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Fuel your passion for aviation! Classic Wings Magazine is the worlds premier Warbird & Classic Aircraft magazine.

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21/07/2024

FABULOUS BUT LARGELY FORGOTTEN

One of the most attractive four-engined aircraft designs to emerge from WW-II offered great promise but arrived just a little too late to be relevant. The Republic XF-12 'Rainbow' (it's ironic that with that name, the prototype would fly carrying NONE of the colours of the rainbow!) did not fly until 4th February 1946, nearly six months after the end of WW-II. Despite its impressive performance with its four P&W R-4360 4-row ('corncob') radials, it had appeared at the beginning of the jet age and so it sadly missed its calling as a long-range photo-recon aircraft. Only two prototypes had been built by the time the programme was cancelled.

18/07/2024

BETTY BOUNTY
In late August, 1945, two Mitsubishi G4M 'Betty' twin engined aircraft made their way to the atoll airfield at Iejima near Okinawa. There they were to deliver a delegation of Japanese officers to be taken by US C-54 transport aircraft to attend the official surrender formalities aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, 2nd September, 1945. At the end of hostilities, Japanese surrender aircraft were famously required to be painted white with green crosses carried where their Hinomaru 'red meatball' insignia would previously have appeared. Escorting the flight of two Bettys, were B-25s of the 345th Bomb Group, along with a large contingent of P-38s flying top cover to fend off possible errant Japanese fighter pilots wanting to stop the surrender party getting to their destination. In this great old photograph, credited to Fred Hill of the 17th Photo Recon Squadron (since colourised?), one of the Bettys has its tail swung into parking position, blasting the hundreds of US servicemen on hand to watch the transfer. For the Japanese personnel involved, this would have been a frightening and humiliating occasion, but as hard as it must have been to endure that, peace and prosperity eventually came to Japan as a result of the end of WW-II. For US servicemen, there must have been a sense, on witnessing this event, that their time in the Pacific really was coming to an end and they could look forward to going home soon. Of 2,435 Bettys built, no complete intact example can be found displayed in any museum worldwide. A recovered wreck (ex Babo Is., Indonesia) is displayed in a diorama in the USA and also in the USA, a cockpit and tail section are held by the NASM. The only dedicated restoration work on a Betty has resulted from the determined efforts of Nobuo Harada in Japan who has restored/rebuilt the entire fuselage and tail group of his example. In addition, we at Classic Wings, participated in a recovery exercise a couple of years ago to rescue two Bettys from the Solomon Islands (see page header) before they were destroyed by the elements. Regular CW magazine readers will be aware of the details of these.
Sadly, we are never likely to see a Betty in the sky again, but at least there has been some effort made to rescue a handful for posterity.

13/07/2024

AMERICAN ANTIQUES AT OUR DOOR!
This fabulous view from the Classic Wings hangar here at Omaka, shows the exquisite Lockheed 10A Electra of Rob Mackley, taxiing past our doors to undertake a bit of local flying. Watched over by our Waco Classic YMF-5, another US design of similar age, the Lockheed is an aircraft you simply cannot take your eyes off, such is its stunning presence. Congratulations again to Rob and the team for producing such a magnificent restoration! Rob's partner Caroline, who in recent times has usually been seen flying their lovely Stearman, is content to be ground crew for today!

21/06/2024

THE INSIDE STORY

Seen for the first time, this new video takes you through the remarkable interior of the world's sole airworthy Avro Anson Mk.I with restorer Bill Reid providing the tour insights. The Anson embodies the most remarkable collection of correct period equipment typically used by an Anson serving as a maritime patrol bomber operating over the coast of southern England in the early stages of WW-II. This remarkable space is like a journey back in time. You have to wonder what the Oshkosh judges would think of this!

04/06/2024

P-40 JUNKYARD
What could be more tantalising than a junkyard full of WW-II aircraft? For P-40 enthusiasts, this image from Kyedaw Airfield in Burma, has us wishing for a large truck-sized utility time-machine to rescue this wreckage for restoration. The photograph shows famous AVG pilot R.T. Smith looking over the wreckage of a P-40B/C 'Tomahawk' with two other damaged examples behind, and the operational squadron beyond that. Taken by Ed Overend, the image was captured two weeks before Pearl Harbor and the resultant entry of the USA into the Second World War.

