Warbirds Over Wanaka International Airshow 2018

[spitfire14]

Awesome photos johnnyfalcon, thanks for sharing!

I'm glad to see that Ray Hanna was honoured in that way - he was such a legend and Wanaka stalwart for 12 years - well done to the organisers and pilot Robert for doing this, must have been a great sight.

I was going to say actually (and I know it was a last minute replacement for the Polikarpov I-16) but the Buchon in those Dunkirk colours is very reminiscent of the scheme OFMC's Buchon wore at Wanaka in 1992 so in an indirect way, a nice tribute to Mark too (having a Buchon there with a yellow nose).

Well done to the organisers, looks like it was a fantastic show!

[kiwithrottlejockey]

Hahaha....got to chat to our Minister of Defence in a bar in Wanaka last night while we were having a beer while waiting for a table for dinner (he was down here all weekend for the airshow), and we were discussing the awesome opening of the airshow with the F-16 yesterday. Ron made a comment that, “if you buggers stopped voting for those two tired old parties, Labour and National, and instead voted for a New Zealand First government, I'd make sure the RNZAF got equipped with a squadron or two of F-16 fighters!”

[Gavin Conroy]

Apr 1, 2018 17:56:37 GMT 12 kiwithrottlejockey said:

Well....that's my fifteenth Warbirds Over Wanaka done & dusted.

I didn't attend Warbirds On Parade in 1988, but I've been at every Warbirds Over Wanaka, beginning with 1990.

Beginning the airshow this morning with the F-16 suddenly rising up out of the Clutha River valley was a masterstroke. I bet anybody down in the river valley almost crapped their pants when that F-16 suddenly passed over them and hit the afterburner as it climbed up to open the airshow....they wouldn't have heard it coming, just like we didn't at the airshow.

Yeah that was my idea for the show by the F-16.
Was emailing the display pilot back and forth a few weeks back and he said he could actually fly twice each day at the show which we did not know so I told him of the idea as well as Ed Taylor and the display pilot made it happen.
Due to the weather front Saturday morning he could not make it but made up for it yesterday.

Nice wee bit of hush hush which never came out until the pilot brief so it turned out to be a well kept secret for as long as possible.

Great work with the photos, keep them coming.

[Mustang51]

Glad to see that Bevan had another chance. He did it at my first commentary after we put his display up to John when another slot participant fell out. He does a bloody good job. As to the Yak.3, I am sure that some heads shall be rolling both from a show and CAA viewpoint.

[Mustang51]

PS......meant to add that I really wish I had been there.....kiwithrottlejockey.........missed out on my fav Tuimato............bugger !

[hardyakka]

I wasn’t there on the Sunday. Did the paintball-packin’ lighties ever get to do their thing? After the Yak hit the target-holding-cherry-pickers on Saturday, I wouldn’t have been surprised if the airshow directors just called it all off completely. Shame if it was, as it looked like it would have been a cool novelty act.

The “Target Holding Cherry Pickers” would be good name for a hillbilly country music group.

[johnnyfalcon]

STOL demonstration only

[skyhawkdon]

Yes very unfortunate about the Yak accident on Saturday. Will be interesting to see what the official enquiries have to say. I'm sure there will be many contributing factors identified, including the last minute change to the opening act. The F-16s were supposed to open the show on Saturday like they did on Sunday, but due to the weather forecast they cancelled. The Yaks were substituted at short notice. The second act was to be the STOL aircraft shooting at balloons strung between the two cherry pickers. The cherry pickers had been positioned on the grass in readiness. When the opening act changed from F-16s to Yaks the risk the cherry pickers posed to aircraft operating off the grass runway wasn't adequately assessed or communicated. I also heard yesterday that the Yak wasn't insured.

[Dave Homewood]

I am home after a fantastic week away down south. The airshow was really terrific. Congratulations to the organisation team and all the volunteers who put it together, and special congratulations to all the pilots and aircrew who put on simply stunning displays over the four days of flying there. Absolutely brilliant!

I have a lot of photos to go through and will post some of them soon I expect, when I recover. I must say a big thanks to the great crew of Forum members who I was with over the weekend, Bevan Dewes, Ross Brodie, Russell Brodie, John Saunders, Kieran Lear, Mikaela Amrén, Ryan Dewes, Lynda Brodie, Ian and Lynette Dewes, Geoff Soper, Taylor, Lucas, Rhiannon Brodie, Logan, and the rest of the gang who made it such a fun weekend.

Thanks to the posters here for putting up photos, keep them coming. Also thanks for keeping the comments civil and the speculation off the forum regarding the Yak 3 crash. That was heart wrenching to see right in front of me. The investigation has begun and in due course we'll see the findings released I'm sure. In the meantime do not jump to conclusions as there are definitely many factors involved here on all sides that have led to the loss of an awesome warbird. I am just grateful the pilot, Arthur Dovey, was not badly injured.

