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Kiwi Thunder - Tigers Blood
Reno Air Races 2009 Another September come and gone and another Reno Air Races and boy what a hot one both the weather and the racing. Two Thunder Mustangs racing in the Super Sport class up against the NXT's which were running very fast.....Jon Sharp in the NXT "Nemesis" set the bar high with a qualifying speed of 412.5mph!
But probably the biggest news was Steven Hinton flying the
P51 Mustang "Strega" to win the Breitling Unlimited Gold Race at a speed of
491.8mph Interestingly the Super Sports are now flying at speeds that would have them running at the front end of the Unlimited Silver race and getting quicker every year!
Here's a couple of YouTube clips from the Super Sports class to wet the appetite. Subject: 2009 video Relentless (Kevin Eldredge) vs.
Nemesis (Jon Sharp). And a short trailer from air race documentary.
CNC machined Thunder Mustang Accessory Case housing We have replaced the original cast accessory case housing with a new CNC machined housing on our engine and would be more than happy to arrange for the manufacture of these for any of the other Thunder Mustang owners if there is interest. Please contact Simon or Chris for details and pricing.
Your Very own Thunder Mustang. We found this link on eBay to
purchase a Thunder Mustang model naturally it piqued our interest and
was pleasantly surprised to find out it was modeled on our very own Thunder
Mustang complete with registration! Having now seen one these are a nicely
built and finished model made in Manila in the Philippines out of local
timber I can say it really looks good and I am about to order one for
myself. Winter blues and other things.... If the recent cold and wet weather over the last weekend is anything to go by Winter has arrived but like anything their is always a plus side, those occasional clear blue if slightly chilly days no turbulence (or thermals as glider pilots would say) and great visibility. Sadly we are still waiting on parts from the USA to get us back into the air but we are looking forwards to being back in action very shortly. The up-side is that the break has been a good opportunity to plan out those little jobs that get put off when the weather is nice, now its just a matter of getting around to doing them :-) If you are in town and looking for something different some friends of ours who are both competition aerobatic pilots have set up an an operation called Xflight at Ardmore airfield in Auckland offering an opportunity to experience aerobatics in their Extra 300, great fun and a very professional operation. Take advantage of one of these clear winter days to have some aerobatic fun. I have included a link above to their web site.
Whitianga Festival of Speed. Well it seems that our best laid plans.........have come unstuck! Some unforeseen maintenance is going to prevent us being in Whitianga next weekend so for all of you hoping to see us there our apologies but this is one of those things that happen from time to time. We are waiting on some parts to arrive from the USA but sadly they aren't going to get here in time. However this is still going to be a great weekend with non-stop action right through, so enjoy yourselves and we look forwards to catching up with you all soon.
If it Flies, Floats or turns wheels and heads, it is bound to be at Whitianga April 4 & 5. Destination Mercury Bay in conjunction with Whitianga
Waterways Limited have confirmed plans to put on a Festival of speed over
the weekend of April 4 & 5 2009.
The Taupo flying Proms......February 14 The Taupo Flying Proms is an airshow combined with proms music and fireworks held at Centennial Park in Taupo. The airshow side featured Warbirds, vintage aircraft and gliders, plus the Red Checkers formation team. The concert features the highly regarded and entertaining Central Band of the Royal NZ Air Force. This is a great family event and from the
photo's it looks like Simon and the lovely Katrina were enjoying themselves.
Classic Aircraft Photography - New web site Gavin Conroy's new web site is on line and is a must visit for anyone interested in aviation pictures, Gavin is one of the best aircraft photographers out there and his site has a great selection of interesting New Zealand aircraft. So please do drop by and enjoy.
Click here to ENJOY THE WORLD'S FASTEST MOTOR SPORT... High-speed formula one style Air Racing series,
Aero GP will be
broadcast live online in January 2009 to motor-sport fans worldwide at
Airsports.tv We need YOUR support We love getting out and touring the country and attending air shows but it is an expensive business preparing the aircraft, putting together and practicing our display routines not to mention the operating costs. In these tightening economic times many of the scheduled aviation events are also struggling with costs. The best thing you can do is come along and support these events, register early, and if you want to see us at these events please let the event organisers know. Email or phone them up and tell them you want to see the Thunder Mustang. Unfortunately we will not be at the Wings over Wairarapa airshow in January but we do hope to be able to attend the Omaka Classic Fighters show over the Easter weekend. Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre  
FAA Record Confirmed.
Many thanks to those who joined the Kiwi Thunder team out at our hangar for the presentation of the award by Mr. Ray Woolford the FAA representative in New Zealand recognising our record flight in 2007. Rob Burns and
Chris Bromley set a new record time
in the C1c class between Auckland and Christchurch of 1 hour 36minutes and
38 seconds for an average speed of 465kph (251kts).
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This page was last updated on 07-Oct-2009.
