|
|
Post by chewy on Mar 5, 2018 18:41:28 GMT 12
I am going to the show, sat and sun. Had to rent a batch as no cheap places left. Now my kids are going too.
|
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 8, 2018 6:59:01 GMT 12
|
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 8, 2018 9:19:41 GMT 12
US Airforce F-16 pilot Richard Smeeding looking forward to Warbirds Over WanakaSTUFF REPORTER Last updated 14:56, March 7 2018  Richard Smeeding stands on the wing of an F-16 at the 2017 Royal New Zealand Air Force Air show. US Air Force F-16 pilot Richard 'Punch' Smeeding is promising an exhilarating display when the Fighting Falcon demonstration team performs at Warbirds Over Wanaka International Airshow this Easter. The F-16 team members are based at the Misawa Air Force base in Japan and will be making their first-ever display at a civilian airshow in New Zealand. Smeeding said it was only the second time since 1984 that the jets have displayed in New Zealand, after they attended the RNZAF airshow at Ohakea last year.  The F-16 goes through its paces at the 2017 Royal New Zealand Air Force Air show. He rates the F-16 as the best aircraft he's ever flown. "One tail, one engine, one pilot – the way God intended," he said. "The jet will let me pull minus 3 to 9.9g's, go twice the speed of sound, rage through the mountains at 100ft fully loaded for war and all the time flying like an extension of my body." "My favourite thing to do is fly OCA-SEAD (Offensive Counter Air – Suppression of Enemy Air Defences), leading several hundred aircraft missions doing air-to-air while destroying ground targets and dismantling complex IADS (integrated air defence systems) in a single seat fighter." Smeeding has flown with the F-16 demonstration team for several years but still gets a kick out of climbing into the cockpit. "I still have to remind myself that I am actually sitting in such a beautifully terrifying machine. Once the canopy comes down you're 'in the zone', master of your destiny and a terror to the enemy," Smeeding said. He will be finishing up with the team soon and his replacement, Captain Jacob 'Primo' Impellizzeri, will be in Wanaka as a ground observer. Smeeding said the one aircraft he would love to fly is the North American F-86 Sabre. The Sabre was first built in 1949 and played a pivotal role in the Korean War (1950-1953) engaging with the Russian MIG-15 in some of the first ever jet-to- jet air battles in history. - Stuff www.stuff.co.nz/national/102059867/us-airforce-f16-pilot-richard-smeeding-looking-forward-to-warbirds-over-wanaka
|
|
|
|
Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Mar 8, 2018 10:44:23 GMT 12
["The jet will let me pull minus 3 to 9.9g's,... I know of one display pilot at Warbirds Over Wanaka who will beat that by a considerable margin....and without a G-suit too!!    |
|
|
|
Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Mar 22, 2018 18:07:51 GMT 12
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK......  |
|
|
|
Post by FlyingKiwi on Mar 22, 2018 18:38:24 GMT 12
Hopefully that doesn't eventuate. Wanaka itself is often quite sheltered from the surrounding weather although it can cause issues with aircraft trying to get to and from the show...
|
|
|
|
Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Mar 22, 2018 18:54:45 GMT 12
Yeah, the first WOW I attended was in 1990 (the year of extreme dust) and I've been there every time since then.
A couple of times the weather got a bit nasty, but the show went on.
Including the year it actually snowed during the airshow.
So I'm not losing too much sleep over it.....yet.
|
|
|
|
Post by ErrolC on Mar 22, 2018 19:50:40 GMT 12
|
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 23, 2018 9:00:35 GMT 12
One week to go till it all kicks off. EXCITING!!!
|
|
|
|
Post by colford on Mar 23, 2018 9:41:07 GMT 12
Yes, the excitement and anticipation for the event is building over this side of the Tasman too! Started planning for WoW 2018 not long after getting back from CF 2017 at Omaka last year. Fly into Queenstown Monday and looking forward to the first day of WoW next Friday.
It has been some years since I was last at Warbirds Over Wanaka and that was as a part of a tour, so we were taken to and from Wanaka in a coach, so my memories of the route taken from Queenstown to Wanaka and back are a bit dim. So a request for some local knowledge. I seem to recall that the coach turned off the main Cardrona road from Queenstown to Wanaka and 'cut the corner' so we came down a road and that literally put us at the main gate on a t-junction with the road coming from Wanaka. So my looking at Google maps would indicate that he turned off onto the Mount Barker Road and avoided going the long way around to get to Wanaka airfield. So is my memory correct, and is that a good short cut to use getting to and from Queenstown to Wanaka? Is the turn off from the Cardrona Road onto the Mount Barker Road relatively well signposted? I will have my GPS with me, but just like Google Maps it keeps recommending 'the long way round' via Wanaka as the preferred route.