03/06/2024

LOCKHEED HOMECOMING!

Huge congratulations to owner Rob Mackley and all who have supported his quest to restore this magnificent Lockheed 10a Electra back to airworthiness. The aircraft was test flown by Ryan Southam at Ardmore, Auckland, a few months ago, and we were lucky enough to be there to witness the occasion (see film clip, earlier post), and today we were again lucky enough to have just tucked our own machines away for the night when the Electra appeared overhead at her new home at Omaka. What an absolute triumph in the world of vintage aircraft restoration and I am sure that everyone who turned a spanner on this machine will be feeling justifiably proud today. Special congrats to Rob and Caroline on realising this dream.

28/05/2024

THUNDER ALLEY

This great old photo was taken during a parade in Main Street, Evansville, Indiana, USA where multiple P-47s were manufactured. In fact 6,242 'Jugs' were built at the Evansville plant. Following the end of WW-II, this late production example went on to a flying career in Peru from 1947. We don't have anything on the photograph, and assume it has been colourised, but it is a great capture of a time in history as the gathered public can almost taste the looming peace as WW-II draws to a close.

24/05/2024

VARIETY IS THE SPICE!
Our Classic Wings Stearman regularly gets a variety of company out on the grass in front of our hangar. This week we have seen a broad range of vintage and classic machines including the resident Provost, Anson, Nanchangs, Waco, Fleet 16B, Yak-3U, Cubs, Pacer, Champ and so on - what a week it has been. These two however, always steal the show and did so again when JEM Aviation's Jay McIntyre brought them out for some routine engine runs. Jay powered up the Chariots of Fire Fighter Collection Fw190A whilst Ryan Southam did the same with the Collection's Spitfire Mk.XIVe. That sound track never fails to impress and visitors to the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre never mind the aircraft coming out of the display when they can see and hear them in action!

21/05/2024

OXBOX ON SHOW
This rare wartime colour photograph of an Airspeed Oxford of the Royal Canadian Air Force was captured in Toronto during 1942 or early 1943. Unfortunately there are no Oxfords to be seen in the air anywhere in the world today. Our former plans to undertake such a restoration saw a large collection of Oxford airframe parts, structures and engines gather in the Classic Wings hangar, but we decided we'd need a much bigger team than we could practically muster, to make a viable airworthy restoration out of it. This became evident after following the restoration of the Bill Reid Avro Anson of similar size and power etc., when Bill had actually started with a whole aircraft! We still live in hope that someone will restore an Oxford to fly one day. Of the 8,851examples produced, barely a dozen survive, their all-wooden construction requiring indoor storage for them to have any chance of enduring.

15/05/2024

'WINGED WILLYS'
Built by the Curtiss-Wright corporation, this compact twin was designated the AT-9 'Fledgling' but it generally went by the name 'Jeep'. Designed as a twin-engined trainer, it was powered by two Lycoming R-680 radials producing between 225hp and 300hp (depending on model spec of the engines). This great period-colour image shows a 'Jeep' sharing the ramp with a number of North American NA-64 'Yale' trainers. A total of 791 AT-9 and AT-9a 'Jeeps' were built but their tricky handling deemed them unsuitable for post-war civilian sales and so they were mostly scrapped after their military service. One intact example is displayed at the Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio and another is being restored from a wreck by staff at the PIMA Museum in Arizona.

05/05/2024

MARAUDER MENACE!

This is a great photo of one of the prototype Martin B-26 Marauders. The Marauder was a significant participant in the allied bombing campaign on numerous fronts around the Pacific, North Africa and Europe and yet it tends to not be as prominent in the general history of the conflict as many other types. This may be the result of so few being preserved and the aircraft simply not having visibility among other surviving veterans. Of 5,288 B-26s built, only nine survive according to our records with only one presently in potentially airworthy condition. This is a great shame for such an accomplished combatant.

