Blue sky’s, scorched Marlborough hills, large crowds with plenty of adrenalin freely flowing and another great day at Classic Fighters 2007 airshow!! I don’t think I have ever seen so many digital cameras in one place whirring away. 

 If you like the smell of aviation fuel, roaring engines, explosions, screaming fans and a awsome flying display this had to be the best. We had Zero replicas, Curtisp-40 Kittyhawks,  P 51 Mustangs,  CJ- 6 Nanchangs,  a Yak 52  and the whistling fear of the Japanese the FG-1D Corsair flown by Keith Skilling.

The pressure was on and planes were scrambling from all directions.

This pilot was a little slow of the mark but once he found his car all was well.

These 2 Kittyhawks put on a fantastic display of precision flying.

Then came the Mustangs showing off their awsome power.

This shot was the beginning of the Apocalypse Now show and was a highlight for me personally as my father had flown Corsairs.

These photos I took with a Canon PowershotS3IS so at times felt Iwas pushing the boundary’s although it never ceases to amaze me.

 This Mustang was feeling the heat of the day and we were lucky enough to see part of her powerplant exposed.

This beautifully restored  Yakovlev Yak-3  was another feature at this show and a first for many.

In this picture you maybe able to see the jet stream coming off each wing tip!!

This RAAF DHC-4 Caribou gave a very impressive display of short landings and take offs. The noise from the its 2000hp engines was extreme but added to the excitment.

Then came the Red Star Yak 52 Aerobatic display which was a fine example of precision flying.

This wingover of the Corsair is my final tribute to truly well organised and absolutely stunning air show.

Well done to the team at OMAKA.

As promised the team at Omaka presenting Classic Fighters 2007 gave us a show that will take some beating. The scene above shows the 7 Fokker Triplanes of the Red Baron’s elite squadron. These planes were part of The Great War scenario involving in total 13 WW1 planes.

One pilot commented that he felt very vunerable- they highly unstable !!  It’s not to bad once you get up in the air particularly on a day like this.

The ground display was equally impressive with some fascinating old machinery.

These planes were beautifully  restored and the paintwork outstanding all in original colours.

Just look at this Pfalz D.111 or the De Havilland above.

Fokker D.V11 on attack.

This Tiger Moth in wingover position will lead us into the next phase of the Classic Fighters airshow beautifully.

Have just heard that a newly built Royal Aircraft Factory SE5a and a Wanaka based P51- D Mustang "Dove of Peace" have been confirmed so that will mean they will have 12 airworthy WW1 aircraft on display. The SE5a has a Hispano – Suiza engine and so will be the 3rd WW1 aircraft with an authentic engine keeping company with the Sopwith Camel and Nieuport 11 with their original rotary engines

If you love Mustangs then you have to be at Omaka this Easter because there will be plenty of action.

You will see 2 P51 -D’s plus 1 or 2 T51 Titan Mustangs

This year you once again have the opportunity to win a flight in one of  four aircraft ( Stearman, Nanchang, Tiger Moth or a glider. Tickets cost $5 and are limited to 750 been available at the Official Merchandise tent at Classic Fighters.

For those of us who live in Marlborough we are privileged to have a screening of the aviation movie "Flyboys" which will have a charity screening on Thursday 5th of April at 6.30 pm. at Top Town cinema 3.

You can smell the fuel in the air as the the Classic fighters airshow is nearly ready to roll.

Everyones favourite the P51 D Mustang.

There’s rumour about that 7 of these Fokker  Dr-1 triplanes painted in the the colours of the "Red Barons" squadron  Jasta 11 will be flying this Easter at Omaka. I’m going to be there to see if this is so – are you?  In addition we’ll see the Nieuport 24 of Gilbert Discours (seen as a static
aircraft in 2005), the recently imported Fokker D.VII of Johann Janzen, and
finally the rotary engined Nieuport 11 flown by Italian Alvaro Leonardi.

These Harvard trainers put on an awsome display at our pre Christmas aerial display.

Maybe this is the mystery plane.

The Bristol Freighter wind vane will be our guide on the day.

The Marlborough landscape really makes this show along with the many volunteers and organisers, Watch this space for a selection of scenes from the show at Easter 2007 at Omaka, New Zealands oldest air club.