The vintage aircraft such as the Spitfire, Mustang and Kittyhawk are the stars, of course.
They, their owners and pilots have been stalwarts of the Warbirds Over Wanaka Airshow since the first in 1988.
But, at Easter’s 2024 airshow, they will be sharing Wanaka Airport with a new element labelled "the future of aviation".
It includes such flying machines as:
- The IJ6180 Jetsuit which can be flown by its wearer just centimetres from the ground or to 15,000 feet (4572m).
- Kea Aerospace’s "solar-powered stratospheric aircraft" with 12.5m wingspan used for aerial photography.
- The MK-II Aurora Spaceplane, combining rocket performance with aircraft economy, designed with satellite-launching capability in mind.
- Electric Air’s Pipistrel Alpha Electro electric plane.
- Swoop Aero’s drone "logistics platform" designed for use in delivering such things as medicine.
General manager Ed Taylor said this week the addition to the traditional programme was a nod to sustainability.
"We want aviation to be sustainable as much as it can be."
And, Mr Taylor said there were another five or six exhibitors who were in the process of being signed up for the show, including a "major international aircraft engine manufacturer" and a company trialling autonomous air taxis in the Mackenzie Country.
Mr Taylor, who usually turns down offers of rides in aircraft, said he would be first to volunteer for a "little two-seater" taxi.
"I’d love to do it.
"I’ve said I’ll be a dummy for them, if they want.
"You can imagine it — like it would land somewhere like Pembroke Park (Wanaka) and you order it like an Uber.
"You jump in it and it’s already pre-programmed to take you to Queenstown Airport.
"Cool.
"That’s the future.
"And so we want to show that."
Mr Taylor acknowledged it was such things as the "roar of the Merlin engine" in a Spitfire that drew many fans to the show.
"But we think this ‘future of aviation’ exhibition’s going to go off."
The last airshow was in 2018, with two Covid-19 related cancellations since then.
The first came just weeks before the show was scheduled in April 2020; the second with more warning in 2022.
Mr Taylor said that left the show "right down to our last few dollars".
"We haven’t had any ticket revenue since 2018 ... so we’ve had to survive on the generosity of our funders.
"They’ve been magnificent."
The cancellations also stymied plans for a display by a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bomber and by a Royal Australian Air Force Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter, although the Australian plane is still a possibility for next year’s show.
"We’re hoping; fingers crossed. We may hear about that before Christmas."
Mr Taylor said some "pent-up demand" for tickets was already evident with the 500 sites for campervans on the hill above Wanaka Airport already booked out.
The airshow will again call on the range of vintage aircraft in New Zealand .
It will feature, for example, a recently restored P51 Mustang that had not flown for 67 years and had been kept in a shed at Mapua, near Nelson, for decades.
As well, an American Corsair last seen at the show in 2016 would be back with its new owner.
Mr Taylor hoped the Royal New Zealand Air Force would return with what could be the last airshow for its C-130 Hercules, which are being replaced by a bigger, more modern version due to enter service after the airshow.
"So it’ll be quite a sentimental airshow because [the old] Hercules has been coming here for years ... "
Mr Taylor said there were "another couple of big acts" yet to be announced.
"We tend to not talk about aircraft until we’re fairly sure that they’re going to be here because we don’t want to disappoint people."
Asked if the jetsuit would fly, Mr Taylor said he was not sure because of regulations to do with having a crowd nearby.
One of the changes since the last airshow six years ago will be the absence of New Plymouth pilot Brett Emeny who died earlier this year.
Mr Emeny flew many different aircraft, including the Catalina flying boat that he landed on Lake Wanaka.
His contribution would be recognised at the airshow.
The Catalina was not flying at the moment and Mr Taylor was unsure if it would be back but a Grumman Widgeon was ready to take its place.
Mr Taylor confirmed the show’s founder and patron, Sir Tim Wallis (85) was expected to attend as usual.
It will be Mr Taylor’s last airshow as general manager, although he plans to make himself available for other roles.
