Ohakea Air Show

Well, I didn’t make it to the Air show at RNZAF Ohakea, despite me best intentions.

I couldn’t even get onto State Highway 1 from Marton so I gave up and came back home. Yeah, I dragged a chair outside and watched what I could from a distance of about 20k which wasn’t quite the ringside seat I’d planned on getting, but at least I didn’t have to wait in line for coffees, pffft. Missed out on a hotdog, but!

Dang, I did wanna go to the show, but ah well, I saw some of the ‘planes including the RAAF F18 jets in a beautiful close formation right over where I where I sitting. From sunrise this morning the sky was filled with light aircraft flying in to Ohakea and I’d say the air traffic control chaps and chapesses earned their pay today. Apparently some 120 light planes were flying in and I can quite believe the number ‘cos she was busy bitta sky today by golly.

I actually feel quite ‘spoilt’ living so close to the base, because most weeks I get to see and hear the Spitfire being taken for a flight and in the last few weeks, the Grumman Avenger torpedo bomber as well. I used to ‘play’ in one of those when I were a lad, at a playground in Havelock North if we were out that way on a Sunday Drive. It was on a Pole. No, not the South one, a Steel one.

Anyone else here an air show fan? I used to go to the Wanaka show when I lived down South. I can still remember me very first air show at Napier when I was a kindy kid – I sat in a Vampire jet, I did. How goods that eh?

Paddy.

There was an air show in Cambridge, i think part of Armistice Day or some such thing. i drove by wondering 'what is that?!' but circumstances at the time prevented my normal spontaneous self to stop and look.

I would like to see it next year though