Wanganui Aero Club putting on a show at Whanganui Vintage Weekend open day

Tom Martin and Jonathan Mauchline of the Wanganui Aero Club check out a 1946 Auster A110 J1N to make sure it is ready for the club's open day. Photo / Bevan Conley

An extensive range of vintage aircraft will be in the spotlight at the Wanganui Aero Club’s open day.

It will be held at Whanganui Airport on January 21 as part of the annual Whanganui Vintage Weekend.

The club’s chief flight instructor, Jonathan Mauchline, said he hoped the event would instil an interest in flying and vintage aeroplanes.

“Quite a few vintage aeroplanes live here - it’s sort of like vintage cars I suppose,” Mauchline said.

“People can get a feeling of what aviation was back in the 1940s [and] 1930s and see why we’re trying to keep it alive,” he said.

Club members had “a huge amount of passion” for flying and for the historical preservation which came with maintaining older aircraft.

Mauchline said 2023 had been a quieter year for the club, as was expected when the cost of living took a sharp increase. However, it did not dampen club members’ enthusiasm.

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“It’s very much a passion for people so everyone who is involved is very time invested,” he said.

“That’s what keeps it alive.”

There are just over 100 club members and 30 privately owned planes on the airfield.

The oldest club member still regularly flying solo is 93.

“He comes out every couple of weeks, pulls his aeroplane out of the hanger, does a few laps of the circuit, a few landings then puts it back,” Mauchline said.

“It’s absolutely fantastic.”

He said there was no age limit to get into flying.

“Some of the younger fellas do their lessons early and try and do their first solo flight on their 16th birthday - the legal minimum age they can do it.

“It’s great for them. They learn a bit of responsibility and it’s very character-developing.”

There are three American-built training aircraft - a pair of two-seater Piper Tomahawks and a four-seater Cessna.

“Our training aeroplanes are available for lease as well. We regularly hire them out to members at pretty reasonable rates,” Mauchline said.

John Luff's Venom plane will be in Whanganui for the open day. Photo / Bevan Conley

While learning to fly was not cheap, it was “a perfectly achievable thing”.

“Younger people have self-funded their lessons by working at McDonald’s or with holiday jobs.

“There is no time limit on learning, either. Someone doing a lesson every week will probably knock out their entire licence in a year. If you spread it out to a lesson every month or so, it will take three or four years.

“That’s not an issue - it’s all about the journey rather than the destination.”

Mauchline said they hoped for more planes to be at the open day to provide entertainment rather than only static displays.

A de Havilland Venom and an ex-RNZAF BAC Strikemaster will take to the skies.

The Venom is owned and operated by John Luff and Mauchline said it was a particularly significant craft.

“It’s the only one flying in the Southern Hemisphere, and possibly even the world at the moment, so we’re very lucky to have them there.”

The Strikemaster - NZ6372 - was one of 16 flown by 14 Squadron and is the only remaining one of its kind flying in New Zealand.

Mauchline’s Piper Cub is the oldest flying aircraft in the club.

It has no brakes, no electrical system and requires a hand crank to start.

The plane recently made its way back to Whanganui and will be on display on the day.

He said the club was very social and there were always activities going on.

“Just the other day, we decided off the cuff to take four or five aeroplanes tootling down the beach to Foxton for lunch.

“We also had a good contingent for this year’s First in the World fly-in in Masterton.”

That event was held at Whanganui in 2023, with around 35 private planes making the trip to Whanganui Airport on New Year’s Day.

The open day is from 9am to 4pm on Sunday, January 21.

Entry is $5 for adults, and children under-14 can get in free.

Drinks and food will be available and donations to the club can be made.

Finn Williams is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. He joined the Chronicle in early 2022 and regularly covers stories about business, events and emergencies. He also enjoys writing opinion columns on whatever interests him.