02/05/2024

DEALING WITH THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM!
After experiencing so many breakdowns and especially gearbox issues with ancient WW-II era Clark aircraft tugs, maybe this resourceful application would actually be a better option for hauling aircraft like this Supermarine Walrus ('Shagbat'!). That said, the Clark tugs are small and don't take up too much space, hence those quoted problems about 'the elephant in the room'! ! I wonder if this big fellow has been christened 'Clark'?

21/04/2024

BOEINGS GATHER AT COROWA
Huge congratulations go to the Antique Aeroplane Association of Australia on the running of an outstanding, traditional style grass-roots fly-in to celebrate their 50th anniversary at Corowa, NSW. The team did an absolutely stellar job bringing together people and aeroplanes for a four day long celebration of aviation and community. Among the impressive variety of aircraft types present was this line-up of Boeing Stearmans, part of a field of around 150 vintage aircraft. Wow.......take a bow Team AAAA!

12/04/2024

STUNNING 'STANG!

This magnificent P-51D Mustang has led a fabulous life of airshow displays and warbird-experience flights over the past, nearly four decades, of flying in New Zealand. But it is time it started the next chapter in its flying life, whether in New Zealand or elsewhere. We are delighted to have been tasked with the job of finding that next new home for this honest, well-sorted aerial icon. This is a great privilege for us, after admiring the aircraft for so long. We'll put up some more photos from its interesting recent history, in coming posts! (And yes, this stunning capture is by Gavin Conroy of course!)

- Additional info & photos via the comments section -

-51

10/04/2024

ROYAL VISIT
Today we celebrate a decade since we enjoyed a very special visit to our Omaka Airfield base by their Royal Highnesses William and Kate. They had planned a New Zealand tour but specifically targeted this location in order to take in our fabulous Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre. On that occasion, we were scheduled an hour with the Royal couple, the plan being to take a tour through the 'Knights of the Sky' halls (at that time we had only completed the WW-I halls), hosted by WW-I collection owner Sir Peter Jackson and AHC CEO Jane Orphan; whilst I had the great privilege of showing them through an outdoor line-up of aircraft ranging from the Sopwith Pup, our own Fokker Triplane and Fleet 16B, the CFFC Focke Wulf Fw190, and Bill and Robyn Reid's magnificent Avro Anson Mk.I. It does not seem like 10 years since this delightful couple, now the Prince and Princess of Wales, came to visit. They certainly left a very positive impression on us all. GMO

31/03/2024

WARBIRDS OVER WANAKA 2024

Well it was an airshow drought lasting six years for the people of Wanaka, New Zealand and for all the fans from around New Zealand and the rest of the world who used to look forward to the show. But that drought has now been resoundingly broken by what was arguably the most successful airshow yet held at the picturesque Otago airfield. Perfect weather, record crowds, a world class aircraft line-up and a professionally choreographed flying programme made this a seamless aerial entertainment spectacular!

Heartiest Congratulations to Ed Taylor and all of the WoW organisational team, the car parking and security folks, and all the way to the pilots and maintenance shops, the modern military contingents, and to Wal Denholm and the AvSpecs team who pulled another rabbit out of the hat to get the Lewis / Summers Mosquito finished and stunning in time to become a star of the show. Congrats also to Brendon Deere and the other relentless crew who brought the former John Smith Mustang back to life in time to make its major airshow debut at Wanaka 2024! Once again, well done to everyone who played a part in the success of this magical weekend.

Warbirds over Wanaka is Back!!

24/03/2024

BARN FIND - SECRET MISSION!

Well not exactly a barn-find, but in an emerging story, this very old, very historic aircraft is now looking at a new life, in a new place, and a most definite chance to fly again! This glamorous old tourer has been hibernating for some years in a dark and dirty shed, after this space and the aircraft suffered the indignity of being immersed in rising flood waters. This once magnificent trailblazer has now been rescued by a new ownership trio. As one of those owners, Classic Wings was there to record the event and we'll reveal some more on this shortly as we talk a little more about its future path and its impressive past history. Happy days!

