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Warbirds over Wanaka 2010

This is my report on the Warbirds Over Wanaka Air Show for 2010. I've chosen some of the highlights and more unusual displays for this web site. I used my latest digital camera, a Canon EOS500D with a 75-300 mm (effective focal length almost 500mm) for most of these photos. The 500D also does HD video which I have included (but at a reduced quality).

The show always includes ground displays of military vehicles as well as aircraft. There is usually a mock battle involving these jeeps, tanks, and various weapons, with lots of fake explosions of course! They seemed to have particularly good special effects this year and the explosions were quite substantial!

The good old Harvards make regular appearances and are often used in mock attacks on the airfield and various other tasks. The Harvard is the name used outside the US for the T-6 Texan, a trainer aircraft developed and used in World War II and the 1950s.

The Royal Australian Air Force sent four F/A-18 Hornet fighters, which are the most modern warbirds ever to fly at the air show.

The mighty F/A-18 Hornets returned for a second display of precision formation flying. And they certainly were making plenty of noise! Flying more modern jets has added a new element to the show which originally concentrated on older planes. The F-111 was another impressive visitor from Australia which appeared in the previous two air shows.

Jurgis Kairys - sometimes known as the mad Lithuanian - has made several appearances at the Warbirds Over Wanaka show and his displays of "well organised chaos" are always great to watch. These displays aren't conventional aerobatics - they are what Jurgis calls "flying entertainment packages". His skill is obvious as he spins the plane multiple times (the commentator counted 14) and still seems to be aware of his orientation.

Jurgis returned in the afternoon and flew an interesting combination with the DC3, looping around it with apparently very little clearance! You can see how small the Juka is compared tp the DC3 in the photo above.

There were plenty of other aircraft flying too, including the superb Yak 3 (shown above) which was arguably the best fighter of World War II.

The RNZAF "Kiwi Blue" parachute team with their smoke trails always produce a colourful and entertaining display. They were dropped from a Hercules at high altitude and fell in formation before deploying the 'chutes and landing. The photo above shows them still very high and in free fall - a long telephoto lens really helps with these pictures!

The RNZAF displayed a variety of aircraft at the show including the venerable Iroquois helicopter which first flew in 1956 and is due for replacement in the RNZAF by 2013. Among the other aircraft demonstrated were the Kaman SH-2G Seasprite helicopter, the Orion and the Hercules (shown below).

For many people the Spitfire is the ultimate World War II fighter. I've heard some people say that this elegant aircraft is just too beautiful to be a weapon of war! The battle between the German fighters and the Spitfire continued throughout most of the war so that the Spitfire was being continuously improved. The Mk IX was produced after the German Focke-Wulf FW 190A proved superior to other British fighters at the time (around 1942).

The Royal New Zealand Air Force displayed various aircraft and they used the Iroquois helicopter to perform this humorous stunt dropping and smashing an old van. An announcement over the PA system asked for the owner of a vehicle to remove it because it was blocking an emergency exit. When the owner failed to move the vehicle the Iroquois was despatched to deal with it by lifting it out of the way and dropping it from a good height!

I have never seen wing walking at the air show before. Peggy Krainz has been wing walking for about 10 years and she has done about 600 displays in that time. The view from the top of the wing must be quite impressive, especially when flying upside down or in vertical flight as in the photograph!

The Zero is a World War II fighter which has never been displayed at Warbirds before. They are very rare and this is one of only three airworthy examples still existing.