His Lasallian education nurtured this dream, and today, Reichardt is a squadron leader of the Royal New Zealand Air Force and a Flight Commander at No. 14 Squadron. He serves as “Falcon 3” in the RNZAF Black Falcons aerobatic display team, flying the Beechcraft T-6C Texan II.  

An alumnus of Lasallian School John Paul College, Rotorua, Hamish Reichardt, was recently featured in a Royal New Zealand Air Force publication. He answered questions about his career, his travels, and what it’s like to be a part of the Black Falcons team.  

While the Black Falcons travel and perform shows throughout New Zealand and Australia, Reichardt’s career has taken him rather farther afield. According to the RNZAF website, he completed pilot training in 2007 and started out in New Zealand, spending two years in No. 3 Squadron flying helicopters, including the Bell-47 Sioux and UH-1H Iroquois.  

After that, he was posted to the UK on exchange with the RAF, flying a military transport helicopter called the CH-47 Chinook. During these years, he served in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, including two operational tours in the Middle East.  

When he returned to New Zealand, he took up his role in No. 3 Squadron again, flying helicopters across Australia, the Pacific and New Zealand.  

In 2020, he qualified as an instructor on the Black Falcons’ aircraft of choice, the Beechcraft T-6C Texan II. This plane is a single-engine, low-wing aircraft that seats two. It is used for training by militaries all over the world. Reichardt now serves as a Flight Commander in No. 14 Squadron and is in his second year as Falcon 2 in the Black Falcons.  

Though he grew up in a quite remote location, Reichardt said he finds joy in travelling to many different places throughout his career, whether in the Pacific or further abroad.

Today, Rerewhakaaitu is still quite rural, with a population of around 500 people. However, Rotorua is the 12th-largest urban area in New Zealand, with a population of nearly 59,000. John Paul College - Rotorua was established in 1987 with the amalgamation of Edmund Rice College and MacKillop College to provide a high-quality education to the residents of the beautiful area. 

It’s no surprise that an alumnus of John Paul College - Rotorua has reached such heights, literally and figuratively. Today, John Paul College, led by Tumuaki – principal Mr Justin Harper, is the top performing Catholic co-educational Catholic School in New Zealand. They educate and shape the lives of young people from Year 7 to Year 13 with a distinctly Catholic education and curriculum.

 The school educates 1,100 New Zealand students per year. In addition to Reichardt, it has produced several notable alumni, including Susan Devoy, a world-champion squash player and the New Zealand Race Relations Commissioner from 2013-2018; Theresa Gattung, former CEO of Telecom New Zealand, Jenna Hastings, mountain biker; and Moana Maniapoto, a singer, songwriter, and documentary maker.  

You may wonder what a ‘distinctly Catholic’ education entails. John Paul College - Rotorua and all Lasallian schools base their curricula on the Lasallian core values of faith in the presence of God, concern for the poor and social justice, quality education, respect for all persons and an inclusive community.  

The De Le Salle Brotherhood operates 1,100 schools in 80 countries, including three in New Zealand: John Paul College in Rotorua, De La Salle Mangere East in Auckland, and Francis Douglas Memorial College in New Plymouth. 

Image: New Zealand Defence Force