Lastly, after years of reading negative comments about how utterly terrible the commentary team at Wanaka is these days, I would like to now wholeheartedly concur. It really is the only criticism I have of this airshow, and I hate to say it but the commentators were simply bloody awful. Between their inane 'jokes' and pointless banter, they made so many errors resulting in a complete lack of accuracy. Their job is to educate the crowd about what they are seeing, but listening to them referring to display pilots by the wrong names; talking about warbird owners as if they were alive and when they are actually dead; calling aircraft by the wrong name (ie the Citabria is not a Piper Cub); saying that the Vampires use Avgas and have propwash, it is embarrassing amateurish nonsense. Clearly this is the result of a massive lack of preparation beforehand, combined with a lack of general knowledge of the aviation and warbird scene, plus a liking for the sound of their own voice. If anything needs to change for the next one is they need to ditch the cheesy radio DJ'sand get actual airshow commentators in, for the sake of not making the show seem like a laughing stock to those who've travelled vast distances to be there. End of rant.

[tbf25o4]

Hi Dave,
glad you enjoyed the trip, and totally agree on your views of the commentary team. Have been a commentator at two Masterton airshows, and preparing for weeks in advance on the
backgrounds of the pilots, aircraft at the show, It really grates when I have been at other airshows and heard the volumes of inaccuracies and non-related banter.

[slackie]

I hear what you're saying about the commentary, Dave... was pretty cheesy at best. I had a great weekend (apart from Arthur's incident - not nice to see occur and the trolls are out in force!). Was lucky enough to intersperse my time in Queenstown/Wanaka with some mountain flying training too.

Anyway, for those not on StalkBook here's a link to some of the 1500 odd photos I took both on my DSLR and phone...

2018 Warbirds Over Wanaka

My highlight on Sunday was seeing DaveP flying the Anson through that perfect smoke ring... I seem to remember the Hannas and maybe KeithS doing that many years back too??

[Dave Homewood]

Yes the Anson threading the smoke ring was superb! Despite what the commentary team said it was Dave Phillips and Ryan Southam flying the Anson on that occasion, with Tracy Dixon as the Air Gunner.

[Dave Homewood]

Something else that never ceases to impress me at airshows is the dedication of the ground staff and other pilots and owners who muck in to assist in fixing all the little niggles that arise through these weekends with the aeroplanes - stuff the general public never really sees nor knows about. Several of the fighters had problems at this show but the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the support crews meant that none of them missed their various displays. Well done to all you guys and girls, you know who you are.

[ErrolC]

Apr 3, 2018 16:18:51 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

Yes the Anson threading the smoke ring was superb! Despite what the commentary team said it was Dave Phillips and Ryan Southam flying the Anson on that occasion, with Tracy Dixon as the Air Gunner.

Yep, that's Tracy!

[kiwithrottlejockey]

Apr 3, 2018 15:30:29 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

Lastly, after years of reading negative comments about how utterly terrible the commentary team at Wanaka is these days, I would like to now wholeheartedly concur. It really is the only criticism I have of this airshow, and I hate to say it but the commentators were simply bloody awful. Between their inane 'jokes' and pointless banter, they made so many errors resulting in a complete lack of accuracy. Their job is to educate the crowd about what they are seeing, but listening to them referring to display pilots by the wrong names; talking about warbird owners as if they were alive and when they are actually dead; calling aircraft by the wrong name (ie the Citabria is not a Piper Cub); saying that the Vampires use Avgas and have propwash, it is embarrassing amateurish nonsense. Clearly this is the result of a massive lack of preparation beforehand, combined with a lack of general knowledge of the aviation and warbird scene, plus a liking for the sound of their own voice. If anything needs to change for the next one is they need to ditch the cheesy radio DJ'sand get actual airshow commentators in, for the sake of not making the show seem like a laughing stock to those who've travelled vast distances to be there. End of rant.

....and declaring the DC-3 to be powered by “18-cylinder” radial engines and the Catalina powered by “R-1820” engines (a R-1820 is a 9-cylinder Wright Cyclone), amongst many other glaring clangers in addition to those mentioned above. I was in the grandstand at the end overlooking the commentary box, and I was very tempted on a few occasions to yell out corrections to the clown with the microphone (the worst offender — no name needed, I am sure you know who I'm talking about), but decided it was probably best to keep my mouth shut.

[skyhawkdon]

The RNZAF needs to sort out their commentator too. Some of Kate's commentary was just as error ridden. She really doesn't know her RNZAF history very well and it has been the same at every airshow I have attended where she gets behind the microphone. You would think she could at least get the facts about the current RNZAF fleets correct, but sadly not.

[Mustang51]

I have always liked and admired Kate's commentary. I was not there and so cannot make comment. She has always treated me with respect and courtesy despite the fact that I was commentating at a quintessential Kiwi airshow being from the West Island.

[Dave Homewood]

Kate is far better than a lot of the commentators around.

[lesterpk]

Did the RAAF Hawks display?

[campbellbox]

One Hawk displayed each day. It was a tidy routine, but for me the presence of the F-16 rather stole its thunder.