Wings Over Wairarapa 2017

[kiwithrottlejockey]

More detail now on Wings Over Wairarapa's website and Facebook page....


WEATHER AND SHOW UPDATE - SUNDAY'S AIR FESTIVAL AND NIGHT SHOW ARE CANCELLED

We are all gutted to announce this news. Sunday's forecast is for showers of rain, and the chance of thunderstorms and small hail. Persistent rain - totalling over 150mls (including 80mls on Saturday) has created unsafe ground conditions.

Any tickets purchased for the 2017 Wings Over Wairarapa Air Festival will receive a full refund. Contact [e-mail] for any refund requests.




(I think they probably mean MILLIMETRES instead of millilitres, but the error is understandable considering how they will be feeling)

[kiwithrottlejockey]

The Yak formation team just flew past my place, heading home.


TicketDirect have been onto things very quickly....I received an automatically-generated email from them about an hour ago informing me that full refunds of all ticket prices will be processed over the next few business days. I guess whoever provided insurance cover for the Wings Over Wairarapa airshow will be taking a big financial hit.

[baronbeeza]

A few days ago Harryone posted a screenshot of the Metvuw forecast. It was excellent in that there would be many viewers here that could see for themselves what exactly they were in for weatherwise.
I am sure there will be people about that are not aware of what a great resource that site is.

www.metvuw.com/

[Dave Homewood]

MEDIA RELEASE

Sunday, 19 February 2017


ORGANISERS “DEVASTATED” TO HAVE TO CANCEL WINGS OVER WAIRARAPA 2017

Terrible weather has seen the total cancellation of the Wings Over Wairarapa Air Festival at Hood Aerodrome in Masterton today.

Event organisers cancelled Sunday’s day show and night show this morning. This follows a cancelled practise day on Friday and a cancelled day on Saturday.

Event manager Jenny Gasson said she was “absolutely devastated” to cancel the festival in its entirety, but it was the right decision. She said Sunday's forecast included showers of rain, and the chance of thunderstorms and small hail. Coupled with this persistent rain had fallen since Friday - over 150mls (including 80mls on Saturday) had created unsafe ground conditions. This rainfall is high for the Wairarapa – the amount more than the average total monthly rainfall for February.

“This is extremely hard for everyone involved but it’s heartening to know we have the support of our sponsors, our volunteers, our partners and the public that this was the right decision,” she said.

Projected numbers for this weekend based on pre-sales were comparable with the 2015 Air Festival which attracted 24,000 people over the three days.

Wings Over Wairarapa Chair Bob Francis said it was devastating for his team many of whom had been working on the festival for 22 months.

“We had a wonderful display organised and the site looked the best it had ever done,” said Bob. “We recognise that though we lost the show, the economic impact on the region still has been significant with accommodation, cafes, restaurants and retail outlets experiencing high turnover and big demand.”

“We have been fielding messages of support from all over the country this morning and really appreciate them.”

Wings organisers were also impressed with the camaraderie and cohesive support received from the region’s tourism operators, some of whom put out special offers for Wings ticket holders when the days flying programme was cancelled. These included Pukaha Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre and Tui Brewery at Mangatainoka.

Bob also said organisers were working with their insurance broker in Wellington and their Under Writer in London to work through the insurance cover purchased a few weeks out from the event. He would expect this process to be completed within the next week or two.

UK based Festival commentator and member of the Flying Safety team Trevor Graham said he felt for the organisers.

“In nearly 38 years of experience in international airshows and working at 2000 events, this is the first one I’ve been working at that has been completely cancelled. My thoughts are going to out to the volunteers and organisers, who in my opinion, work hard to put on the best medium sized airshow in the world.”

Wings organisers will refund any tickets purchased for the 2017 Wings Over Wairarapa Air Festival. They said ticket holders can email [e-mail] for any refund requests.

ENDS

[Deleted]

Feb 19, 2017 9:54:10 GMT 12 kiwithrottlejockey said:

The Yak formation team just flew past my place, heading home.

We spent the night visiting my in-laws in New Plymouth. Driving home there was drizzle, very low cloud and poor viz. We drove through Stratford about an hour ago to see four Yaks wheel above, at display height. I was a bit alarmed to see them so low but I'm no pilot, I don't know the limits.

