Havelock North's Jeff Clarkson with his 1917 Fokker triplane, as used by the Red Baron in WWI, at the Hawke's Bay Radio Flyers' airfield at Awatoto, Napier, ahead of this weekend's Warbirds over Awatoto display. Photo/Duncan Brown
For the pilots of radio-controlled model aircraft the Awatoto airfield off Waitangi Rd which is home base for the Hawke's Bay Radio Flyers club is as good as it gets.
"There is plenty of room for the bigger aircraft and the jets," club captain John Sutherland said.
And that room, as well as the usually reliable flying conditions and quality of the whole base set-up, has always drawn good numbers of pilots from all over the country to the Bay for the annual Warbirds Over Awatoto which is being staged again this weekend.
"We are the only club in New Zealand that does a public display now," Mr Sutherland said, adding that other centres tended to encounter health and safety and other issues when seeking a show site.
The club was granted a lease of the present 5ha former riverside farm site by the Hawke's Bay Regional Council back in 1992.
It operates just inside the fringe of the Hawke's Bay Airport-controlled airspace, and like the council, the airport management had also been supportive of the club.
"The council were very supportive and we've been here ever since - it is a great site and we are looking to host about 40 to 50 pilots from around the country this weekend," Mr Sutherland said.
Add that to the around 100 local members of the club and the two-day flying outlook appears to be a colourful and spectacular one.
"There will be aircraft from all eras," Mr Sutherland said.
That means everything from Word War I biplanes and the three-wing Fokker triplanes through to World War II fighter and bomber aircraft and the more modern-age jets.
There will also be helicopters.
The jets, Mr Sutherland said, were getting very sophisticated today.
"There are a couple of big ones coming up from Wellington and they've put turbines in them."
He will be flying two aircraft which were once opponents in the World War II skies.
One is a Russian Lavochkin LA7 and the other a German Focke Wulf Fw190 which he built from scratch over six years, sending it up for its maiden flight back in 2011.
"So it's done a bit of flying - it goes pretty well."
He is currently at work building a "long-nose" quarter-scale Fw190.
"I purchased the original plans from Bremen in Germany and I've got another two or three years' work to do on it yet."
Mr Sutherland said like any pilot preparing for a display flight all eyes are on the weekend weather and at this stage the forecast for both days is looking pretty good.
The ideal would be a 10 to 15 knot sea breeze going down the runway, which is what rolled through a couple of weekends back.
"That would be absolutely perfect."
Entry for the Saturday and Sunday display days, which kick off at 10am, is $5 a car with plenty of parking available along with food and drink stalls.