The New Zealand Warbirds Harvard Teams

As well known in airshow circles as the RNZAF's Red Checkers are the various Harvard teams of the New Zealand Warbirds Association. These began on a small scale but worked up over time to a full routine which emulated that of the Red Checkers during their Harvard days. Many of the pilots had previously flown with the RNZAF team, others were civil pilots.

So first there was a two-ship team. It then became a three-ship, then a four-ship team, and eventually a five-ship display was worked up. They were known originally as The Warbirds Formation Aerobatic Team.

This main team, with a few member changes, took on the identity The Roaring Forties, which apparently referred both to the southern latitude lines of New Zealand, and more so to the age of the pilots and the aircraft, both into their forties when the team formed.

Unlike the RNZAF Red Checkers team, the Roaring Forties displays have had to rely upon the availability of pilots who were mostly commercial flyers with airlines and the likes doing all the practices and displays in their spare time. So during a season the five-man team may have actually included many more different pilots as and when available.

Also for smaller events there was a separate team of three Harvards which was known as 'The Harvard Team' and later 'The A Team'.

So all these factors make it a challenge to attempt to document the teams accurately here, and unless I were to have the opportunity to access each and every pilot's logbook to notate every display date and venue of these teams, it's going to prove very difficult. So there are gaps, and there may well be some vagueness and perhaps inaccuracies here. If you can offer any firm facts to add to or correct the lists below, please contact me

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The Warbirds Harvard Pair

The Warbirds Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team

The Roaring Forties

Above: An early shot of the Warbird Harvard Aerobatic Formation Team. Ernie Thompson is piloting NZ1066 (ZK-ENE) at the right of shot, John Denton is flying NZ1098 (ZK-ENI) whilst Trevor Bland flies NZ1092 (ZK-WAR ).

The Warbirds Harvard Pair

Display Dates	Venue	Pilots	Notes
1979 Harvard Pair _________________________________________Harvard
April 1979	AACA Fly-in, Te Kowhai	Trevor Bland Ernie Thompson	ZK-ENI ZK-ENE
Note: In the early displays by TT Bland and Ernie Thompson, Trevor usually flew ZK-WAR and Ernie flew his ZK-ENE.