Thanks.
|
|
|
|
Post by ErrolC on Mar 23, 2018 9:49:18 GMT 12
|
|
|
|
Post by ErrolC on Mar 23, 2018 10:20:41 GMT 12
...I will have my GPS with me, but just like Google Maps it keeps recommending 'the long way round' via Wanaka as the preferred route. They have mentioned that traffic arrangements have changed, so watch out! It's possible that Mt Bruce road is only available to coaches etc? I note that there are entrances to carparks on Mt Barker Rd with walkways indicated, but no numbered Gates. Google suggests there it is not much extra time to take the "long" way via Luggate (absent particular traffic issues). I plan to go over the hill on the way on Thursday morning, and the flat way back Thursday evening. I can then make an informed decision case-by-case, depending on my tiredness levels etc each trip. |
|
|
|
Post by thebrads on Mar 23, 2018 10:35:51 GMT 12
Mt Barker Rd is largely gravel, so i would think unlikely to be used by coaches.The south western end where it crosses the cardrona river is not public access so don't plan on using that if your gps suggests it.
Riverbank & Ballantyne are a better bet, but the aiport end of ballantyne is still gravel.
Riverbank is used a lot to bypass wanaka, but all of the above is shaving only seconds of the whole trip.
There is realistically maybe 15 min difference in time between over the hill and via Cromwell. Other traffic on the road will change this for the better or worse
|
|
|
|
Post by colford on Mar 23, 2018 12:38:11 GMT 12
ErrolC and thebrads thanks for the advice on the roads. It was way back in 2004 I was last at Wanaka, so things will certainly have changed since then, including how good my memory is/was. Our coach driver was a local and seemed to know a lot of shortcuts and ways to avoid potential traffic issues and was not adverse to a bit of gravel on occasions. He also knew a lot of good places for coffee, tea and tasty snacks. Will be planning to hit the road early the mornings we are going to the airshow, get in early and then hang back a bit after the day's activity is over and let the crowds get away before heading back. Have gotten some of my better photos at the beginning and the end of the day's activity with morning and evening light and with less people around to get in the way. And of course it will all depend on the weather.
Regards.
|
|
|
|
Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Mar 23, 2018 13:39:53 GMT 12
It used to be a lot faster over the hill road when it was still a gravel road, but then the powers that be sealed the road and put crash barriers along it and all of a sudden all the tourists who were previously too scared to drive that road started using it, as well as the camper vans and now the Crown Range road is a much slower trip than it used to be because of all that traffic. Back when it was a gravel road, most rental car companies banned their vehicles from being driven over it, however I always managed to talk them into adding an exception to the hire contract allowing me to use the road by convincing them that I knew how to drive on rough gravel roads.
However, I'll be using the hill road to drive from Queenstown Airport to Wanaka next Thursday and the same again the following Tuesday when I head back to Queenstown Airport to fly home, including my usual leisurely breakfast/brunch stop at the Cardrona Hotel.
And as for traffic issues getting to and from the airshow, I'm always waiting to get in the gate to the carpark about an hour before the gates open; and at the end of each day I'm not in any hurry to leave, often spending the time after the flying to take photographs, visit trade stalls, have a snack, etc., then simply driving out after the traffic jam is over.
|
|
|
|
Post by hardyakka on Mar 25, 2018 12:41:22 GMT 12
One Spitfire has arrived...  Link from the Wanaka Airport Webcam (Hawea view). It may disappear after a while... Also there is a PC-12. Is that the support aircraft? It came from Palmy North...  |
|
|
|
Post by ErrolC on Mar 25, 2018 14:41:05 GMT 12
Warbirds Harvards just came back to Ardmore after a practice, so probably not heading south today.
These were 1052, 1053, 1057 and 1078
|
|
|
|
Post by joey05 on Mar 25, 2018 18:47:08 GMT 12
According to Facebook, Harvard’s NZ1037, 1066 and 1015 all refueled Ashburston a few hours ago, didn’t say whether continuing or staying the night. Deere Avanger had to turn back to Ohakea, PV270 continued direct to Wanaka and that looks like her in the above photo.
|
|
|
|
Post by ErrolC on Mar 25, 2018 19:56:26 GMT 12
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2018 9:01:15 GMT 12
For really dedicated planespotters, F-16.net has histories of each example. 92-3884 (red tail fin strip) deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom! I hope everyone has an awesome time and the show runs smoothly. Looking forward to everyone's photos when they're able to post |
|