24/03/2024

SCONE AIRSHOW DONE AND DUSTED
Much better weather today greeted visitors to the Warbirds over Scone Airshow where a great variety of aircraft, old and new, were presented to a very appreciative audience. It was a very well run event, dominated by the excellent team of highly professional performers from Paul Bennet Airshows, and supported by many others like RAAF 100 Sqn which provided heritage aircraft like the Spitfire Mk.VIII, A-37 Dragonfly and Cessna O-2 and 77 Sqn with a pair of F-35s that flew a heritage flight to celebrate that illustrious unit in formation with two of their earlier types, the P-40 and Mustang. In addition, these two privately owned fighters had a significant presence in the flying, Al Arthur's P-40N-1 flown by himself, and Doug Hamilton's P-51D flown by Steve Death. Congratulations to everyone on a very slick, very enjoyable event!

23/03/2024

SCONE AIRSHOW

Great day of flying was completed at the Warbirds over Scone Airshow, NSW, Australia, today when the 40th anniversary of Australia's first dedicated modern warbird airshow was celebrated at this, the actual venue of that milestone event, masterminded by the late, great Col Pay. Huge kudos to all involved in staging this excellent event. We're looking forward to attending day #2 tomorrow. See you there!

29/02/2024

STEARMAN STACKING!
You've just got to love this! We've all seen photos of crowded aircraft parks after WW-II in which fighters and bombers cover acres as they await scrapping. But after WW-II there were also many aircraft that had been built for other purposes such as training or transport, that had the potential to pursue post-war careers. Among these were C-47 / Dakota transports and T-6 / Harvard trainers. And then there were the Stearmans, many of which had only just begun their flying careers providing primary training for young wartime pilots, but which would go on to expand their careers into civilian training, banner-towing and crop-dusting. But in the first instance, when those WW-II training bases fell silent, the survivors of the 8,594 Model 75 Stearmans produced had to find some secure accommodation. In this remarkable photo, an estimated 150+ Stearmans have been very carefully 'racked and stacked', standing on their noses to minimise their footprint on the floor. Notice how the space between the upper and lower wings of each aircraft is occupied, right up to the inter-plane struts, by the wings of two adjacent aircraft, weaving them all together. Note also the necessary walkway allowances created to facilitate passage between these otherwise log-jammed biplanes! We are wondering if our own Classic Wings Stearman (now a 450 hp 3-seat rides plane) might be one of this group. We have not found her yet!!

22/02/2024

TBM TOASTER
It's a sad and sickening sight, but we all know that this was the fate that ultimately befell most WW-II combat aircraft. No longer useful for anything so into the pot they go!
We don't know much about this photograph but assume it was originally black and white and has been given some colorisation later. The Avenger is wearing post-war star and bars so we assume it enjoyed some post-war service before being allocated for disposal. The really sad part is the apparent sea of Corsairs resting patiently in the background with their wings folded, awaiting their turn to go into the smelter.
What an utter waste!

19/02/2024

STARS AND STRIPES SPITFIRE
This great period colour image captures really well, the memory of those Spitfires allocated to the US Army Air Force based in and around the UK during WW-II. This is of course, a photo-reconnaissance PR Mk. XI, as evidenced by its protruding chin cowling and curved windscreen that most noticeably, does not feature the central bullet proof glass shield found in most Spitfires and other fighter aircraft. Operational with the 14th Recon Sqn., 7th Photo Reconnaissance Group, the unit was based at RAF Mount Farm when the photo was taken in 1944. The unit operated their Spitfires in this role for over 20 months between 1943 and 1945 and included the first ever reconnaissance flight over Berlin by a PR Spitfire. Today this impressive service is celebrated with a fine display centred around a nicely presented static example in PR Blue at the Museum of the USAF at Dayton, Ohio, USA.

31/01/2024

LOCKHEED FIRST FLIGHT!

It was a milestone day at Ardmore Airfield, Auckland NZ today when Rob Mackley’s magnificent Lockheed 10 Electra took to the skies on its maiden post-restoration flight. Test pilot Ryan Southam made the mission look simple all the way to the greaser landing. This marks the triumphant conclusion that started for Rob in the mid 1990s when he went to Alaska to recover the derelict aircraft and bring it home for restoration. It truly must represent one of the most significant restorations to be completed this decade. Congratulations to Rob and everyone who played a part in this mission!

