TVAL flying weekend 28-29 January 2017

[KiwiZac]

Hi all,
I can't believe I'm beating Jamo to the punch with this!  Beautiful blue skies and minimal wind over the past weekend at Hood Aerodrome made for a nice amount of flying. Apparently Saturday had a bit more "on" (engine run for the LVG, for example) but I couldn't attend due to prior commitments. So I decided to gamble (3.5hr drive from home) that the forecast gusty northwesterlies would stay away yesterday. They did!











(not bad for iPhone photos, right? They're a bit darker than I'd like, I may tinker with them)

And some videos!
https://youtu.be/ThA1YkyaDqE
I don't actually like Camels (Jamo and I had a nice chat about the WNW version) but it was a real thrill to see and hear the recently restored original fly in person. I couldn't help but smile when Gene brought it overhead.
https://youtu.be/fTQg_8bqGiE
The BE.12. It really sounds like a sewing machine! When taxiing it sounds very clattery.
https://youtu.be/x9zsobEfx34
John Lanham, who flew this D.VIII yesterday, rates it as the best fighter produced by Imperial Germany. He spoke to the visitors after lunch for a few minutes when the BE.12 went up again, it was interesting to hear from him.

[lcarroll]

    Thanks for the wonderful photos Zac, and the videos. The shot of the Camel with three vintage birds on the skyline makes me very envious of your good fortune to be there. A visit to such a weekend event is very high on my "Bucket List", great weather and all those beautiful aircraft, what a thought!
Cheers,
Lance

[Des]

What a thrill it must be to be so close to all those beautiful aircraft, the photos are fantastic as are the three videos, thank you for posting them.

Des.

[KiwiZac]

Thank you gentlemen!

We are extremely lucky - jamo lives about an hour away, I think. We were very fortunate with the weather yesterday, although by all accounts Saturday was even better.

My last two engine start videos: https://youtu.be/TeO_zvIuydE (the Nieuport XI) and https://youtu.be/91cpY9SHgCM (the BE.2C {late})

[Juan]

Thank you very much for posting.  Looks like a great time seeing these aircrafts up-close.

[KiwiZac]

My pleasure, Juan. I'm very happy to share the experience for those not lucky enough to get to one of these events. For anyone like Lance possibly planning a visit to New Zealand and hoping to attend, TVAL posts the dates here: http://thevintageaviator.co.nz/airshows/flying-weekends

A friend who was there (and lives locally! lucky devil) recorded these lovely videos of the LVG's late Saturday engine run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8OXeCdN1A8, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8riVwQg2qng

[Alpha Delta 210]

Beautiful machines under a beautiful sky! What more could one ask for? Thanks for posting.

[KONG]

I notice now that 'money grabbing' PHOTOBUCKET, is now leaving posted pictures unaccessible, forcing folks to pay up.
Lots of pictures are now not showing.

[KiwiZac]

I've taken everything and put it on Flickr and will happily repost anything requested