Every second Easter for the past twenty years the Warbirds Over Wanaka airshow has been held at Wanaka Airport in the South Island of New Zealand.

For the past 12 years the show has been world renown as being one of the top four or five major events on the warbird calendar, and as such this Easter another sizable contingent of warbird enthusiasts from all around the world descended on Wanaka to soak up the sights and sounds that can only be seen downunder.

Apart from a little overnight rain on Friday, and some low lying cloud that didn't lift until lunch time on Saturday, the weather for this years show was perfect for sitting back and watching the impressive variety of aircraft participating in the display program. As usual the practice day on Friday was a great chance to take a stroll along the aircraft park to check out this years attendees; to look through the many aviation trade stalls at the show; and additionally this year to take a look through the ski equipped Lockheed C-130 that had flown in to be a part of the many static displays.

With a large crowd in attendance, the airshow proper opened with two de Havilland Vampire jets making a high speed pass along the crowd line. This rush of noise along with some impressive pyrotechnics ensured that anyone not already watching, knew that WoW '08 had well and truly started.

First up in the morning program were some stunning aerobatic routines, including that by former New Zealand Aerobatic Champion Doug Brooker who displayed his recently acquired MXR Technologies MX2 aircraft.

As the morning program progressed there were several other aerobatic performances, including those by the New Zealand Warbirds Harvard Formation, The Air Bandits (Jurgis Kairys, Yoshi Muroya & Rob Fry) and the New Zealand-based Red Star Yak 52 display team.

A real crowd pleaser before lunch was the display put on by the five World War One aircraft at the show. Three German aircraft (Pfalz D.III + two Fokker Dr.1 Triplanes) took on a British Sopwith Camel and an Italian Nieuport 11, with the two Allied aircraft eventually prevailing and driving off the Germans. Interestingly the two Allied aircraft both sport original rotary engines, while the Pfalz D.III's claim to fame is that it was one of the aircraft constructed for the 1966 movie 'The Blue Max'.

Those who took a packed lunch and could stay on the flight line during the lunch time 'break' were treated to a variety of other displays: Fraser Briggs and his model RC aircraft; a Gyrocopter handling display; a vintage fly-past led by a de Havilland Fox Moth followed by eight de Havilland Tiger Moths and two Klemm 35’s; a Warhorse (military) re-enactment; and a race between an F3000 race car and Jurgis Kairys’ Juka aircraft.

Starting the afternoon program, the Royal New Zealand Air Force display began with the Kiwi Blue parachute display team jumping from a C-130 Hercules. This was followed by the Sioux and Iroquois helicopter demonstrations and then the C-130 gave an impressive display of its capabilities with some high speed runs, tight turns and a short field landing and take off. First time visitors to Wanaka airfield which is situated on a small plateau, are always surprised by the C-130 landing as the aircraft frequently 'dives' below ground level as it approaches the field then pops up seemingly out of the ground to make its final approach. The RNZAF finished their slot with the usual highly polished display by the Red Checkers five-ship aerobatic team.

Following the RNZAF it was then the turn of the Royal Australian Air Force, who started their display with a very high speed pass by a General Dynamics F-111 that certainly grabbed everyones attention. The aircraft was put through its paces with a number of high and low speed passes, alternately with wings swept back and then fully forward. Two trademark RAAF 'dump and burns' were performed, one was a long pass around the surrounding hills towards the crowd and the second a low speed pass down the flightline with the aircraft in landing configuration. Once the F-111 had departed, the RAAF's newest aircraft, the C-17 Globemaster displayed, wowing the crowd with its size and low speed capabilities.

The afternoon warbird display started with a Catalina PBY-5a attacking a ‘Hollywood style’ submarine. The 'Cat' was in turn attacked by two ‘Japanese’ CJ-6a Nanchangs, which themselves were then attacked and seen off by two Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks.

This was followed by a number of group and single displays by two P-51 Mustangs, a Goodyear FG-1D Corsair and the two P-40s, and then from the Russian front, a Polikarpov I-16, Polikarpov I-153, Yak 3 and Hawker Hurricane..

The show ended with the ever popular mass airfield attack. As swarms of 'enemy' T-6 Harvards swept in strafing and blowing up anything that moved, the defending WW2 fighters scrambled to defend the field. As the fighters joined the battle raging overhead, one by one the T-6's were downed or driven off, and the display program finished with the fighters (in groups of four) performing a number of low speed fly-pasts before finally landing to the enthusiastic applause of the crowd.

All in all it was another well executed defense of the airfield, and another successful Warbirds Over Wanaka International Airshow!

Preparations are already starting for the 2010 show, and if you're keen to go it always pays to book early.

Alex Mitchell & Allan Udy, Contributing Editors
Historical Aviation Film Unit - www.aviationfilm.com
allan@golden.co.nz

Contributing Website: www.warbirdsoverwanaka.co.nz
Contributing Newspaper: Otago Daily Times - Dunedin, NZ
Contributing Photographer: Alex Mitchell - Blenheim, New Zealand
Contributing Photographer: Craig Baxter - NZ (“Great Balls of Fire” photo only)

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