Sunday, January 20, 2013

Wings over Wairarapa

So lets get this out of the way first - yesterday was outstanding!

It started with a nice quiet ride over to Masterton and the opportunity to ride Brian's new toy, an outstanding airshow and finally a quick trip home.  The only negative for the whole day was sunburn...

But the main reason for the trip was to see this beauty in action:

The only flying Mosquito in the world
This beautiful aircraft was rebuilt here in New Zealand by Avspecs for an American collector and this was the last chance for me to see her in action before she is sent stateside.

Joined by two other de Havilland products - two Vampires and a Venom
We were lucky enough to see her in action twice.  Firstly flying with the Vampires and the Venom and then later as the show ended with two Spitfires and a Mustang - Five magnificent Merlins singing for us.




The Spits and Mustang then departed to give the Mosie centre stage as she circled the airfield showing off her gorgeous lines.



And then it was time for to go


There was of course a lot more on show and it was a fantastic day's entertainment. I went crazy with the camera and if you can stand there a lot more pics here.
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15 comments:

  1. Steve8:39 pm

    Mate that looks like a fantastic day out. I love all those WWII fighter planes. I'd love to see those old Vampire jet flying. We had one in our home town in the park mounted up on a pole.

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    1. Andrew Thomson9:08 pm

      Yep, a fantastic day out. In the gallery you can also see some WWI stuff too.

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  2. Flyboy8:47 pm

    What could be better than a purring Merlin? Two purring Merlins! The Mozzie has to be the best looking aircraft to come out of WWII. You guys are lucky to have such a diverse warbird fleet for such a small country. It's a shame that you lost some when Sir Tim Wallis passed away but good to see the variety that is still there. Lucky(and rich) bugger that is getting the Mozzie!

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  3. Flyboy8:54 pm

    Sorry about my confusion. Sir Tim is still going strong! I am sure he is well pleased about that too!

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    1. Andrew Thomson9:13 pm

      Yeah, and we're glad to still have him. Apparently some of the toys have been sold off though.

      Sir Peter is amassing quite a few planes of his own - mainly WWI stuff: http://thevintageaviator.co.nz/

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    2. Flyboy10:45 pm

      Is the Warbirds Over Wanaka airshow still happening? I thought I heard a rumour that they stopped holding it, but then I assumed it was to do with Sir Tim passing away. I am not sure why or when I got that idea in my head. I have seen his old Mk XVI Spit flying at Temora Aviation museum and have some photos of it on my blog post from when I visited back in June or July last year and it sounds great. Those photos of the 6 jets in formation are pretty special too. Thanks for sharing them Andrew.

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    3. Andrew Thomson10:50 pm

      Yeah WOW is still happening - they hold it on alternate years with Masterton: http://www.warbirdsoverwanaka.com/

      I haven't been for a while (been twice), be good to go again...

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    4. Steve3:13 pm

      Flyboy you got that idea from me because when I was in NZ in 2011 we made the trip up from Queenstown to Wanaka to see the warbirds museum and when we got there they told us that it was now closed becasue the owner had died and they were selling all of the old WWII planes off. Talk about some dud advise. I'd really like to know for sure if they still have them or not so that if we go over again we know or not that we can go see them.

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    5. Andrew Thomson3:21 pm

      From what I understand a number of the aircraft have been sold but the museum is still there. Warbirds over Wanaka is still run every 2nd year - 2014 is the next one.

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  4. Geoff James7:02 am

    Fabulous photos Andrew - you are one lucky lad! Thanks so much for posting.

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  5. Trobairitz10:27 am

    Awesome photos Andrew. I always love to see the pics of the old planes especially from the air shows and not just a museum.

    Thanks for going crazy with the camera and providing the link to all those great shots.

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    1. Andrew Thomson10:29 am

      Thanks, I'm not much of an expert when it comes to photography but I love having a go - especially when there is something fabulous like this on!

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  6. Erik R4:49 am

    You're lucky to hear the sounds of the Merlin! I've heard some P-51's before, but I don't know if they were Allison or Merlin engines. I used to live in an area that got a lot of fly overs from a WWII B-25J Mitchell. It was kept at a small air field 20 miles or so from my house. The twin Wright radial engines made a distinctive sound.

    Great picture too.

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    1. Andrew Thomson5:35 pm

      Yeah, not likely to see a B-25 over here Eric!

      I love Merlins and P-51's in particular. I do not think there is a better man-made sound than a Merlin as it passes overhead. There's possibly some elderly Germans (don't mention the war) that disagree...

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