Warbirds over Wanaka 2006

What can you say about Warbirds over Wanaka but WoW. Every time they manage to improve on the previous show. 

I would like to thank Owen Baxter, Gavin Conroy, Josh Kelly and Maurice Williams for sending in their photographs some of which I have reproduced here. Many of the photographs on this page were taken by Richard Watterus who works for Avspecs as an aircraft engineer and came down to Wanaka to keep an eye on the Thunder Mustang but I think you will agree that he also takes some pretty good photographs.

The Kiwi Thunder team had a great weekend and it was a pleasure and a privilege to be able to bring the Thunder Mustang down to Wanaka and display in front of so many visitors.

As always there was the last minute rush to make sure that everything was ready and the effort was rewarded with an event free trip. We took the long route on the way down with stops in Wanganui, Omaka and Timaru. Of course there was the enterprising salesman at Omaka....So if you want to buy a Nanchang.....

Many thanks to Ray Mulqueen and the very professional team at the Alpine Fighter Collection for helping us out with hangarage even though as you will see in some of the photos space was at a premium throughout the weekend. I hate to think what the total value was of all the aircraft in that hangar!

Brian Gault as always flew a very nicely paced display routine with the Thunder Mustang on both the Saturday and the Sunday.

An added bonus for us was the number of Thunder Mustang owners fthat came down from the United States  to New Zealand for the airshow including Reno race winner and holder of several world speed records in the C1-c class John Parker and his wife Jan. John is on the the left of the photograph below, Richard Watterus (Avspecs) in the centre and George Gibboney on the right. I always forget just how stunning this part of New Zealand can be until seeing it again through the eyes of visitors.

And of course the sirshow itself was superb from the awesome General Dynamics F111 with its 'dump and Burn' routine which was made all the more spectacular as a result of the atmospheric conditions on the practice day to David Phillips spectacular low level entrance in the Hawker Hunter jet and the majestic de-Havilland Vampires in formation with the Cessna A37 jet.

And of course the favourites for most the WWII era piston engined fighters

Hawker Hurricane Mk IIA

Curtiss P40 Kittyhawk(s)

Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk XVI

Yak 3 and Polikarpov I-153 Chaika

Well I still have LOTS more photos to go through but I will leave you with (for those who have seen the movie) the Worlds fastest Indian...(if you havent seen the film yet, go see it).

And as always thanks to our sponsors Shell Oil and EngineDynamics.