The Warbirds Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team

Display Dates	Venue	Pilots	Notes
The Warbirds Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team 1979 __________Harvard
17th of Nov 1979 ________________	New Plymouth ____________________	Trevor Bland John Denton Ernie Thompson	NZ1092 NZ1098 NZ1066
Notes: Ernie Thompson describes the type of displays done by the team whilst he flew with it: "These displays consisted a formation of three beginning with a series of loops in tight formation several low runs (50 feet) canopies to the crowd the solo would break away and do full show the remaining two would do line astern rolls and chandelles. The formation would group up and finish with low level buzz and break with the leader doing a looping break sometimes. On some occasions formation landings were carried out as well."
The Warbirds Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team 1980 __________Harvard
6th of Jan 1980 26th of Jan 1980 20th of Apr 1980	Whitianga Te Kowhai, Ardmore	_____Trevor_Bland_____ John Denton Ernie Thompson	NZ1092 NZ1098 NZ1066
The Warbirds Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team 1981 __________Harvard
25 January 1981 7 February 1981 24 April 1981	Taupo Pauanui Rukuhia	Trevor Bland John Denton Ernie Thompson	NZ1092 NZ1098 NZ1066
The Warbirds Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team 1982 __________Harvard
14 February 1982	Gisborne	Trevor Bland Brian Rhodes Ernie Thompson	NZ1092 NZ1098 NZ1066
20 February 1982 27 February 1982 5 March 1982	New Plymouth Thames Rukuhia	Trevor Bland John Denton Ernie Thompson	NZ1092 NZ1098 NZ1066
The Warbirds Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team 1983 __________Harvard
12 March 1983 26 March 1983 19 November 1983	New Plymouth RNZAF Wheuapai Tokoroa,	Ernie Thompson Ross Ewing Trevor Bland John Denton	NZ1066 NZ???? NZ1092 NZ1098
3 December 1983	Kerikeri	Ernie Thompson Derek Williams Brian J. Rhodes	NZ1066 NZ1091 NZ1098
Notes: Ross Ewing recalls: "The Warbirds Harvard Formation Aerobatic team (later The Roaring Forties) has its origins on at an airshow at Whenuapai when a team led by Ernie Thompson, with Ross Ewing, Trevor Bland and John Denton on his wing, put on a display. John Denton also performed solo aerobatic manoeuvres. None of the aircraft had smoke generators fitted and one aircraft did not have a radio." Ernie Thompson lead the team, and Ross Ewing flew at No. 2, with Trevor Bland at No. 3 and John Denton at No. 4 (and soloist).
The Warbirds Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team 1984__________Harvard
7 January 1984	Tauranga Truck Show	Trevor Bland John Denton Ernie Thompson	NZ1092 NZ1098 NZ1066
8 January 1984	Tauranga Six-ship formation Flyby then team aerobatics routine by Thompson, Bland, Denton and Ewing	Ernie Thompson Trevor Bland John Denton Ross Ewing Rodney Dahlberg Bamford	NZ1066 NZ1092 NZ1098 NZ1078 NZ1096 NZ1033
29 January 1984	Masterton Flyby by six-ship followed by team aerobatics by Lanham, Thompson and Ewing	John Lanham Ernie Thompson Ross Ewing Derek Williams Brian Rhodes Rex Brereton	NZ1033 NZ1066 NZ1078 NZ1091 NZ1098 NZ1076
18 February 1984	RNZAF Base Ohakea	Ernie Thompson John Lanham Poulton Keith Skilling John Denton	NZ1066 NZ1033 NZ1065 NZ1098 NZ1092
The Warbirds Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team 1985__________Harvard
4 March 1985	Paraparaumu	Ernie Thompson John Denton Trevor Bland John Lanham	NZ1066 NZ1098 NZ1092 NZ1033
Notes: This was the last show for Ernie Thompson
The Warbirds Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team 1987__________Harvard
25th of Jan 1987 1st April 1987 4-5 April 1987 11-12 April 1987	RNZAF Whenuapai RNZAF Wigram RNZAF Ohakea RNZAF Whenuapai	Ross Ewing Keith Skilling John Lamont John Denton (soloist)	No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4
Notes: Ross Ewing recalls: "This team worked up in December 1986 and gave its first show at Whenuapai on 25 January. Then, in April 1987, it toured the country giving airshows in conjunction with the RNZAF's 50th Anniversary airshow celebrations. These displays were at Whenuapai, Ohakea and Christchurch. This team was known as the NZ Warbirds Association Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team, and the name "The Roaring Forties" did not come about until that team disbanded."   Above: The 1987 Harvard formation aerobatic team, seen here at an airshow at Whenuapai early in 1987. The four (left to right) are: Keith Skilling, Ross Ewing, John Denton and John Lamont. Ross Ewing led this team, and John Denton was the No.4 solo man. Photo kindly submitted by Ross Ewing Ross Ewing says, "This photo was taken during a display at Whenuapai in early 1987. Ross Ewing is leading in the yellow-coloured "Harvard 78" (ZK-ENG) and Keith Skilling and John Lamont are on his wing (not sure who's on which side). John Denton is behind and his aircraft "98" is sporting the small-sized chequers. The RNZAF went to larger-squared chequers, but I'm not sure when or why. Personally, I think the smaller ones looked better!" Ross Ewing Photo The reason of the change from smaller to larger chequers was two-fold, one the larger ones were easier to paint for the ground support staff, and two the larger chequers were easier to see form the ground by the audience.

