Warbirds crash8/18/2023 Five years ago, when the Collings Foundation was touring the former Nine-O-Nine B-17, I watched it being marshaled into parking here at Venice. But to me, it’s inarguable that hearing a Merlin in full song or four Wright R-1820s adds a dimension to the experience. You’ll learn more about them in that context than you will watching one fly by. There’s an example of just about every historically important aircraft in a museum somewhere in the U.S. So is that tradeoff worth the risk in flying these relics? In my view, yes, but just. But I’m not sure that bombers and fighters flying by for anyone not broadly familiar with the war is anything but the other reason we do airshows: for entertainment and spectacle. Ostensibly, these are supposed to be acts of patriotism whose high-minded intent is to remind viewers of the sacrifice and achievements of the World War II generation. My answer to this question has always been yes, but I’ll tell ya this, I say it with less full-throated enthusiasm than I once did. It is expected the aircraft will return to Wanaka for next year’s 30th anniversary airshow as part of the New Zealand Warbirds Association Harvard team.Its current owner is Warbirds over Wanaka pilot Liz Needham, who bought the plane in 2010.The question that always occurs to me after every airshow crash-and they’re not exactly rare-is this: Are these displays still worth doing? It has a particular poignancy for shows involving rare warbirds, for even allowing for the odd scratch-built airplane from parts, the fleet of flyable historical aircraft is fragile. Shipped to New Zealand in 1943, Harvard 57 was assembled at the Hobsonville air base and served with the Royal New Zealand Air Force until it was put into storage at Woodbourne Airport, near Blenheim, in 1972. It has been taken on a test flight by Warbirds over Wanaka pilot and display planner John Lamont. "We were able to source most of the replacement parts relatively easily but there were one of two pieces which proved a bit harder to locate and that’s what has caused the delay in getting the aircraft flying again," Mr Smith said. Twenty TwentyFour Ltd director Callum Smith said one or two parts needed for the repair proved hard to find, which caused a delay. Parts of one wing, the engine and undercarriage all needed to be repaired. Aircraft repair, maintenance and restoration company Twenty TwentyFour Ltd, based at the Wanaka Airport, were given the task of getting the 74-year-old plane airworthy again. The Harvard suffered significant damage when it ground looped while landing at airport on the Monday after the Warbirds over Wanaka International Airshow in 2016.Ī ground loop is a violent and uncontrolled horizontal rotation of an aircraft while landing, taking off, or taxiing.The pilot and his passenger were uninjured, but the undercarriage of the World War 2 era aircraft was badly damaged.īased at the Ardmore Airport in Auckland, the vintage aircraft is part of the Roaring 40s Harvard aerobatic display team. Photo: supplied.A World War 2 era aircraft which suffered significant damage after crashing during landing at Wanaka Airport last year is finally back in the sky, after being grounded for 18 months. The repairs were carried out by Callum Smith (left) and his team of engineers at Twenty TwentyFour Ltd, based in Wanaka, and taken for a test flight by Warbirds over Wanaka pilot and display planner John Lamont (right). Almost 18 months after it was damaged in a crash while landing at Wanaka Airport, World War 2 era Harvard 57 is ready to fly again.
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