21/01/2024

PRIVATE BOMBER FORCE!
You could not help but be impressed by this remarkable line-up of mostly ex-military or ex-airline piston engined aircraft, all employed as fire bombers, largely in support of forest protection. Based at Abbotsford, B.C., Canada, Conair Aviation Ltd as it was at the time, became the world's largest operator of air tankers from the late 1980s through the 1990s with over 90 aircraft, so the 39 aircraft in this photograph don't represent even half of the fleet at its maximum. When Conair was formed in 1969, their principal tanker fleet was made up of 13 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers, a type which served widely in the forest protection role right up until the 1990s. Today Conair Aerial Firefighting operates around 60 aircraft with tanker duties mostly shared between DHC Dash 8s and Air Tractor 802s.

19/01/2024

WHICH YAK IS THIS?

Looking surprisingly and suddenly complete, this Yakovlev Yak-3, ZK-YYY, emerged from the JEM Aviation hangar today on its way to take temporary residence in the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre's 'Dangerous Skies' WW-II hall. If this aircraft looks familiar, it should, as it was previously an active warbird in New Zealand skies until an unfortunate incident at its Wanaka base when it struck an unseen piece of ground equipment on the grass runway and destroyed the starboard wing. Purchased by Carl and Kathy Jackson in Blenheim, it was transported to their hangar at Omaka. With help from JEM Aviation's Jay McIntyre, the restored wings from the local Yak-9V syndicate aircraft were borrowed for measurement checks whilst Carl worked on refurbishing the replacement Yak-11 wing he was able to acquire from California. So it is in this composite configuration that the Jacksons' treasure is seen by the public as a more or less intact aircraft for the first time in several years. WooHoo! Interestingly, for those less familiar with the marque, there are just five of these Yak-3 / -7 / -9 series fighters in total, located south of the Equator and amazingly, ALL of them are presently residing at Omaka, and all of them were sold via our Classic Aircraft Sales Ltd division, so that's something we are quite proud of. And what a great bunch of folks these Yak people are, knowing they have perhaps the best bang for buck serious warbird fighters available anywhere and of course, on top of their amazing performance, they are such great looking aircraft!!

16/01/2024

RADIAL RARITY OUT TODAY!
The Polikarpov Po-2 is a rare creature today, and even more so South of the Equator. Remarkably, Omaka airfield in New Zealand, has been home to the only two examples ever to come to the Australia / New Zealand region and this one has been out and about this week at the hands of JEM Aviation Proprietor Jay McIntyre. Jay has been completing some maintenance for owners Stephen and Chrystal Witte so it has been a pleasure to see it in action around our seasonally parched airfield this week. The five cylinder M-11 radial provides a distinctive soundtrack which has been described by the created term, "Chickenpluckerchickenplucker". The design of the Po-2 goes back to the 1920s, with first flight 24th June 1927, some design elements predating that considerably. Though slow and cumbersome, the aircraft provided great utility in many roles and went on to become one of the highest production aircraft of all time, with possibly as many as 30,000 having been built in Eastern Bloc countries until as late as 1959. Today, barely two dozen survive, making this lovely flying example a privilege to see every time it clatters past the Classic Wings Magazine hangar!

05/01/2024

REMEMBERING GEOFF GOODALL

I thought it appropriate to post a short note to pay tribute to a significant Australian aviation enthusiast, historian, researcher and all round great guy, Geoff Goodall who passed away yesterday. His efforts to record interesting parts of Australian aviation history covered a massive breadth and inevitably expanded into other areas of heritage aviation right around the world. He had a particular interest in older piston engined aircraft used in fire fighting in the USA and recorded many great machines in this role during the 1970s.
Choosing something I thought might be of interest to everyone, this Grumman F7F Tigercat N6129C was photographed by Geoff in Texas in October 1977. The same aircraft now flies with Rod Lewis as N700F, once again in Texas.
Geoff Goodall will be sadly missed by a great many people in the heritage aviation community right around the world. GMO

04/01/2024

JAPANESE OR CHINESE?

