Miscellaneous Aviation Articles »

Great Success At Classic Flyers 2024

Classic Flyers has once again put on a great open Aero Day event for locals and visitors to Tauranga (New Zealand), with the day turning out sunny, and with the hardworking team hosting several thousand happy visitors to the airport. Coinciding with several other events being hosted by the city, the Aero Day proved to be a big drawcard for visitors to the region who've not experienced a Classic Flyers event before.

After the show, Classic Flyers CEO, Andrew Gormlie noted

"...the weather was looking a bit dodgy in the morning but it cleaned up really well. For a bunch of reasons, we've changed the configuration of the event over the last decade. One of them being the weather -- the variable nature of Kiwi weather at this time of year -- it's quite possible for events to have to be cancelled at the last minute."

"Plus of course there's our relationship with our airfield neighbours, because as the local community grows and builds there's congestion levels, so we can't just commandeer a great big quiet paddock, it's a busy field. We have had to tailor the event, and in that regard this Aero Day was a bit of an experiment -- we've asked more neighbours for a bit of space and used a horseshoe shaped footprint this time around, and it seems to have worked. It gave us enough access, we didn't bust the car parks, we got everybody off the road, and we had a lot of people out there and still had some aerial displaysn as well.

In discussing what advantages Classic Flyers has in running events such as this, Andrew said:

"Our location helps. We're on one of the best accessible airfields in New Zealand, in the middle of the town. We've still got airspace where we can run air displays, so we're situated quite well. It's a good airfield, well run, tidy, and our community here is very supportive. We couldn't run a day like this if everybody wasn't happy for us to do it.

"So we enjoy that relationship with them, and everybody wants to have some fun don't they? Aviation of course, we can put it straight in front of them all right here, and it has a really good synergy with the hospitality element here at Classic Flyers. We do lots and lots of functions, a lot of people come here for business, and we see lots of kids through, especially with school groups. "

In addition to the ground running of several aircraft engines, the crowd was also treated to flying displays by several formation groups. The New Zealand Warbirds Association's 'Roaring 40's' Harvard display team flew a noisy routine as usual which satisfied those who'd come to hear the throated roar of WW2-era aircraft engines. The Red Star Yak-52 aerobatic team also thrilled the crowd with their precision aerobatics, as did the Royal New Zealand Air Force's Black Falcons team in their Beechcraft Texan II trainers.

When asked about whether these events would become more regular again, Andrew commented

"I hope so. We're always testing and re-checking our format and seeing what we can do that might be a little different, and at the same time still engineer it so it's workable. "

"Our standard slot without asking anybody else (for the next event) generally is this time in two years. But of course, we're part of the New Zealand Airshow Association and we chatter about it together, and in this game I feel that it doesn't actually have to be regular. Regular intention is good, but if somebody else had a bigger need we'd probably step aside that year and move it across (to another time)."

Share This Story :

---

Other Stories and Videos:

Please consider subscribing to HMTV, or buy us a drink to support our historical (story and film) preservation endeavours.