Ghosts over Wanaka

WE VISIT THE 2002 EDITION OF WARBIRDS OVER WANAKA

A Hughes 500 helicopter, mere feet from the ground, dodged in front of a tiny Honda car. Sparks spluttered from the V-1 "flying bomb" strapped to the car's roof. Commentators called for the runway to be cleared of these "renegades."

The Honda made a break to the left, the crowd cheered but our bush chopper pilot was too quick and cut them off. The car's four occupants made a dash on foot as the car was quickly hooked on to a winch, carried aloft and unceremoniously dumped to riotous applause.

They take their flying seriously at Warbirds Over Wanaka but the event would not be the same without a bit of fooling around thrown in.

This year the array of aircraft gathered to show off against the stunning mountain, ous landscape was impressive as well as varied. From the Hawker Sea Fury to the US Bird Dogs, elegant Mustangs, Grumman Wildcat courtesy of the Commemorative Air Force (and part of a growing trend to ship exotic Warbirds to distant airshows), Harvards, a Hunter, and the ear-shattering Vampire jets, it was a class act Down Under.

Wanaka, a fast-growing town in the southern, South Island part of New Zealand, is a good three hours drive from the nearest city. It's a long way from anywhere really, but its scenic beauty attracts visitors from all over the world. The March show is also at the mercy of weather - winter comes early to New Zealand's mountainous landscape. This year there were stiff breezes, rain in the nearby mountains and around the airfield, and even snow showers on the final Sunday of the event - a bit of weather for everybody! For the first time in the event's history attendance dropped to approximately 70,000 and some of this could be blamed on the weather.

Even though the weather was variable, dust was everywhere. Water trucks tried to keep the dust down but constant helicopter operations quickly stirred all that up.

Wanaka is home to the Alpine Fighter Collection, started by Warbird enthusiast Sir Tim Wallis. The aircraft are on static display year-round in the New Zealand Fighter Pilots Museum where displays tell the stories of some of this country's 5000 pilots active in World War Two.

The collection boasts a Spitfire, Hawker Hurricane, P-51D Mustang, some delightful Russian Polikarpovs and other machines - all in flying condition. Each aircraft represents an adventure and a labor of love, none more so than the immaculate Hurricane.

This machine arrived as a heap of tangled metal and over a five-year period was transformed into a fine example of authentic restoration. To say the rebuilt was painstaking would be an understatement.

Warbirds Over Wanaka (WOW) is now firmly established as a major Warbird event on the international circuit. To the tens of thousands of people who make the biennial trek to Wanaka, Easter holidays means Warbirds. Stars of the show this year were the FM-2 Wildcat and the Sea Fury. To see a Wildcat, remembered by New Zealanders as the Grumman Martlet of the Fleet Air Arm, fly at WOW was a first. Organizers, however, were thrown into an eleveth hour panic pre-show, as US authorities prepared to refuse the aircraft exit to travel to New Zealand.

The machine was classified as a "weapon of war" in the wake of the 11 September attacks on New York and Washington, DC. Common sense prevailed eventually after the Kiwis were able to convince customs of the importance of the Wildcat to their ex-service countrymen and women.

While the Wildcat arrived in a crate, the visiting Sea Fury flew to Wanaka from it's Australian base. At the helm was top Aussie pilot Nigel Arnott. This great beast, powered by an 18-cylinder Bristol Centaurus, was a definite crowd favorite.While the magnificent Warbirds have the advantage of old-time charm in drawing admiration from an audience, other acts were doing their bit to steal the show.

This year's WOW had a moving slaute to that great British aircraft designer - Sir Sydney Camm. Three of his designs participated in the show: Hurricane, Sea Fury, and Hunter.

"He's not right in the head," one onlooker was heard to say as Kiwi pilot, Steve Taylor's Edge 540 aerobatic plane twirled and dived overhead like a demented moth. Many eyes watched as he later landed, drew his long legs out of the tiny cockpit and wandered off as if he had just been to the store for a loaf of bread.

With a bit of help from the Black Hawk Down soundtrack, a dramatic rising of around 30 helicopters seemingly from nowhere had many reaching for their cameras. The craft were all working machines in the field of agriculture, search and rescue, hunting, transport and tourism. Mostly Hughes 500 and Squirrels, the helicopters hovered then performed a series of turns in formation, peeling off from left to right for a stylish exit.

Frazer Briggs, Kiwi superstar of model aerobatics, pushed the boundaries with his display, at one stage his high-- powered replica flying sideways with its nose facing the asphalt, tail in the air.

A Hawker Hunter dropped by, executing a series of low passes down the runway while also ducking under the terrain to fly down the low bed of the Clutha River, giving spectators an extra thrill. Unable to land because of the short 3900-foot runway, pilot Dave Phillips had to be content with a short display and exit back over the mountains to Dunedin which has a longer runway.