Colour photographs of WW-II Japanese aircraft are relatively rare, but colour images of Japanese designed and built aircraft, subsequently captured and put in service by Chinese forces, are even rarer! Most enthusiasts will recognise the shape of this type, even if by appearance only, since utilitarian machines like these never garner the level of interest that combat aircraft do.
Tachikawa produced the Ki-36 2-seat army co-op aircraft (1,334 built) and the virtually identical Ki-55 (1,389 built) as a trainer. Just three fully intact examples have survived, and not surprisingly, two of these are in China, with another in Thailand, and a recovered wreck also survives in England.

31/12/2023

FAREWELL TO 2023!
It's that time of year to hook up with some friends, and plan to enjoy some memories, maybe some time in the air together, maybe some time on the water, and be sure to keep the beer and wine chiller close by and cool! Looking forward to better things for all the world's population through the next year and for all of us who fly, may we all continue to experience happy landings. Cheers to you all from the Classic Wings and Classic Aircraft Sales Teams.

26/12/2023

MUSTANG MAGIC!!

Freshly restored after half a century in a barn, this Mustang is our cover feature subject in this latest issue of Classic Wings. Since the cover with all of its text etc is already in circulation, I thought we should provide a different slant on the fabulous angle captured by Gavin Conroy on the first official aerial sequence presenting this striking restoration. As many will know, this aircraft was recovered from the famous John Smith barn at Mapua in the north of New Zealand's South Island. Owner Brendon Deere's team has produced a magnificent fully restored aircraft from the Smith legacy and done so in a remarkably short period of time. The story makes excellent reading and the aircraft joins Brendon's excellent collection at the Biggin Hill Historic Aircraft Centre at RNZAF Ohakea, operating in conjunction with the very popular Air Force Heritage Flight of New Zealand.

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Videos

Avro Anson Mk.1 - The Inside Story

THE INSIDE STORY Seen for the first time, this new video takes you through the remarkable interior of the world's sole airworthy Avro Anson Mk.I with restorer Bill Reid providing the tour insights. The Anson embodies the most remarkable collection of correct period equipment typically used by an Anson serving as a maritime patrol bomber operating over the coast of southern England in the early stages of WW-II. This remarkable space is like a journey back in time. You have to wonder what the Oshkosh judges would think of this!

Warbirds over Wanaka 2024 flyover

WARBIRDS OVER WANAKA 2024 Well it was an airshow drought lasting six years for the people of Wanaka, New Zealand and for all the fans from around New Zealand and the rest of the world who used to look forward to the show. But that drought has now been resoundingly broken by what was arguably the most successful airshow yet held at the picturesque Otago airfield. Perfect weather, record crowds, a world class aircraft line-up and a professionally choreographed flying programme made this a seamless aerial entertainment spectacular! Heartiest Congratulations to Ed Taylor and all of the WoW organisational team, the car parking and security folks, and all the way to the pilots and maintenance shops, the modern military contingents, and to Wal Denholm and the AvSpecs team who pulled another rabbit out of the hat to get the Lewis / Summers Mosquito finished and stunning in time to become a star of the show. Congrats also to Brendon Deere and the other relentless crew who brought the former John Smith Mustang back to life in time to make its major airshow debut at Wanaka 2024! Once again, well done to everyone who played a part in the success of this magical weekend. Warbirds over Wanaka is Back!!

LOCKHEED FIRST FLIGHT! It was a milestone day at Ardmore Airfield, Auckland NZ today when Rob Mackley’s magnificent Lockheed 10 Electra took to the skies on its maiden post-restoration flight. Test pilot Ryan Southam made the mission look simple all the way to the greaser landing. This marks the triumphant conclusion that started for Rob in the mid 1990s when he went to Alaska to recover the derelict aircraft and bring it home for restoration. It truly must represent one of the most significant restorations to be completed this decade. Congratulations to Rob and everyone who played a part in this mission!

