Wings Over Wairarapa [Wings] is ready for take-off, and organisers are powering on, despite forecast wet weather threatening to keep the event grounded.
MetService is predicting rain on all three days of the popular high-altitude event, along with southerly winds developing on Friday and persisting throughout the weekend.
General manager Carla Steed said the Wings team are gearing up for an exciting weekend and are “thrilled to be onsite” at Hood Aerodrome in Masterton.
“The weather is currently very changeable, and it’s too early to predict. Updates will be made via our Facebook page and website for programme announcements,” Steed said.
“Our airside manager is hard at work, crunching the numbers and checking the skies, keeping a close eye on it, and we will need to factor in the amount of rain, wind conditions, and whether our fantastic pilots are comfortable soaring through showers.”
Although weather forecasts are increasingly accurate, they aren’t 100 per cent. For example, despite predictions last weekend of persistent showers during last Sunday’s Toast Martinborough wine festival, there were only light sprinklings of rain until late afternoon.
One of the Wings crowd favourites returning after a six-year hiatus from air festivals is the Goodyear FG-1D Corsair – an American Navy and Marine fighter aircraft used in World War II.
Steed anticipates it will be a popular aircraft both in the skies and on the ground over the weekend.
The Royal New Zealand Air Force [RNZAF] will also debut its new P-8A Poseidon, which began patrolling waters around New Zealand in July this year after a deal was made in 2018 to buy four of the aircraft from the United States for $2.3 billion.
The RNZAF Black Falcons will also be on form and in formation at the festival, flying the T-6C Texan II aircraft as they kick off their summer display season.
Members of the United States Air Force, all the way from Yokota Air Base in Japan, will be in attendance with a C-130J model aircraft similar to the model that will be replacing the New Zealand H-model fleet next year.
The current C-130H model aircraft used in New Zealand is being replaced with the C-130J-30 in 2024 after the government signed a $1.5 billion deal for five of the Super Hercules planes in 2020.
Soldiers from the New Zealand Army 16 Field Regiment will also have boots on the ground as well as military vehicles, including a Light Armoured Vehicle [LAV], and will be providing a weapons display.
RNZAF display director Jim Rankin said the airshow is a great way for the public to get an up-close look at all the New Zealand Defence Force [NZDF] does.
“Every NZDF representative at the event is well trained and highly skilled at what they do. We appreciate the chance to show and tell people about that,” Rankin said.
Many stage performances, workshops, and various other activities are all part of the STEM programme, which is expected to be another hit and focuses on inspiring students to consider flight and aerospace careers.
“The Wairarapa community has been great in rallying support,” said Steed, who wanted to particularly thank the “aviation community, our partners, sponsors, funders, and volunteers who all make this incredible event possible”.
Tickets will be available online and general admission ticket sales don’t close, Steed said.
There will also be the opportunity for gate sales at Hood Aerodrome over the weekend.
Should be a great event 👍 and will help wairarapa tourism.