[sluf7]

As long as one does not hit the big pointy thing to the west (as you will get a ticket from DOC) all good

[kiwithrottlejockey]

I've just received a further email from TicketDirect saying that all tickets for Wings Over Wairarapa purchased online will be automatically refunded back to the credit or debit cards used to purchase the tickets.

It would appear they are doing this for everybody, as I didn't contact TicketDirect asking for a refund, although I was planning to, but they have obviously made a decision to do so regardless to everybody who purchased tickets directly from them.

I feel sorry for the airshow organisers and the numerous workers (many of them volunteers) who have put so much effort into organising the airshow.

Just goes to show that Mr Murphy can chuck a spanner into the works at any time.

[kiwithrottlejockey]

Hallett Griffin's Beaver just flew past my place.

I guess he'll have to return for the Agricola.


Anyway, the weather forecast doesn't look too bad for the National Aerobatic Championships during the coming week.

I might pop down the road to Hood at some point for a closer look. I'm on early shifts (4am starts) from Wednesday, but I finish work each day around 10:30am.

[Brett]

Hallett flew the Agricola home first.

There was a very low cloud base this morning, down to ground level.



It was also very soggy underfoot underwheel.



Any time a patch of blue sky appeared it was quickly filled in.

[baz62]

That's a shame after all the hard work put into the show. One thing that can't be controlled is the weather. Down in Canterbury we have been eyeing the weather so a couple of Austers and a Supercub could do some scenic flying for an Auster restorer from the UK.
Would this be the first time a major 3 day show has been cancelled due to weather here? It came close at the last CF show at Omaka last time (Sunday) and on occasion Wanaka has had a bit of moisture came through but not enough to shut the show down apart from around an hour or so one day I was there.

[kiwithrottlejockey]

There was one year (2011?) when the Sunday of Wings Over Wairarapa got canned due to heavy rain.

And I can remember the year it briefly snowed at Warbirds Over Wanaka, and another time the airshow had to be paused for an hour or so due to the weather (not sure if that was the year it snowed), but generally we've been really lucky with three-day airshows in NZ (I can also remember when it was touch & go at Omaka that Sunday). Plus, a few of The Vintage Aviator flying weekends have gone a bit quiet because the wind got up, but that is to be expected with those WWI aeroplanes in an area which gets regularly battered by the nor'wester.

I guess it was only a matter of time before Mr Murphy completely chucked a spanner in the works. Having said that, we badly needed the rain in Wairarapa. We weren't as dry as Hawke's Bay, but things were still getting rather bad around here until some rain a couple of weeks ago, which eased things briefly until the nor'westers dried everything out again over the past couple of weeks. At least the cockies in the area will be happy, it's just that I would have prefered for the rain to have occured after this weekend.

Oh well, there's always Omaka, then Warbirds Over Wanaka next year, then Wings Over Wairarapa 2019. Plus plenty more TVAL flying weekends.

You've gotta look on the bright side at what is coming up. We're pretty lucky in this country with what we've got, with the population we've got.

[Deleted]

I totally agree with your last statement Bruce: we have some very cool stuff coming and it gives the enthusiast much to be exited about and look forward to.

Out of interest, how was the weather at Hood over Wellington Anniversary weekend this year?

[Peter Lewis]

Got a weather Friday evening for MS - cloud base was 80 feet!

Driving back home today, Fielding was clear blue, not a cloud to be seen.

[kiwithrottlejockey]

Feb 19, 2017 18:20:43 GMT 12 @zacyates said:

Out of interest, how was the weather at Hood over Wellington Anniversary weekend this year?

The wind would have grounded most of TVAL's aeroplanes.

Ironically, the winds tend to drop off in February and we get lots of hot, sunny days.

Just not this year. The nor'wester has kept it up throughout most of February so far, except for this weekend, when the dreaded easterly weather system caused three days of rain and low cloud ceilings. Normally February would be a perfect time for a Wairarapa airshow. But when you look at the weather all over the country this summer season, I guess global warming has got a lot to answer for.

[mumbles]

Losing the entire three days is not entirely without precedent, just not in NZ. RIAT 2008 in the UK was cancelled due to heavy rain prior making the venue unservicable for thousands of patrons.

