Warbirds Over Wanaka 2010

Today's post is a slight deviation from the normally discussed 'simulator' aircraft on this blog, as a couple of weeks ago I had the priviledge of attending Warbirds Over Wanaka 2010 with a friend of mine who'd mistakenly acquired a spare ticket for a family member who was unable to attend. This was the third time I've been down to the bi-yearly event; my last trip was back in 2006 when myself and several friends flew down from Christchurch on the fabulous DC3 and back again on the same day.

As well as being a pleasant drive through a beautiful part of our country, following are some photographs I took at the event itself - and seeing as I've already mentioned the DC3, that aircraft seems as good a place to start as any ...

Barrel rolling around the DC3 - how else would one announce another plane's arrival at an airshow?

This Mitsubishi Zero fighter was the centrepiece of this year's event as there are only three airworthy examples of them around the world, with this plane here being one of only two that's still currently being flown. It was also only the second time that a Zero has been flown in New Zealand.

The Japanese Zero flying amidst a backdrop of some majestic 'Lord Of The Rings' scenery.

A nice rear view shot displaying the de Havilland DH 100 Vampire's famous twin-boom design.

Here we once again have the Vampire, this time flying alongside the beautifully proportioned P-51 Mustang and an Aero L-39C Albatross.

Another shot of the Mustang, this time of its underbelly.

And of course its comparable British equivalent, the beautiful Supermarine Spitfire, which (below) certainly cuts a nice silhouette across the sky. Spectacular!

Here's the Soviet-built Lavochkin La-9 "Fritz" taxing down the tarmac.

An aggressive-looking Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk bearing the immediately recognisable paint scheme of the 'Flyer Tigers'.

A close-up photograph of a parked Chance Vought F4U Corsair followed by a shot of it in flight.

A steeply inclined Kaman Seasprite helicopter!

Above is a Lockheed C-130 Hercules coming in on a decidedly steep approach!

And here it is rapidly departing! It's an impressive-looking beast!

These are four F/A-18 Hornet fighters that flew over from the Royal Australian Air Force. They were actually here on exercises with the Royal New Zealand Air Force but took some time out to fly down and put on a show.

The stylish LN27 Furio RG by Falcomposite.

We've actually been designing and manufacturing some panels for this aircraft over the past couple of months or so but that'll be discussed in another post that'll be completed very shortly, as it's a bit involved and not entirely related to my trip to Wanaka (the post is currently in the editing stage!) ... It's a beautiful little plane though. And very fast!

German wing-walker Peggy Krainz standing atop a Boeing Stearman Biplane as it exits a loop.

An attractive Yakovlev Yak-9 preparing for take-off.

Here's an AT-6C Harvard painted in RNZAF colours tearing down the runway ...

A graceful pair of de Havilland's flying past. I think the one on the left is a DH 89 Dragon Rapide.

Above is a photograph of a cruising Consolidated PBY Catalina, and below is a shot of it preparing for a water landing. Of course, with no water in sight, it was simply a fly-by!

And now all that's left to do is to go out on a bang with a fitting pyrotechnic end to this post!

Note: I've uploaded these photos and several additional ones to my Flickr account as well, which can be viewed here. I also took more than 500 photographs whilst I was down there, so if anyone has any requests to see certain makes or models please ask ...