The Mk14 Spitfire out on the grounds ahead of the 2023 Classic Fighters Omaka Airshow. Photo: Facebook / Yealands Classic Fighters Omaka
Vintage aircraft will return to Marlborough's skies as part of the Classic Fighters Omaka Airshow after a four-year hiatus.
The event was last held in 2019 and two attempts to hold the show in 2021 were thwarted by Covid-19 restrictions.
Classic Fighters Airshow general manager Gavin Conroy said three aerobatic teams, four World War I fighters and seven World War II fighters were part of this year's line-up.
"We've got seven [WWII fighter planes] which I think is every one you can get ahold of in New Zealand so that's a pretty big deal for a start."
There will also be a full-size replica of the German V-2 rocket, which stands at 15m, and a ground re-enactment team demonstrating how it worked.
"We have the airplanes in the air, vehicles on the ground, all just giving the crowd an idea of what it was like back in World War II," Conroy said.
It was not about glorifying war, but remembering what people had to live through, he said.
The Royal New Zealand Air Force will be in Omaka with a Hercules aircraft, and the Royal Australian Air Force are also bringing a transport aircraft across the ditch.
Conroy said one of the aerobatic teams was made up of nine Yakovlev Yak-52 aicraft and at least 50 classic aircraft would take to the skies across the three-day event.
It will also be the largest gathering of Waco Biplanes in Australasia.
Two are originals built in 1936 and 1941 and imported from the United States. The remaining three are classic 1930s Waco designs recreated and returned to production by the Classic Aircraft Corporation/WACO.
"We still get aeroplanes from around the countryside, but we are pretty lucky that at Omaka. We've got a lot of aeroplanes and our collection just seems to get bigger and bigger all the time," Conroy said.
They were expecting anywhere between 12,000 and 15,000 people to attend the event, he said.
"It'd be good to see everybody makes a turnout, because it's been tough for years getting this to happen.
"It's a massive economic boost for the town, so it's great that we can get it going again, and it will be nice to get everybody back together from around Marlborough and the country."
Planes will be in the air from 10am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday, with a practice day from 4pm to 6.30pm on Friday.
The airshow is the major fundraiser for the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, a world-class aviation museum in Marlborough.