The final day has arrived and there is very much the sense of something special in the air...not really sure what it is but there is a reall buzz among the crowd here today. The airborne action start early here as plane buffs and the pilots alike intend to make the most of the last day here!
The Soviets are about!! Yak-3's D-FLAK & ZK-YYY swoop on the airfield
Gracefully they hold formation looking for prey....
Making another pass, with the crowd encouraging them.
Fortunatley for ZK-WFI, the Yak's were blissfully unaware of the 108's presence not far away...
Soon however he is jumped by Harvard ZK-WAR...one cannot afford to sleep here!!
....and a frantic battle develops between the two!
It seems the Harvard is almost going to get the better of WFI....
But an impressive group of re-enforcements in D-FWME, D-FMBB & D-FDME spot WFI in trouble and go in to help...
Seeing this firepower heading for him ZK-WAR makes the smart decision to get the heck outta there!!
Seeing the threat depart, the three 109's turn away in search of their little brother and escort him home
The US cavalry arrives to find the airspace above Wanaka deserted!
Still, ZK-PLI & ZK-SAS have no trouble winning over the crowd....the two P-51's look splendid in their USAAF colours!
Ah ha!! - This is one of things I've been expecting! The RNZAF showing off thier 757 VIP! Here she comes!!
Very sleek looking aeroplane!! These pilots know how to throw her about too as we are about to find out!
There they go!!....the big tubeliner is thrown around like a jet over the amazing landscape!!
We hold our breath as she screams back over us and banks!! Fantastic!
A group of four Yak-52 trainers taxi past our grandstand on their way to thier own display when something stirs on the horizon....
....the crowd is almost silent as they watch on mesmorised by the shapes in the distance....unmistakeably LANCASTER!
As the formation draws near silence is replaced by excited shouts and finger poiniting....I just watch on in awe as they head over me....
The RAF's BBMF PA474 and the Canadian Warplane Heritage's C-GVRA are escorted by Spitfire's P7350 & NX2TF along with Hurricane ZK-TPK.
I beleive this is a World Premiere! The ONLY 2 airworthy Avro Lancasters in existance together at last!
This amazing display has certainly captivated everyone here at Wanaka, I'm sure once the pictures make their way around the world they will captivate many more enthusiasts everywhere!
Mitsubishi Zero's N8280K & NX46770 depart on a routine patrol...
....high above Wanaka they go "lookin for trouble"
Trouble isn't far away either....Curtiss Kittyhawk ZK-RMH has spotted them already!
The lead Zero sees the Kittyhawk late and takes evasive action...
....he is immediatley on the back foot as RMH swoops in on his tail...
No amount of manovering can shake the menacing Kittyhawk!!
Baring it's shark-teeth RMH goes in for the kill!!..GAME OVER!
The Goodyear Corsair ZK-COR comes to lend a hand....
But the other Zero was nowhere to be seen...
COR & RMH "victoriously" return to base amid the applause of an appreciative Wanaka crowd
The Yak-52's are back!
From L to R are: ZK-KGB, ZK-ZAY, ZK-PTE and ZK-TYS
It looks like they heading straight at us for a second!
The nimble little Russian trainer's roar overhead!
These great little aircraft look like alot of fun to fly!!...must try to get my hands on one!!
The "Yak Attack" has one more pass of the airfield to take it's own applause!!
The friends from across the Tasman seem to have had one more surprise up their sleeve....this was an unexpected surprise! A RAAF 3 Squadron F/A-18 Hornet passes the grandstand!
Pass number two was almost ridiculously sloooow....I thought she would drop out of the sky at any second!!
I see her again on the horizon....there is nothing slow about her now!!!
With a deafening roar she passes Wanaka at Mach .99....then VERTICAL! In a few seconds she was gone!
With the flying all done...I leave my position in the grandstand and have one last look around....Just had to have another look at these two!!
I stand infront of ZK-DAK and reflect. It's been a great few days here....many wonderful moments that I will keep with me for a long time to come...
...and as I watch the first plane buffs leave already in an Aspiring Air Islander....All thats left for me to say is thanks Wanaka! It's been fun!
...the Kiwi tour will roll on from here with it's next stop being Queenstown, Will stay in Wanaka for a few days just to relax and recover from being on my feet for 3 days!!
Hope you have enjoyed the airshow guys!! 115 screenshots later I must say that I have had a great time putting this together.....Now I will turn my attention back to flying a bit more I think
Also, I must say thanks to Ian for his feedback about his experiences at WOW, his ideas and not least of all some of the Yak paints!! Cheers mate!
