Two airshows in the wings

Chairman David Love is confident of safety at two airshows this summer. Photo / File

The Classic Flyers biannual airshow will be back next year with two shows instead of one despite the recent fatal crash of a Hawker Hunter during a display in the United Kingdom.

Organisers are confident of the Tauranga event's safety.

A vintage Hawker Hunter jet crashed into traffic on the busy A27 killing 11 people on August 23. The crash prompted the country's Civil Aviation Authority to ban vintage jets from carrying out high-energy aerobatics over land.

David Love, Classic Flyers chairman of the board of management, said safety was always the aviation museum's first concern. A detailed safety plan was drawn up before every show and display lines were put in place for the aircrafts' flying space so they never flew directly over the public, he said.

The safety plan always had to go through the Civil Aviation Authority with the licence application for the show. New Zealand had a "superb" record for safety in air shows, he said.

Mr Love could not recall an accident at an airshow in Tauranga. "We have one of the best safety records in the world. If you look at some of the accidents that happen overseas, you have got some high-performance aircraft performing pretty difficult and extreme manoeuvres. We don't really tend to get into that.

"You can do a good display without going there. Public are not put at any risk in the airshow. The air shows are made to look spectacular but we have taken the level of risk out of it."

Mr Love confirmed Classic Flyers had a Hawker Hunter.

"They are getting a bit long in the tooth ... I don't think that aircraft will fly again. It certainly won't fly again here."

Mr Love said the plan for this summer was to hold two shows instead of one.

People had often complained in the past the shows happened in the heat of the day with the weather being too warm for people's comfort, he said.

The first airshow, planned for January 23, would be moved from a day event to an evening event with a "picnic in the park" feel, he said. People could bring their own blankets and picnics and set up on the grass to enjoy the aviation entertainment.

Organisers hoped to make the two shows different but it would depend on the availability of different aircraft.

"We hope to have some surprises. I don't know what they will be yet but we are working on it."