A wing and a prayer

By PAULA OLIVER

One of the world's oldest and most fragile vintage aircraft bounced its way around a windswept Wairarapa aerodrome yesterday as thousands gathered to celebrate a century of flight.

The original Bleriot XI was the star attraction at the third Wings over Wairarapa airshow, which drew planes from the original flying days of early last century through to the jet age.

Only some of the 30,000 people who watched the show over the weekend were lucky enough to see Swedish pilot Mikael Carlson and his 1918 Bleriot XI take to the sky.

Gusty winds prevented him from flying on Saturday but he eventually got the extremely light aircraft flying yesterday as Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines blasted from aerodrome speakers.

"It was a little scary," Carlson joked after he had touched down safely.

"Back when this was built, it didn't fly in these kinds of winds."

Carlson discovered the plane in pieces in a barn in the 1980s. He bought them and now owns one of only three genuine Bleriots still flying.



Following Carlson's display, the crowd were treated to examples from a century of flight.

A P51D Mustang celebrated the World War II era, while Gypsy and Tiger Moths flew closely together.

A Vampire, which was part of the Swiss Air Force in the 1950s, dazzled with a series of speedy manoeuvres, but it was a privately owned jet-fighter that provided a hair-rising experience for many visitors.

The Hawker Hunter F6, based in Auckland and owned and piloted by Dave Phillips, surprised many when it appeared suddenly and completed several noisy, low-level flypasts.

Mr Phillips then flew the jet home, and the Royal New Zealand Air Force's Red Checkers aerobatics team took to the air for a spectacular combined display.