Not having pre bought tickets, after getting up and getting ready to go to the show this morning if it was on, my daughter and I hopped over the hills from the Hutt and spent the day in the Wairarapa anyway, visting Puhaka Mt Bruce and Castlepoint. Judging by the t-shirts so were a number of other people not going to an airshow



On the way home late this afternoon I detoured past Hood and briefly lingered:

[mumbles]

Feb 19, 2017 18:20:43 GMT 12 @zacyates said:

I totally agree with your last statement Bruce: we have some very cool stuff coming and it gives the enthusiast much to be exited about and look forward to.

Out of interest, how was the weather at Hood over Wellington Anniversary weekend this year?

Had the same thought earlier today, and recalled it wasn't ideal either

[kiwithrottlejockey]

Actually, I have been to one other big aviation event where the flying part of it was completely canned by the weather, although there was a couple of major consolation prizes prior to the actual event which more than made up for the bad weather and the lack of flying.

In 2009 I decided to attend the Airline 75th Anniversary Commemorations held in December of that year at Haast. An air pagent (a mini airshow) was promised on the Saturday, along with the actual anniversary dinner on the Saturday evening, and a number of other events during the weekend, including joyriding in historic aeroplanes from the Haast Aerodrome (which had recently had the runway lengthened by locals with their earthmoving machines so DC-3s could land there).

I booked to fly to Hokitika on the Friday and booked a rental car to be hired at Hokitika Airport. My flight arrived at Hokitika late-morning, in time for me to attend an unveiling of a commemorative plaque in the Hokitika Airport terminal. The late Bert Mercer's elderly daughter did the unveiling honours (sadly she died not long after). On the tarmac at Hokitika was Stan Smith's DH.83 Fox Moth ZK-APT along with his DH.84 Dragon ZK-AXI. Also in attendance was the DH.83 Fox Moth ZK-ADI and the DH.90 Dragonfly ZK-AYR. It had been my intention to get a ride in a Fox Moth and the Dragon at some point during the weekend, however the weather forecast was looking a wee bit dodgy. So when I realised that the four aeroplanes were doing joyrides at Hokitika before flying south to Haast, I decided to go for it.

First up was a flight in ZK-AYR with Jerry Chisum doing the piloting honours. I got to sit up the front with Jerry during that flight. Then I hopped straight into ZK-ADI for a flight piloted by Ryan Southam. I was one of three passengers, with the other two being a couple of Hokitika old-timers who had actually flown as passengers in ZK-ADI as kids with Bert Mercer piloting the aeroplane. I felt extremely privileged to be flying in such a historic aeroplane with people who had actually flown in it during those early airline days in South Westland. And we got an extended flight, because Ryan was told to hold-off due to an air-ambulance flight having priority to land, so we got to see a bit more of the Hokitika district from the Fox Moth than we were expecting. During the flight the old timers told me all sorts of tales about growing up in South Westland during the 1930s and flying with Bert Mercer and other pilots of Air Travel NZ Ltd.

After those two flights, I was unable to get a flight in the Dragon straight away due to a bit of work being done on it, but I was waiting around and chewing the fat with Stan Smith when I suddenly looked at the time and it was after 3pm. As there was a dinner to begin the weekend at the Haast Hotel (where most people, including myself, were staying for the weekend) at 6pm, followed by a number of evening events, I realised I needed to get a move-on and a flight in the Dragon would have to wait until during the weekend. Also, I could see a dirty, great front to the south, so it was time to get the hell out of there. Stan's last words to me were, “you'll never make it to Haast in time for the 6 o'clock dinner”, and my reply was, “good luck getting through that lot to the south”, then I hightailed it out of Hokitika. About three kilometres south of the town, I passed a cop writing out a ticket, so decided that was probably the last cop I'd be likely to see until the Franz Josef area (the Ross constable had recently been withdrawn from the town and the Whataroa constable had been shifted to Franz Josef Glacier). So I really put the boot down after passing that cop and made it to Franz in record time, where I stopped for a quick coffee, then rocketed out of the town, noticing two police vehicles parked at the police station in the township which meant I didn't have to worry about pesky cops on the highway around that part of South Westland. It had been absolutely pouring down (real cloudburst material) since about Ross, so all the tourists had given up driving on the road and I virtually had the highway to myself. I know that road like the back of my hand and feel confident driving at high speed in pouring rain, so really went for it. At 5:40pm I pulled into the hotel at Haast and walked in the door. The first person I bumped into was Stan Smith — he looked at me rather incredulously and said, “how the hell did you manage to get here so fast through all that weather?” whereupon I said to him, “how the hell did you manage to fly through that crappy weather and get here in one piece?” Not only had Stan managed to make it to Haast in the Dragon, but the pilot flying his Fox Moth had also managed to make it through, sitting on Stan's tail. ZK-ADI and ZK-AYR were still stuck at Hokitika.

