NZFF

....from Day One

The start of the second day of the Wanaka airshow has seen the weather change a little for the worse. Very overcast skies greeted me this morning. Still, the prediction is that it may clear up a little in the afternoon.

I put the weather out of my mind and get straight into enjoying the sights!


And isn't this a sight indeed...Mk.XIX Contra-Prop Spitfire F-AZJS. An awesome machine.


Suddenly some noises in the distance stir me....I see some shapes on the horizion and for an instance think I recognise it...but it can't be surely!


As I see the formation come closer I realise I was right. It's an Me-262!! Not to mention his impressive Me-109G wingmen..


These three amazing aircraft are D-IMTT, D-FMBB and D-FDME respectivley and belong to the "Messerschmitt Stiftung" in Germany.


Shortly after the North American Texan/Harvards [url=http://www.airliners.net/photo/Commemorative-Air-Force/North-American-.../0788304/M/]ZK-USM[/url] and ZK-JJA come up from behind the grandstand on an aborted landing...Those Harvards are great planes!


Two fine examples of Australia's military aviation history lined up side by side....


Soon VH-VAM & VH-HET were joined by another Temora warbird in the CAC Wirraway VH-BFF. It's great to see the Temora Museum support this airshow on the other side of the Tasman so enthusiatically Note DC-3 ZK-DAK departing in the background...she will be back later!


On the other side of the airfield, All the members of the Luftwaffe have now been accounted for and are going through their battle plans for the dogfights to come!!


Finally, with the kind permission of the Planes of Fame Museum my opportunity has come!...before the airspace above the airfield gets too busy I get to take the Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero NX46770 for a very quick circuit of the area.


With butterflies going crazy in the stomach I lift the old Zero away from Wanaka!


I take a moment to familiarise myself with the Zero's cockpit....


Soon the nerves go away and I get a good feel for the powerful aircraft....I can even start to enjoy the scenery!


And there is alot of stunning scenery to take in....these warbirds sure make great VFR planes!


Soon enough my short adventure must come to an end....but not before having the chance to entertain the crowd myself with a pass above the airfield!


I'm safely back on the ground just in time as four Harvard's begin a great display....


....as they scream overhead I almost strain my neck trying to keep up with them!


Coming back for another pass, the aircraft from top to bottom are: [url=http://www.airliners.net/photo/North-American-.../0819556/M/]ZK-WAR[/url], ZK-ENA, [url=http://www.airliners.net/photo/Harvard-78-Syndicate/North-American-.../0582245/M/]ZK-ENG[/url] and [url=http://www.airliners.net/photo/North-American-.../0987727/M/]ZK-ENC[/url]


The next display was just breathtaking....ZK-DAK returned with an escort of four Mustangs...


They were a picture of elegance as they overflew the airfield to a huge applause!


Things are really getting into full swing here now!.....having a great time here guys!!


Things move fast here in more ways than one! No time to dwell on the DC-3 as ZK-TMG "Kiwi Thunder" roars into my eyesight


This guy was really on it!....among other moves, a fast vertical climb high above Wanaka


...and before we knew it he was sweeping past us at eye level!!


A little later I was surprised by this lovely formation of aircraft in RAAF colours!


Hey! There's another 'new face' here! The CAC Boomerang VH-MHR leads her Temora hangar-mate VH-BFF (CAC Wirraway) and the Kittyhawk ZK-CAG


In a semi-roll the three make another pass overhead....just beautiful!


MHR makes another pass over the runway alone before circling to land!...a great little aircraft!! :Thumb:


Another elegant sight.. ..Spitfire's P7350 & VH-XVI depart in tandem, as if leaving on a patrol!


It's Fast Jet time!! Vampire's ZK-RVM & VH-VAM are accompanied by F-86 Sabre G-SABR in an attempt to wow the crowd....needless to say they succeeded! the sound alone was undescribable!!


I think these guys actually helped clear the cloud cover!! Even the sun wanted to have a look at this lot!!


Keeping a perfectly tight formation, they really were a sight to behold....I'm starting to sound like a broken record!


The RNZAF wasn't going to let the vintage flyers have all the fun either!! - An Orion of 5 Squadron head towards us from the direction of Lake Wanaka


Woooohooooo! You could almost reach out and touch her as she buzzes over our heads!


A final pass...this time low and slow...flaps full & landing gear down


Back down on the ground Messerschmitt Me-262 D-IMTT taxis past the crowd on her way out for a solo show....alot of OOOHHH's were to be heard


There she goes!!!


