Air Show - A grand and generous 75th celebration

By Pauline Stewart.

Mercury Bay Aero Club was formed in 1948, one year after the first aircraft visited from Auckland Aero Club, landed on Buffalo Beach and spent the night parked in a nearby paddock.

That was 75 years ago. A great deal has happened since then and the result of 75 years is worth celebrating - 166 members, a well-functioning airport for commercial flights and for local and national recreational pilots. It is an organisation, financially healthy and with strong future plans. The Mercury Bay Aero Club issued a hearty and colourful invitation to the community, in fact the whole Peninsula and Waikato to share in their celebrations and the people responded appreciatively in large numbers. The Air Show and the Airfield Open Day on Sunday 22 October were two events full of excitement, involvement and a very high standard of presentation, with some the best show pilots in New Zealand and a host of vintage aircraft, warbirds, performing aircraft and sky diving from a DC-3.

Organiser, Bill Beard who is also a past President and Evan Wheeler, current President of the Aero Club are very pleased with how the events have gone. Alastair Brickell of Star Gazers Kuaotunu, and also the President of Mercury Historical Society, sent in a letter to the Editor just at the time of going to print, which sums up the Air Show and the joy of the 75th Celebrations.

Bill Beard acknowledges the sponsors without whom there wouldn't have been an Air Show: Gallagher Insurance, TCDC, Whitianga Waterways, Smittys, GoFuel Aviation, AeroShell,

OPC, MBBA and the local media.

Caption: Some of crowd watching on the Air Show.