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- #41
Warbirds over Wanaka 2016
- Thread starter nuuumannn
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Nicely done!
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- #44
Excellent shots guys!
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Good shots Grant - looking forward to more.
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- #47
Okay then. More from WOW 2016. The Big Cat Returns! The Catalina is one of the favourites at any airshow because it is big, slow and noisy and gracefully glides through the sky, shedding gallons of oil as it goes. This old girl has been absent from the air for four years after corrosion was found on the main spar and after overhaul, the aircraft was first flown less than a month before the airshow. This was its first airshow outing and proved very popular.
The Cat's wheels retract individually and make a heck of a noise from the inside...
Sporting a new name and nose art since its return, the Cat was operating throughout the three days offering joy flights. The Wandering Witch was an actual wartime Catalina. I now have a t-shirt with this logo on it.
"Your Chariot awaits, Sir".
The Cat's wheels retract individually and make a heck of a noise from the inside...
Sporting a new name and nose art since its return, the Cat was operating throughout the three days offering joy flights. The Wandering Witch was an actual wartime Catalina. I now have a t-shirt with this logo on it.
"Your Chariot awaits, Sir".
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- #48
Wanaka is nestled in the middle of a mountain range on the shore of the lake where it gets its name from. How the airshow at this small backwater in the deep south became world renown is from the dedicated efforts of one Tim Wallis, who has become synonymous with warbirds, although he made his money farming deer in the mountains around the region. A true Kiwi Bloke of the ruggedest kind and the type of fella every kiwi man aspires to be, sadly, Sir Tim, suffered severe spinal injury when he overturned a Spitfire XIV on take-off and he cannot walk now, but can always be seen at the airshow being wheeled around by a flock of attendees. He still loves it.
Visibility from the side blisters is superb.
We were promised a water landing, but at the last minute the pilot chickened out! Nevermind; still a thrill on approach to the lake.
We got within inches of the surface, but sadly from our vantage point mid fuselage there was no shower of spray. Climbing out over the lake.
The Catalina sits sixteen, eight each in the front and rear cabins, with four either side of the aisle. The forward cabin is just aft of the cockpit and the aft, just forward of the Observation Lounge, where a smashing view is to be had from those giant bubbles of Perspex. Pax have to return to their seats during take-off and landing, but were given the option of moving around during the flight. Needless to say, the after cabin was the most popular spot.
Luggate Airport, Wanaka from the air; you'll have to excuse the blurriness through the windows, they were splattered with oil throughout the flight. Note the banking at the left hand end of the pic; the airfield is on a plateau and a C-130 Hercules can disappear from view behind the banking at the runway threshold; airshow acts use it for dramatic effect.
More to come.
Visibility from the side blisters is superb.
We were promised a water landing, but at the last minute the pilot chickened out! Nevermind; still a thrill on approach to the lake.
We got within inches of the surface, but sadly from our vantage point mid fuselage there was no shower of spray. Climbing out over the lake.
The Catalina sits sixteen, eight each in the front and rear cabins, with four either side of the aisle. The forward cabin is just aft of the cockpit and the aft, just forward of the Observation Lounge, where a smashing view is to be had from those giant bubbles of Perspex. Pax have to return to their seats during take-off and landing, but were given the option of moving around during the flight. Needless to say, the after cabin was the most popular spot.
Luggate Airport, Wanaka from the air; you'll have to excuse the blurriness through the windows, they were splattered with oil throughout the flight. Note the banking at the left hand end of the pic; the airfield is on a plateau and a C-130 Hercules can disappear from view behind the banking at the runway threshold; airshow acts use it for dramatic effect.
More to come.
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Jeff Hunt
1st Lieutenant
Excellent report and pics.
Jeff
Jeff
Great stuff..!
Great shots!
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Great pics Grant, especially the air to ground from the Cat.
I would call you a lucky bar steward - but I'm too much of a gentleman !!
I would call you a lucky bar steward - but I'm too much of a gentleman !!
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- #54
That's very gracious of you Terry! 
I'm an associate member of the Catalina society, which helps maintain it, although because it lives in the North Island and I in the South Island I don't get to see it as often as I'd like, but it's the thought (and financial contribution) that counts.
I'm an associate member of the Catalina society, which helps maintain it, although because it lives in the North Island and I in the South Island I don't get to see it as often as I'd like, but it's the thought (and financial contribution) that counts.
Wildcat
Major
That cat is looking great! It would be nice if they put a nose turret in though.
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- #56
Nah, the thing's been altered too much to make it look less warlike; the big windows on the side, for example; she's a civvie bird now and has spent more of her life flying pax than time it had spent in military service. There was a discussion on another forum about converting civvie Cats back to military configuration; where do you stop? This one has seats, carpet and cupboards like a boat and all that luxury would have to be taken out; plus you'd need to cut a bloody great hole in the bow, which is never good.
Here's a pic of a placard inside the aircraft;
Here's a pic of a placard inside the aircraft;
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Crimea_River
Marshal
Great shots. Must have been a good experience.
- Thread starter
- #58
Time for some Heavy Metal. Cue the Steppenwolf...
The USAF from Hickam AFB in Hawaii via Christchurch flew a C-17 over for an all-too-brief handling display, which was a little disappointing since I'd seen these big boys being thrown around at European airshows. It couldn't land at Wanaka, not that the runway's too short, but the C-17 is too heavy, nevertheless, good to see the US military being slowly weaned back into the New Zealand public eye, although we want some faster hardware...
Next, the Armee de l'Air are 'locally' based at Noumea in the Pacific and they regularly send these light transport Casa CN-235s over to New Zealand. "Ze Kaza", as the French commentator called it is one of the types being considered as a replacement for the RNZAF's 50 year old C-130Hs, so put on a spirited display and really showed the Americans how a display should be done.
You can't tell in this shot, but it's reversing. (Beep, beep, beep...)
Last lot soon.
The USAF from Hickam AFB in Hawaii via Christchurch flew a C-17 over for an all-too-brief handling display, which was a little disappointing since I'd seen these big boys being thrown around at European airshows. It couldn't land at Wanaka, not that the runway's too short, but the C-17 is too heavy, nevertheless, good to see the US military being slowly weaned back into the New Zealand public eye, although we want some faster hardware...
Next, the Armee de l'Air are 'locally' based at Noumea in the Pacific and they regularly send these light transport Casa CN-235s over to New Zealand. "Ze Kaza", as the French commentator called it is one of the types being considered as a replacement for the RNZAF's 50 year old C-130Hs, so put on a spirited display and really showed the Americans how a display should be done.
You can't tell in this shot, but it's reversing. (Beep, beep, beep...)
Last lot soon.
- Thread starter
- #59
"The Lockheed C-130 Hercules, keeping engineers in overtime since 1954..."
The problem with the Wanaka flightline is that it faces into the sun, so big military birds painted grey turn into silhouettes when photographing them. Lots of alteration in contrast was used in these shots, unfortunately.
That's it for now, folks.
The problem with the Wanaka flightline is that it faces into the sun, so big military birds painted grey turn into silhouettes when photographing them. Lots of alteration in contrast was used in these shots, unfortunately.
That's it for now, folks.
Wildcat
Major
Nice shots!
