The show is set to start in three weeks’ time, at Easter. Yesterday its Sunday show was sold out, matching the full-house sign for its Saturday show.
Warbirds over Wānaka general manager Ed Taylor said he had had plenty of people asking whether what was happening in the Middle East would impact the show, but as far as he was concerned it was all systems go.
‘‘At this stage everything is going ahead. All the US Raptors and that are coming. They’re coming out of Hawaii and they haven’t been repurposed at this stage, so we’re just fingers crossed that it’ll happen.’’
He said it was a bit of a priority for the United States Air Force Pacific Air Force’s senior officers to have a display at the show.
The USAF F-22 Raptor demonstration team of two planes are scheduled to perform on all three days of the show and will be based in Christchurch.
The Raptor team were not frontline pilots although they had that ability, he said.
A Mk XI PR Spitfire, one of only two of its kinds still flying in the world, has arrived in the country and will be shipped by container to Wānaka where it will be assembled. The availability of all other planes for the show had been confirmed.
‘‘Things can change and that is why we never guarantee any aircraft is going to be here, but it is looking good.’’
Mr Taylor said he was in daily contact with the USAF and it had given no indication of any changes.
A quartet of Lockheed Martin C-130 aircraft from the New Zealand, US, Singapore and Australian air forces will also fly in the airshow.
With the price of fuel heading skywards, Mr Taylor said it was an increase the show would have to swallow.
‘‘We’ve got contingencies in our budget for all sorts of things to happen. And that’s one of them,’’ he said.
With full houses on Saturday and Sunday, a crowd of more than 60,000 for the weekend was expected and an area at the northern end of the airport had been opened up to fit more people in.
Some spare three-day general admission passes and tickets for Friday’s practice were still available.
