KEY POINTS:
When pilot David Turnock buzzed the Sky Tower on election night 2005, he proved the Royal New Zealand Air Force impotent.
In many other countries Turnock - who was later sentenced to 27 months in prison - would likely have been shepherded out to sea, then promptly shot
down.
Instead, a nation waited with bated breath until the 33-year-old ditched his plane close to the shore of a city beach.
The decommissioning of the Air Force's combat wing in 2001 meant frustrated fighter pilots could have done little more than poke broom handles at Turnock's commandeered Piper Cherokee from the windows of the Orbit restaurant. One can only wonder how the Air Force might cope with a larger, more hostile opponent.
Herald inquiries have revealed private collections of military aircraft with firepower potential sufficient to leave the RNZAF a smoking ruin on the runway.
There is already one airworthy World War II era Mk9 Spitfire in Auckland, and another one in Feilding that will "probably fly" soon, says Warbirds over Wanaka Community Trust chairman Garth Hogan.
With its Rolls-Royce Merlin engine producing 1575hp for a top speed of 642km/h, the Spitfire could be on the spot and firing its two 20mm canons and double 12.7mm machine guns in no time at all. Both Spitfires would be ably backed up by two P51 Mustangs - top speed 710km/h - and a World War II Hurricane fighter capable of hitting 506km/h with the wind behind it.
Panic stricken RNZAF pilots would barely have begun to peel the shrink wrap from the for-sale Skyhawk, s than the Wanaka-based Russian-designed Yakolev "Yak3" would appear out of the sun, or the two Auckland- and Masterton-housed P40 Kittyhawks come thundering out of nowhere. The ex-RNZAF Corsair fighter that lives in Masterton could provide a 667km/h softening up of the enemy, while awaiting the appearance of the Korean War-era Lavochkin LA9, joining the fray from Wanaka.
Private collections boast both combat and support aircraft from all the main wars of last century. There's everything from triplanes to the legendary "Huey" helicopters made famous in Vietnam War movies. Aspiring fighter pilots could choose from a wide range of training craft, while anyone who has watched an episode of M*A*S*H will be familiar with the Bell 47 helicopter - a machine still in service with the RNZAF.
