Buffalo Beach airshow to celebrate 75 years of Mercury Bay Aero Club

NZ Warbirds' Roaring Fortys Harvard formation aerobatic team, the YAK Formation Team and precision flying displays by several other Warbird, vintage and aero club aircraft will wow the crowds. Photo / Gavin Conroy

The Mercury Bay Aero Club Inc. was formally established on October 1, 1948, and as part of the celebrations for their 75th year, a spectacular airshow will dominate the skies of Mercury Bay, off Buffalo Beach near Whitianga, on Labour Weekend from October 20-23.

The club is planning two feature events, starting with the airshow, which will run between 10am and 12pm on Sunday, October 22. The airshow is free to the public and features planes from NZ Warbirds, utilising airspace some 200-500 metres offshore.

The NZ Warbirds’ Roaring Fortys Harvard formation aerobatic team, the YAK Formation Team and precision flying displays by several other Warbird, vintage and aero club aircraft will wow the crowds.

Spectators at Buffalo and Brophy’s Beaches will have a chance to win a flight in a Warbird plane. Photo / Gavin Conroy

The show will open with a mass parachute drop of skydivers from a DC3 on to Buffalo Beach. Spectators at Buffalo and Brophy’s Beaches will have a chance to win a “lucky draw” for a flight in a Warbirds Harvard – free numbered programmes will be distributed. The lucky number is to be drawn at the Aero Club’s open day at 3pm on Sunday afternoon.

The Buffalo Beach Display will be followed by an Aero Club open day at the airfield from 12pm-4pm, where all participating airshow aircraft will be on static display - and many, including some of the Warbird aircraft and the DC3, will be available for joy rides.

Mercury Bay Aero Club president Bill Beard said the club had put on many successful airshows in its three-quarters of a century, but urbanisation of Whitianga had prompted a shift to a location off the coast.

“With the sprawl of residential housing around and adjacent to the Whitianga Airfield, we are now unable to meet NZ CAA safe clearance requirements to stage public air displays over the Airfield. With TCDC and the Mercury Bay Business Associations’ support, the aero club is in the process of sourcing sponsorship funding from local businesses to make this a spectacular and unique event to attract holiday homeowners and additional visitors to Whitianga for the long holiday weekend.”

Spectacular aerial acrobatics will feature on the day. Photos / Gavin Conroy

“This is a non-profit event generously sponsored by local Whitianga businesses to both celebrate the Mercury Bay Aero Club’s 75th jubilee and as a community gesture to attract holiday homeowners, friends, families and visitors to the peninsula after a pretty devastating period for small business owners.”