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Jets, Wanaka 2006

It took us 3 hours to drive the 300 kilometers to Wanaka from Dunedin, but the Hawker Hunter can do the journey in 7 minutes, according to the local paper. I'm not sure if they are quite right, but its certainly fairly fast considering what an old aircraft it is (it was first flown in 1951).

The Hunter is powered by a 10,150 pounds thrust Rolls Royce Avon turbojet and can reach a top speed of over 1,100 kilometers per hour (Mach 0.92). Its combat range is 445 miles, the service ceiling is over 50,000 ft, and the rate of climb is 8,000 ft/min. It was armed with 4 30 mm Aden cannons, with 135 rounds each. It could also carry up to 7,400 pounds of weapons on four hardpoints including AIM-9 Sidewinders, AGM-65 Mavericks, and SNEB 70 mm rockets in 18-round pods.

I have always admired the Hunter because it is just a nice looking aircraft, which was also liked by pilots who considered it something like a jet equivalent of the Spitfire.

This photo and the main photo (above) both give a good view of its streamlined design, and nicely swept back wings.

The A-37 Dragonfly is a regular display at Warbirds. Its a fairly modern jet, originally developed from the training version, the T-37, and used in Viet Nam as an attack aircraft, flying 165,000 sorties.

It was successful due to its high loiter time, small size, and ability to carry an impressive total weight of weapons. It could actually carry its own weight in bombs, rockets, etc.

The Vampire was designed near the end of World War II, and has been in active service until quite recently. It was used by Austria, Australia, Burma, Canada, Chile, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Finland, France, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Rhodesia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, United Kingdom, and Venezuela.

The maximum speed is 530 mph, the range is 1,090 miles, and the service ceiling is 40,000 feet. Armament was 4 20 mm Hispano cannons, and 2 1,000 lb bombs or 8 3 inch rockets.