The last time I went to an air show of any kind was Classic Fighters 2017. So it was with great excitement that I planned a return trip for Classic Fighters 2025.
Alas, it was not to be. A quite serious weather system was forecast to lash the country over Easter, so on the preceding Monday, the organisers reluctantly had to cancel the show. Bugger!
A big part of why I finally decided to return for 2025 is I now have family living in Blenheim and I had been offered free ‘taxi service’ and a place to sleep. This makes it much easier! I decided to go ahead with my trip anyway, as I could still visit my family.
The family situation also meant I had much more flexibility with flights, so I decided to fly across on Friday and back on Monday. For the first time, I flew with Sounds Air. That was fun!
On arrival, my sister picked me up and took me home. My brother-in-law headed off to Omaka (site of the show that wasn’t) to help set up space for a dinner that night. Bonus number 1 — he was invited, and so was I!
No sooner had he arrived at the airfield than he called and suggested we hot-foot it down there, as there was significant activity on the airfield. It seemed several pilots had an itch to fly while the weather held.
I said the Focke Wulf was the second most desired aircraft for me. The first was this stunning aircraft. It is Lockheed L10A Electra, ZK-AFD. The polish of the aluminium has to be seen to be believed. No photos do it justice.
Note that it wears different markings left and right. On the right, it is Linea Aerea Nacional of Chile. On the left, Union Airways of New Zealand.
Shortly after the Electra landed, the rain arrived. As we headed for the car, I snapped one more aircraft which had only just been wheeled out.
The Friday night dinner was an abbreviated version of that which would have taken place after the show, to give out awards to participants and volunteers. While the participant awards could obviously not been given, the volunteers had put in a LOT of work already and so those awards were given.
A full and frank account was given by the show organiser of the cancellation decision. It was clear to all present that it had to happen. I had been privy back in September to the “special prop” for this show. This night we were told the story behind it, which was riveting. It’ll be saved up for 2027, as will most of the preparations. 2027 is going to be bigger and better than 2025 promised to be.
The best part of the dinner, though, was the setting. The work my brother-in-law had been involved in was moving aeroplanes out of the way. The dinner was held inside the Dangerous Skies exhibition hall of the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre!
The rest of the weekend was aviation-free until I flew home on Monday. This time I got my wish to fly in the ‘proto-Caravan’, ZK-PDM. This aircraft has been in the Sounds Air fleet since 1996!
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