Wings Over Wairarapa 2017

[ErrolC]

I'm flying into Palmy Friday am and driving over for Practice Day. Plan to stay at my cousin's in Feilding, and fly back home Saturday am. Once we have a decent weather forecast + planned displays, I'll consider staying until late Saturday afternoon.
So if there is something Friday after the show I'll swing by for a quick one.

[Mustang51]

I am really hoping for great - CALM - weather Fri through Sunday. I suggested a "Dawn Patrol" event literally at dawn to try and get over the TVAL wind related problems as a separate air show event. DP guests to be housed in the VIP tent, a champers and egg/bacon roll brekkie and after its over (unless the DP guests are already VIPs or Gold Passes) everyone is out of the VIP area. Thought that may work but too late to implement. Maybe next time if there is enough interest shown. Anyway, rain hail or shine I am looking forward to coming over and seeing old friends again

[kiwithrottlejockey]

Wings Over Wairarapa organisers have been publishing a number of full-page infomercials in the Wairarapa-Times Age over the past few weeks, including in today's edition and reading between the lines, it looks like a huge TVAL involvement in the airshow is planned, including many of their rare reproduction aeroplanes which aren't usually displayed at general airshows, but are held back for TVAL's own mini airshows and flying-weekends.

And as a matter of interest, discounted Gold Passes for Warbirds Over Wanaka Club members went on sale from today (until 12th February) for next year's Wanaka airshow. I'm going to purchase mine sometime this week, so for a period of just over three weeks, I'll be sitting on Gold Passes for Wings Over Wairarapa 2017, Classic Fighters 2017 and Warbirds Over Wanaka 2018.

[jp]

As this is the same weekend as Art Deco in Napier, is there going to be many warbirds attending? Napier lists a P-40, Spitfire, P-51, Catalina, Harvards, as well as 8 Tiger Moths, Ryans and a Gypsy Moth....if the TVAL aircraft are grounded because of a breeze, will there by any classic/vintage aircraft flying?

[Brett]

They haven't publicised any attendees other than Aerosparx, but I would expect the resident P-40 and Corsair to perform.

You can probably expect some of the Omaka based aircraft to attend (Anson, Yak, Spitfire, Nanchangs, various lighties), and probably Brendon Deere's fleet as well.

The Ardmore-based aircraft seemed to have committed to Napier, but it is not out of the question that some transit to Masterton for a display slot then return to Napier.

There is likely to be a large presence of aerobatic aircraft on the airfield, given the national champs being held the following week. Also a few ag aircraft.

Are there any jets listed for Art Deco? They might be at Masterton.

The RNZAF will be there.

I just wish we would be given some more details from both WoW and the RNZAF show. They are less than a month away now, so surely they have got the programmes about ready to go to the printers?

[atea]

There are a number of attendees that are listed on the Wings website now. Anson, Spitfire, Corsair, Kittyhawk, Strikemaster (Wellington Based One?), Venom and Vampire + RNZAF. Plus presumably TVAL but given the weather situation lately would anyone bank on getting much of that up during the middle of the day?

The aircraft committed to Aero Deco are a fairly big part of the normal airshow scene and their absence for me illustrate that Masterton is falling well behind Omaka and Wanaka.

For me there has been a disappointing lack of information around what is going to be there. Normally you would expect some idea a little bit further than a month out. That's a large part of why I won't be bothering to make the trip over. Just find it all a little underwhelming really.

[ErrolC]

The 2015 WOW programme was released on 12th Jan (for 16-18th Jan). There were a few announcements of attendees scattered around earlier.
It was far too windy for TVAL on the Friday night, it isn't often that a stand-in display by Keith Skilling and Stu Goldspink is ever so slightly disappointing in comparison to what was scheduled (which included the Hanriit, from memory).

[ErrolC]

@wowairshow: No #strikemaster flying at #NZ #airshows anymore? See both ex #RNZAF #72 and ex #Saudi @ #wings2017 as we missed the memo! #avgeek #facts pic.twitter.com/5QvTFRHKkp

[cj6flyer]

Ex RNZAF Strikemaster NZ6372 and the Christchurch based ex Saudi Strikemaster will be displaying together at WOW. A pairs routine will be flown by Dave Brown and Mark Helliwell who flew a similar routine at Tauranga last week in NZ6362 & NZ6370 which are now being dismantled for shipping.

