Rather than try and recreate the whole airshow (I do have around 1500 photos, so if you're REALLY interested...), I'll just post some of the various aircraft that were flying. They are roughly in the order of appearance during the day.
We were fortunate in that we managed to get to the show early enough to get a place for our camping chairs one row back from the fence next to the flight strip. At 4°C when we arrived, a warm beverage would be nice, but it took an hour (!) to get a coffee for Sue and a hot chocolate for me. At least it was a gorgeous day with not a cloud to be seen.
Some video links are at the bottom of the page. They're best viewed on a larger screen, but whatever you have, go for it. :-)
BAC 167 Strikemaster in Royal Saudi Air Force markings
BAC 167 Strikemaster in Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) markings
RNZAF Beechcraft T-6 Texan II (basically a Pilatus PC-9)
Avro Anson Mk 1.
Two Texan IIs playing chicken.
More Texan IIs at breakup after display.
RNZAF Beechcraft T-6 Texan II
RNZAF Parachute Display Team, 'Kiwi Blue'.
RNZAF Boeing P-8 Poseidon (their 1st of 4)
RNZAF Augusta Westland A109 general utility helicopter with a freeloader.
Two Augusta Westland A109s circling each other.
RNZAF Boeing B757-200 +2 x Lockheed C-130H (about to be replaced with C-130J)
RNZAF Kaman SH-2 Super Seasprite.
Yakovlev Yak-3 - 'STEADFAST'
USAF Boeing C-17 Globemaster III
Video below.
Pitts Special S1-C in normal attitude
Video below.
Some of the NZ Red Stars Yakovlev Yak-52 display team.
Video below.
DH Tiger Moth ZK-CCH on final for the grass. Video below.
The same one 2 days later. Jumped the chocks on starting - no injuries. (not my photo)
De Havilland DHC-1 Mk 22 Chipmunk.
Video below.
De Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide in NAC (National Airways Corporation) colours.
Video below.
Beech 1936 C-17B Staggerwing
Video below.
Waco 1935 UOC Custom
Video below.
Lockheed 1937 12a Electra Junior. Video below.
Mystery aircraft. No idea. Weird wings. Probably a homebuilt...
Supermarine Spitfire Mk .IX. Video below.
ex-RNZAF North American P-51D Mustang (1 of 2 flying). Video below.
A cacophony of Harvards - part of the NZ Warbirds Roaring Forties display team
Video below.
More of the same.
Video below.
ex-RNZAF 1946 De Havilland DH.98 Mosquito. By now in California, USA.
Video below.
USAF Boeing KC-135 with boom extended. Used to refuel the F-16 (but not nearby).
Mmm, Merlins. Video below.
ex-RNZAF Vought-Goodyear FG-1D Corsair
The second Mustang of the day. Video below.
Corsair and Mustangs x 2. Another delightful sound!
If you made it this far, thank you very much!
The complete playlist: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm2ZkZNU1e5EYCr-AIZjYtIR7RtPitlkN
The videos are best watched on YouTube rather than on this page (higher resolution). Click on the 'Watch on YouTube' links on each clip.