Well, it absolutely pissed down all weekend, but the celebrations were a success, although there was no flying. The huge marquee on the airfield got flooded, but the Saturday evening dinner went ahead anyway. All the ladies of the Haast district turned out in their finest evening gowns, but wearing gumboots (only in Haast, eh?), and copious quantities of alcohol was drunk. I got to catch up with Tim Wallis again (he had the room next to me in the hotel), also with Colin Tuck. I had known Tucky for many years, since he was flying for Glacier Helicopters, because we used that company to lift us to various places in the mountains where we were going ice-climbing and Colin had often been the pilot. Ditto with Dave Saxton, who had also flown myself and friends into the mountains for climbing expeditions on a few occasions. Plus a lot of aviation old-timers who had some wonderful stories to tell, and some of the folks I meet up with at Warbirds Over Wanaka every second Easter were also in attendance. I also went for a jetboat ride up the Waitoto River on the Sunday morning, then on the Monday morning I drove back to Hokitika and checked into the B&B which was formerly the home of Dr Ebenezer Teichelmann, then years later the Waugh family home. I then spent the rest of the day driving out to Hokitika Gorge and back, including a stopover at the Kowhitirangi Massacre memorial and a drive around Lake Kaniere. The following morning, I ditched the rental car and flew out to Wellington via Christchurch, then home to Masterton. But although the weekend got completely washed out flying-wise, I got to fly in those two wonderful historic aeroplanes at Hokitika before driving down to Haast, so I came away from the weekend extremely happy. I still haven't got to fly in Stan's Dragon though — and I don't think it's airworthy at the moment, but its definitely on my bucket list as a to-do sometime.

[kiwithrottlejockey]

Five minutes ago, the Grumman Avenger and Spitfire Mk.IX in close formation flew over my house heading in a northwesterly direction, obviously back to Ohakea.

[Mustang51]

Well, I am gutted as well. The effort that went into the show for the last two years up in smoke. Everyone in the office was shattered that Saturday was cancelled but the place was a lake. Sunday's weather seemed to give an opportunity but it was the same on the ground. Nowhere suitable for a crowd, car parking etc. The concession holders and all that food - some 2,000 salads prepared and thrown out as there was no-one who could be found to take it - humans that is! The weather as expected cleared up enough that there could have been some extremely limited flying but there was no way the crowd could be accommodated. Weather also put the show below its minima. From my perspective I was able to meet up with a lot of old acquaintances and did a damn lot of work as well. Even bought the smoke oil for the Aerosparx and Uncle Pete's "Woppertyflopter" and thanks to The Warehouse for all the help there - ever tried to get hold of over 100 ltrs of smoke oil on short notice? Did virtually no socializing outside the show staff and pilots but did manage to get a bit 'dusty' late on Sunday afternoon and evening with the bbq where everyone was trying to keep the vibe going. Wished I could have been at the Farriers with KTJ and Co but we had some "discussions" to be had in the washup . Monday the ground was trying to dry but still bad in lots of spots and very bad in others. Same Tuesday when I was prepping to leave for Oz. Just such a shame. TVAL could not have flown even if they wanted to due to the boggy conditions and the danger it posed. HOWEVER, they are planning for another in 2019 that I believe shall be on a different weekend to Napier. The connection this year was obvious but no 80th in 2019. Please let Ohakea be dry !!!

[Mustang51]

Did not know that pic was meant for Faceplant!