This will be the first time these 2 countries Strikemasters have flown side by side and he first appearance at a major airshow of the ex Saudi Strikemaster. They will also appear at the practice day and a 14 Squadron flypast.

There won't be any Strikemaster display at Ohakea the following week.

[Deleted]

Good news for those attending Hood. It'll be great to see display photos of the Saudi bird!

[andynz]

Hi guys,

If anyone needs a lift up to Masterton from Christchurch, I have a spare seat. Plan is to be airborne 8am on the 17th. As I am attending the National Aerobatic Champs which follows the Airshow, then spending a further few days at Omaka afterwards, it will only be a 1-way trip. Email me if you are interested: [e-mail].

Regards,
Andrew

[Deleted]

Good on you Andy! Please take pics of the aerobatics champs if you can, I'm sure lots of folks on here would like to see them.

When I caught up with him at TVAL KiwiThrottleJockey was very excited about the show, John Lanham was too when he spoke to the visitors. I doubt I'll make it down but I'm excited to see everyone's photos.

[kiwithrottlejockey]

[Deleted]

Thanks Bruce, that's very helpful to see.

[kiwithrottlejockey]

I particularly like the “Tribute to No.14 Squadron” slot in the airshow display timetable.

Missing are the de Havilland Mosquito, the Canberra bomber, and the Aermacchi.

But they've managed to cover everything else flown by 14 Squadron. And Hood Aerodrome is, after all, the original home of 14 Squadron RNZAF.

Also, it isn't mentioned in that Wings Flying Programme, but there is going to be quite a substantial flying display leading up to the AeroSPARX display on the Saturday night, including mass fly-pasts of TVAL aeroplanes right on dusk. There was a small article about it in the Wairarapa Times-Age a few days ago.

[airuarak]

Is the Art Deco show going to conflict with WOW each time now? If so, that's pretty poor of the people in Napier.

[ErrolC]

The people in Napier have announced their dates years in advance, and have supported an aviation element for years - see the start of this thread. Presumably the change by WOW is a one-off related to the RNZAF show.

[kiwithrottlejockey]

Wings Over Wairarapa was originally put on as an airshow for people living in the Wellington Region. However, over time, many people from outside the Wellington Region have chosen to attend the airshow as it has got bigger.

Art Deco Weekend in Napier was originally begun as a way for the locals of Napier to celebrate their Art Deco heritage (Hastings also has a lot of Art Deco buildings, but they also embraced Spanish Mission architecture in a big way), but over time it has become a much bigger event with many people from outside Hawke's Bay choosing to attend.

I guess it is all a matter of choice for people as to which one they choose to attend. Personally, I grew up (in Hastings) with Art Deco and Spanish Mission and used to think it was terribly old-fashioned when I was a kid. Now, however, I can see the neat asthetics of both architectural styles, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get off on it. I find classic aeroplanes much more interesting.

And on that topic, when I was a kid, airshows were few and far between. The first airshow I went to (at the age of 5½ years old) was the opening airshow for Wellington Airport. The next airshow was the reopening of Napier Airport in the mid-1960s. Back then, the big attraction was always the RNZAF and other military visitors. However, much later on, it was WWII military aeroplanes which became the main attraction with the RNZAF being the curtain-raiser. These days, it's WWI military aviation which really interests me, with a slightly lesser interest in other classic aeroplanes and WWII warbirds. Present-day military aviation is way down the list.

[Deleted]

Errol's right - it's not the Napier folks at fault.

[kiwithrottlejockey]

Perhaps we should blame the RNZAF?

After all, they came up with an agreement with the Wings Over Wairarapa organisers to co-ordinate the two airshows a week apart, and picked the date which WOW then fitted in with.

I'm sure there will be some aviation enthusiasts who will attend all three events....a day at Wings Over Wairarapa, a day at Art Deco, then a day (or a weekend) at Ohakea.

I've got free entry to Ohakea (it goes with any three-day Wings Over Wairarapa pass), although I'm rostered to work late-shift the weekend it is on, so I'll see what the weather forecast looks like during the week leading up to the event and it it looks good, I'll see if I can get a lieu day on either the Saturday or the Sunday. However, if it doesn't work out, it won't worry me too much because I've seen F/A-18, F-16 and F-15 aircraft in the air before, and because I'm more into classic aeroplanes these days than modern fast jets. But you never know....I may be at Ohakea on one of the days if all the cards fall into place.