Wairarapa lands NZ aerobatics champs

The New Zealand Aerobatic Championships will run next week at Masterton's Hood Aerodrome after being held in Hawke's Bay since 1985.

The New Zealand Aerobatic Championships have, for the first time in three decades, found a new home - at Masterton's Hood Aerodrome.

The event, run by the New Zealand Aerobatic Club (NZAC), has been held in Hawke's Bay since 1985.

The club is relocating the event to Wairarapa following a real-estate build-up around the airfield at Waipukurau.

The Wairarapa and Ruahine Aero Club will host the 2015 event, and is expecting about 30 New Zealand pilots.

NZAC secretary Martyn Gosling said, thanks in part to Wairarapa's passion for all things aviation, the event will be held in Masterton "for the foreseeable future".

"As far as we're concerned, Hood Aerodrome is going to be our home."

"It helps that Wairarapa has a club and locals who are enthusiastic, and said 'this sounds like a great idea."

"If you find a place which shares your enthusiasm for aviation, you gravitate towards it."

NZAC previously held the championships at the Central Hawke's Bay Aero Club's airfield - but large lifestyle blocks built nearby were encroaching on the area, meaning limited room for aerobatic contests, Mr Gosling said.

"We used to only have farmland and a few cows to worry about.

"We've got health and safety rules we have to abide by, and it'd be too noisy for the homeowners.

"We had 29 fabulous years at Waipukurau, but sadly it's time to go."

Mr Gosling said Hood Aerodrome was an ideal new venue, because of its expansive space, walkable distance from accommodation and other amenities, Wairarapa's favourable weather conditions, and supportive aero club.

"An aviation venue needs a combination of all the right things.

"With Waipukurau, we had it just right: the field, the proximity, and the good attitudes of the locals.

"That can be hard to replicate, which is why we're very keen to stay put in Masterton."

This year's competition will feature 28 pilots and their custom-built aircraft, who perform routines within a 1000sq m "box" marked out on the aerodrome.

Routines are strict and meticulous - similar to Olympic gymnastics or dressage - and are set against international standards, which each manoeuvre judged out of 10.

Mr Gosling said pilots come from "all walks of life": from factory workers, to farmers, to commercial pilots for Emirates and Cathay Pacific.

"We have male and female pilots of all ages - some of our previous champions have been grandmothers."

Wairarapa and Ruahine Aero Club president Simone Hewson said it was exciting to be hosting the event.

"It's great for the region - we've already got the Balloon Festival and Wings Over Wairarapa, and this is yet another big event for us."

-The New Zealand Aerobatics Championships run Tuesday- Saturday. Spectator entry is free.