Soon that distinctive shape above us was captivating our imagination!


The pilot was clearly enjoying himelf as he loitered overhead!


Not at all comfortable with having the German hanging around, The Russian's "Scramble" ZK-JIN


Hmm... Is the tiny Polikarpov really the best aircraft to chase away an Me-262 Jet??


Nah...not really!! Common sense prevails, the two enemies settle their differences and escort eachother home

The crowd really got a buzz out of seeing those two aircraft together though....the cheers as they overflew the airfield were heart felt! The contrast between the planes is just wonderful!!

.....on to Day Three

Really enjoying WOW for the second time this year

Keep it up!

Awesome, enjoyed day 2! You made me Feel like I was there with the great commentary and pics

Man I am enjoying your FS version of the airshow.
It's great to see all of these aircraft flying around. Thanks for posting.

Face Wind burnt ... Sand blasted by the dust ... the crowds ... the noise and the atmosphere .... AIRSHOWS!

Awesome stuff Flo- looking forward to day 3!

The formations have got going are pretty spectacular, particularly the Harvards and Mustangs! The dull sky actually makes them look more realistic, as it was real cloudy the day I went down in March. Keep up the good work

What view mode are you using for your angles btw- default spot or tower view, or did you make a custom view in FSRecorder? (If so, could you tell me the co-ordinates so I can set it up for myself, nothing beats a low fly by past your FS camera lens )

Thanks guys!! I'm really glad your enjoying it and that I'm able to bring back great memories for those fortunate enough have been there for real

Trolly, The view I'm using is for the most part the default tower view, sometimes zooming in our out where necessary

Florian .. im really ... really bad , Ive miss'd 3 shows since 1988 .. , I,m very disappointed with myself

Missed THREE shows?? I'm shocked Ian! If you hadn't told me yourself I would not have believed it!

Amazing, Florian

You must have put a lot of work in to this...looking forward to Day Three!!!

Wicked! Awesome shots Florian. I'm enjoying it too.
Good work on recreating WOW, looking forward to day 3.
It's also good for those of us who didn't go (me )

I was sitting in the Dust bowl bar , end of the day ... people moving out heading home .. a unique sound , stop thought , thats a 109

I just about missed it ... running and jumping fences ... phoooh

Scuttlebutt , what the heads up on a special guess for DAY3 .... Avro Lancaster ?

Ian Warren wrote:

QUOTE (Ian Warren @ Jul 18 2008, 03:28 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Scuttlebutt , what the heads up on a special guess for DAY3 .... Avro Lancaster ?

NO COMMENT

Nice additions to the show Ian
Maybe we could have a thread and all make a contribution by displaying an aircraft.
We could have NZFF Warbirds over Wanaka

Wow, what an awesome sequence of shots with a very good commentary and links. Very very very good and a pleasure to look at, I could nearly hear the sounds, THANKS!!

ZK-MAT wrote:

QUOTE (ZK-MAT @ Jul 18 2008, 07:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

...Very very very good and a pleasure to look at, I could nearly hear the sounds, THANKS!!

A lot of thought and effort in here guys...brilliant, Florian!
Even in the sim the sound of 2 Vampire+Sabre must've been quite something!
Like Ian I failed to make WOW this year to my shame - this goes some way to redressing that.
Lancaster out of Wigram...Stirling, even???

What DC3 Repaint is that

This really is one of the finest screenshot series I've ever seen.. Well done

Charl wrote:

QUOTE (Charl @ Jul 19 2008, 08:50 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Lancaster out of Wigram...Stirling, even???

Gotta go , theres a Lancaster and a Short Stirling out at Wigram

Thanks alot everyone!! the comments mean alot..It's been a pleasure presenting this so far....

Charl wrote:

QUOTE (Charl @ Jul 19 2008, 06:50 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Lancaster out of Wigram...Stirling, even???

Like I said to Ian.....Officially there is no comment! Unofficially, I was in contact with a few ppl before this airshow began to talk costs and logistics, All I wil say is that there is still something special on it's way for day 3...As to what that will be you will just have to wait and see!!

njbb1995 wrote:

QUOTE (njbb1995 @ Jul 19 2008, 07:07 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What DC3 Repaint is that

It was a repaint avaliable on this forum for the Default FS9 model....not sure if the link is still in here somewhere.