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Corsair F4U-1 ZK-FUI could not be mistaken for any other type due to those wide span wings with the distinctive cranked shape. Part of the Alpine Fighter Collection, the Corsair was again a popular part of the display when it flew in the Pacific Theatre sequence along with the Kittyhawk, the Zero and the Grumman Avenger. Somehow the fighters seem to have an edge on appeal when they are compared to trainers and bombers.
Warbirds Over Wanaka Airshow Report
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Wanaka Easter Warbirds Gathering
“Gone to Wanaka” is the sign that every true-blooded New Zealand Warbird enthusiast hangs on his door every second year as he departs for the biennial Warbirds Over Wanaka Airshow.
This year, the show managed to draw a crowd of some 65,000 over the three days, in spite of rain on the Sunday morning that later turned into a fine, sunny day. The Wanaka show never ceases to amaze with its displays. This year, there were two Spitfires as well as two Mustangs, with examples of each arriving from overseas just weeks before the Easter break.
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In the New Zealand Fighter Pilots Museum, the remains of a WWII Hurricane and Stuka were on display, along with the news that a Hurricane is to be rebuilt and flown in NZ within three years! Back at Christchurch, Sir Tim Wallis has no less than three WWII Me 110 aircraft in store, and from these, at least one is to be rebuilt to fly. Truly amazing!
The flying at Wanaka is spectacular, with the final act of the day being the “aerodrome attack,” featuring more than a dozen aircraft milling around, machine gun fire, petrol bomb explosions, sirens, and smoke trails from “shot down” aircraft—real Hollywood stuff!
A sad note was the fatal crash of a Chipmunk during the Sunday afternoon, when the aircraft failed to recover from an aerobatic manoeuvre.
On the following pages, we present a slice of what there was to see at the 1994 Warbirds Over Wanaka Air Show. May it long continue.
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