Fire Engine Fighter

FIRE ENGINE FIGHTER This fabulous old clip shows young pilot Bob DeFord flying a friend's all-red P-40N back in the 1960s. The clip is a bit scratchy but this just adds to the appeal in my view. So cool to see an old fighter being celebrated at a time when most had been scrapped. This one now flies with the CAF in Texas. Bob DeFord went on to build one of the world's only really successful full scale replicas of the Supermarine Spitfire. Bob has been flying that magnificent aircraft for over 20 years now, pulled behind an Allison V-1710 with Ham-Std propeller, a fabulous alternative to a genuine Spitfire.

classicaircraftsales.com

CORSAIR ARRIVAL Another great day at Omaka with the arrival of the Corsair FG-1D following its first test flight after six years in storage. The Corsair was ferried across the Cook Strait to Omaka by Frank Parker. New owner Mike Jones was able to accompany the delivery, flying escort with Bevan Dewes in Bevan's Harvard.

Eindecker Engine Run

OMAKA MILESTONE It was another great event at Omaka this evening as the Fokker E.III Eindecker that arrived in the country just four months ago, was fired up for the first time as a complete, intact aircraft. Four the past few months, both the airframe and the engine have benefitted from some intense scrutiny by engine specialist Tony Wytenburg, along with Wayne Tantrum, Dan Coleman and Aaron Patchett. This engine was actually built on this airfield and supplied to Andrew Carter from the Qld-based TAVAS organisation as a part of the mission to get this aircraft airborne in our part of the world. Test pilot Dan Coleman, who has flown many of the heritage aircraft on the field, enjoyed the first engine run today, before sharing the experience with a number of other local pilots. He is seen here leaning into the cockpit providing guidance to Graham Orphan (Classic Wings). Then we see Wayne Tantrum, regular pilot of the rotary powered Sopwith Pup on the airfield, running up the Monosaupape engine, followed by Aaron Patchett whose day job sees him building these engines with Tony Wytenburg's Classic Aero Machining Service. This Eindecker reproduction was built in Germany by Fokker-guru Achim Engels who is responsible for the emergence of numerous Fokker aircraft that now fly all around the world. This Eindecker, along with a D.VIII and D.VII, all of them in structurally advanced condition, was shipped to Queensland, Australia on long term loan to the TAVAS. In April this year, the trio arrived at Omaka to commence the next chapter in their colourful lives.

P-40N-1 Kittyhawk GA-C Pioneer Aero Ltd NZ Warbirds Association Inc Royal Australian Air Force Yealands Classic Fighters Omaka

Avro Anson - Airshow Drawcard

AVRO ANSON AS AN AIRSHOW DRAWCARD There is no doubt that the world's sole airworthy Avro Anson Mk.I is a huge favourite with airshow crowds, as demonstrated in this clip from the Classic Fighters Airshow at the Anson's home base at Omaka Airfield, Blenheim, New Zealand. Bill provides some wonderful insights into the process he and his team went through to complete the restoration, and then the pictures do the talking as the aircraft is displayed in a combat setting and really shows its colours. With the aircraft now on the market, it has already attracted much interest, especially from the UK and Australia, both places of significant history, so it will be interesting to see where it finds its next home! For those just wanting to see it fly, it will be displaying once again at its home base at Omaka during this coming Easter weekend at the 2023 Yealands Classic Fighters Omaka International Airshow, perhaps the last time it will be seen displaying at a New Zealand show.

Bristol Fighter First Flight

BRISTOL FIGHTER FIRST FLIGHT We are rejoicing in finally getting our replica Bristol Fighter back in the air after 40 years on the ground, mostly deep in storage. This aircraft was one of six built for the High Road to China movie in its original form. Long story short, the film was cancelled, the Bristols went into storage and I had wondered what became of them since soon after leaving high school. The 'HR2C' film was made later with a reduced plot, reduced characters, and Stampe biplanes pretending to be Bristols. My hunt for these aircraft lasted a few decades, but we finally liberated them from their deep storage, not actually that far from Hollywood - despite this particular example having last flown in the freezing wilderness of the Yukon in the 1981 film 'Death Hunt' with Charles Bronson and Lee Marvin. Test flying was conducted by Ryan Southam who, after several flights and trim-tweaks, declared it to be a delightful machine to fly. Huge thanks to Garry Stuart who led the charge on the recommissioning of this aircraft and to everyone who played a part in her journey back to full health. There'll be more on this in the next edition of Classic Wings Magazine!

