ANZAC WW1 Airshow at Masterton : Fokker D.VII and formation shots

Oops - I almost forgot to include a picture of the Fokker D.VII, so here it is. This is followed by a couple of extra photos of single aircraft and then by a bunch of formation pictures from throughout the day.

I hope you've enjoyed this series! If you like these aircraft, then keep an eye out for the major airshows. Generally speaking, some of these aircraft appear at airshows in Masterton, Omaka and the Wings Over Wanaka airshow.

So there we are. I finished last month off with the RNZAF's 75th Anniversary airshow at Ohakea airbase, featuring some very modern aircraft, and I finish this month off with another airshow featuring some very old aircraft. All in all, a good 4 weeks! :-)

ANZAC WW1 Airshow at Masterton : Sopwith Camel

The final aircraft I am highlighting from the show is the Sopwith Camel. This is perhaps one of the more famous WW1 aircraft; certainly from a fairly well know manufacturer from that era. This year the aircraft was also in formation with the Sopwith Triplane [bottom picture]. A nice touch!

Enjoy these photos - and the next posts will be a collection of the aerial formation shots that haven't made it into other posts.

ANZAC WW1 Airshow at Masterton : Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a

This post has the RAF SE.5a, a nice looking single-seat fighter.

ANZAC WW1 Airshow at Masterton : Royal Aircraft Factory RE.8

Here's another interesting aircraft - the RAF RE.8 - 'RE' referring to 'Reconnaissance Experimental'. Interesting perhaps because of the position of the gunner [pretty much, if not actually, standing in the rear cockpit]. Also, I'm not sure I would want to go into battle, flying something with the word 'experimental' in its name. I guess those were much different days!

ANZAC WW1 Airshow at Masterton : Curtis P-40E Kittyhawk

Getting away from the WW1 theme for a few minutes, but always great to see, was this Curtis P-40E Kittyhawk! Fast, noisy, big and impressive, it was the perfect machine to spice things up and get the airshow moving a bit faster. It's also amazing to think that this aircraft was flying around barely more than 20 years after many of the other machines in the airshow. Technology moves fast!

The only downside to this, is that I'm still not very good at photographing very fast moving objects, especially since I'm standing still on the ground... not that I'm complaining! Anyway, here are some of the better photographs I managed to get.

ANZAC WW1 Airshow at Masterton : Sopwith Triplane

The next aircraft was the Sopwith Triplane. This is a replica of the original [as distinct from TVAL's reproduction aircraft], as according to the TVAL website, there were a number of changes from the original, including "simplified construction techniques. Some of the modifications included a steel tube fuselage, modern engine, and simplified wing construction". Still, I guess you wouldn't really know it just be looking at the exterior.

ANZAC WW1 Airshow at Masterton : Albatross DVa

This post is of the Albatross DVa aircraft. A nice looking aircraft - in some ways reasonably "modern" with a more rounded fuselage and a spinner.

One thing I forgot to highlight in previous posts is that if you want more information about many of these WW1 reproduction aircraft, the best place to start is the website of  "The Vintage Aviator" [TVAL]. TVAL are the manufacturers of these aircraft and they have lots of photos and video of the aircraft flying and being built. It is amazing how much effort TVAL go to in order to get every little detail just right! Well worth a visit!

ANZAC WW1 Airshow at Masterton : Fokker DVIII

Another first of type for me was the Fokker DVIII. This Fokker is a high wing monoplane instead of the "usual" WW1 bi- and tri- planes. Nice! Later on I'll have some general flying shots including the formation with other types, but for now I'll stick with just 3 of them.

ANZAC WW1 Airshow at Masterton : Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2b

In a "first of type" for me, I got to see the RAF FE.2b aircraft flying at the airshow. The aircraft is configured with a "pusher prop" configuration - no doubt a benefit when trying to fire forwards before working out how to avoid hitting the propeller, as with most other designs.

I particularly like the gunner/ observer position at the very front. Probably extremely cold, but a great view if you had the time. It would be great to check it out for myself... I doubt I will get the chance, but dreams are free :-)

Note the friendly crew - the pilot is waving in a couple of the pictures.

ANZAC WW1 Airshow at Masterton : Nieuport 11 Bede

A perennial favourite of mine is the Nieuport 11 Bede. I'm not sure exactly what it i - it puts on a good display of course, but maybe it's a paint job... maybe that monkey reminds me of some people I know! If you recognise anyone, feel free to leave a comment... :-)

The Nieuport's engine, in common with many engines of the era, is a rotary engine, in which the entire engine rotates. The gyroscopic forces must be interesting to content with...

Also, if you look at the first picture vs the others, you get an idea of the weather for the day... grey, dull and raining for a while, but clear for most of the day.

ANZAC WW1 Airshow at Masterton : Fokker Dr.1 Dreidecker

In this post are the awesome Fokker Dr.1 Dreidecker triplanes. It is always good to see these aircraft flying around in formation - they are a great looking aircraft - more-so when there are several of them flying around at once :-)