The world's most experienced pilot of the legendary World War I British fighter plane, the Sopwith Camel, will bring all the thrills of the dogfight to the Classics of the Sky Air Show at Tauranga Airport tomorrow.
Gene De Marco of Vintage Aviation will be looping the loop and defying gravity as his Camel and a little French-built aircraft, the Nieuport, take on the might of Germany's Fokker triplane and Albatross.
The organisers of the air show commemorating the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I say the weather forecast is coming right for tomorrow, stating the show will go ahead no matter what. Today is practice day, with tickets costing $20.
Mr De Marco spent Thursday attaching the wings to the fuselages of the Camel and Nieuport which were trucked to Tauranga from Masterton especially for the massed dogfight, to be followed by a one-on-one "Snoopy and Red Baron" encounter.
The replica Fokker and Albatross were flown from Masterton because they had modern replica engines, unlike the Camel and Nieuport which, although exact replicas, were powered by original 100-year-old engines.