Bristol Fighter First Flight!

BRISTOL FIGHTER FIRST FLIGHT We are rejoicing in finally getting our replica Bristol Fighter back in the air after 40 years on the ground, mostly deep in storage. This aircraft was one of six built for the High Road to China movie in its original form. Long story short, the film was cancelled, the Bristols went into storage and I had wondered what became of them since soon after leaving high school. The 'HR2C' film was made later with a reduced plot, reduced characters, and Stampe biplanes pretending to be Bristols. My hunt for these aircraft lasted a few decades, but we finally liberated them from their deep storage, not actually that far from Hollywood - despite this particular example having last flown in the freezing wilderness of the Yukon in the 1981 film 'Death Hunt' with Charles Bronson and Lee Marvin. Test flying was conducted by Ryan Southam who, after several flights and trim-tweaks, declared it to be a delightful machine to fly. There'll be more on this in the next edition of Classic Wings Magazine!

YAK-3 FIGHTER FANATICS! The news of the recent acquisition by Carl Jackson from Omaka, of the damaged Yak-3 fighter from Wanaka, New Zealand, has attracted significant interest from around the world, as evidenced by our previous post. For this reason we thought perhaps it might be a good time to revisit an earlier Yak-3 promo clip we produced some time ago in conjunction with the Yealands Classic Fighters Airshow at Omaka, NZ. The great action footage coupled with the informative interview with owner / pilot Graeme Frew, says all anyone needs to know about these high-performance V-12 fighters!

Scone Airshow 2022

GREETINGS FROM SCONE, NSW What a great weekend we have had at the Warbirds Over Scone Airshow! A fantastic effort was put in by so many people to make the event as good as it could be, despite at times, poor weather. Thanks to Ross Pay, the Scone based team, and to all of the warbird operators who brought their treasures from all three East Coast states to provide an all-time Australian record gathering of WW-II aircraft, and of course, special thanks to Paul Bennet and his PBA team who put all of the pieces together in their fantastically capable way! Great job everyone, the Classic Wings team had a blast!

Bristol Fighter engine run

MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE CLASSIC WINGS HANGAR.... Here's something we have been working on for a while! One of the four Bristol Fighter replicas we rescued from deep, deep, storage in the USA in 2017 has commenced engine runs on its journey back to flight status. It last flew 40+ years ago for the movie Death Hunt' with Charles Bronson and Lee Marvin. Hats off to Garry Stuart who has carried the lions share of the work to get the aircraft to this stage. It's been quite a mission!

SHE'S ALIVE! It's been a momentous day here at Omaka as the John Smith Mosquito TE910 roared into life for the first time in over half a century! This aircraft was recovered from her 'barn-find' home after decades in storage just 14 months ago, when the Smith family placed her into the care of the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre and into the hands of project leader Al Marshall. Al and his team worked miracles to bring the Mosquito to a carefully considered, balanced display status, but also took the time and care to trial run each of the engines in the test-stand prior to installation. Today, after months of additional work to prepare for the run, the aircraft was wheeled outside and fired up.....and she ran perfectly!

Yak-3 - Classic Fighters Omaka

This brilliant Russian Yak-3 was restored by JEM Aviation Ltd, next door neighbours to our own Classic Wings magazine hangar here at Omaka. The aircraft went on to make two trips to the USA to compete in the National Air Races at Reno, working all the way up to the Unlimited Gold Class! Owner/operator Graeme Frew always puts on a fantastic display at the Classic Fighters airshow at our home field. That's something you won't want to miss if you can make it here for the show over 3rd to 5th September. When not flying, Full Noise is on display in the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre's Dangerous Skies WW2 exhibition and is also available for adrenalin-filled joyrides at Fighter Flights.

Mosquito fuselage going on the wing

Another fantastic day at Omaka, where we see the Mosquito fuselage going on the wing. Great team, smooth operation, excellent outcome! Fantastic also to have the Smith family on hand to witness this milestone in the Mosquito's story. Excellent work Al Marshall, Gavin Conroy and team!