The Roaring Forties

Display Dates	Venue	Pilots	Notes
The Roaring Forties Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team - 1988
		Keith Skilling John Denton John Lamont Robbie Booth Steve Taylor	No. 1
Notes: Ross Ewing recalls how the new team name of The Roaring Forties came about: "The name was dreamed up in the Warbirds bar one night by ex-RAF Avro Shackleton pilot "Abe" Lincoln. A new Harvard team led by Keith Skilling was established and in his team were Robbie Booth, John Lamont, and Steve Taylor, with John Peterson flying the 5th aircraft as solo display pilot. At around this time another new member of the team, John Greenstreet, was killed in a crash following a mid-air collision during a display practice over the team's home base of Ardmore, Auckland." John Greenstreet's accident occurred on the 25th of February 1990, in Harvard ZK-ENN (formerly NZ1025).
The Roaring Forties Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team - 1991
1991 1991 _ October 1991 _	Waharoa, Matamata North Shore Aero Club Open Day RAAF 70th Anniversary Airshow, Richmond	John Lamont Steve Talyor Robbie Booth Jon Peterson Keith Skilling	No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5
The Roaring Forties Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team - 1994
		John Lamont   Robbie Booth	No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4
The Roaring Forties Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team - Wanaka 1994
1-3 of April 1994 (Easter)	Warbirds Over Wanaka Airshow, Luggate, Wanaka	John Lamont ? Ross Ewing ?	No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4
Notes: During the 1994 Wings Over Wanaka Airshow, Robbie Booth was not available to fly and so the No. 3 position in John Lamont's team. No. 3 was flown on both airshow days by Ross Ewing instead. Ross Ewing also flew that year a debut performance in a Cessna O-1 Birddog, having also previously flown the solo debut at Wanaka of a civilian 2-seat T-35 Vampire jet (1992), and later (1996) debut'd a civilian Catalina PBY-5A flying boat
The Roaring Forties Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team - 1995
--	--	John Lamont Steve Taylor Gavin Trethewey John Peterson Keith Skilling	No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5
Notes: Gavin Trethewey Recalls: "I got involved in 1995.  The team then was 1. John Lamont, 2. Steve Taylor, 3. me, 4. John Peterson and 5. Keith Skilling. That team stayed intact for all major shows till end of 98.  For minor shows we put up a three man team of 1. me, 2. Bill West and 3. Peter Houghton."
The Roaring Forties Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team - 1996
--	--	John Lamont Steve Taylor Gavin Trethewey John Peterson Keith Skilling	No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5
The Roaring Forties Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team - 1997
March 1997	Omaka Airshow	Trevor Bland Bill West Gavin Trethewey Peter Houghton	No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4
November 1997	Keri Keri Airshow	John Lamont Steve Taylor Gavin Trethewey John Peterson Keith Skilling	No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5
Notes: Gavin Trethewey recalls: "I've just been in discussion with Pete Houghton and our joint records show that we had quite a number of changes in the team due unavailability in 1997.  Omaka in March for instance was Bland/West/Self/Houghton, and Keri Keri in November was Lamont/Taylor/Self/Peterson/Skilling again. That team stayed intact till after Wanaka 98."
The Roaring Forties Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team - 1998
10-12 Apr 1998 (Easter)	Warbirds Over Wanaka, Luggate, Wanaka	John Lamont Steve Taylor Gavin Trethewey John Peterson Keith Skilling	No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5
----	--	Trevor Bland Bill West Peter Houghton Gavin Trethewey Keith Skilling or John Lamont	No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 or No. 5
Notes: During this year, the same team as that of later 1997 remained in place till after the Wanaka airshow. It then changed, and the fifth man for displays alternated between Keith Skilling and John Lamont based on their availability.
The Roaring Forties Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team - 1999
--	--	Keith Skilling or Trevor Bland	No. 1 _or No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5
Notes: Gavin Trethewey says that in: "1999 some changes were made.  Keith Skilling and Trevor Bland both did some leading.  I don't have enough detail but between us all we will find it and get it to you."
The Roaring Forties Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team - 2000
--	--	Gavin Trethewey Kerry Campbell Peter Houghton Frank Parker John Petersen	No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5
Notes: Gavin Trethewey recalls: "A new team formed in 2000.  I led it with no 2. Kerry Campbell, 3. Peter Houghton, 4. Frank Parker and 5. John Peterson.   Jan 01 saw the new team with Kerry Campbell flying No. 2 and Frank Parker No. 4, with the number five man over the next three years either Peterson of Lanham. There are too many shows to tell you which of the No. 5s were performing at each one. Over the next four years we alternated the number 5 man from time to time - John Peterson, John Lanham and Keith Skilling all  doing the job from time to time."
The Roaring Forties Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team - 2001
--	--	Gavin Trethewey Kerry Campbell Peter Houghton Frank Parker See Below	No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5
Notes: Gavin Trethewey recalls: "...we alternated the number 5 man from time to time - John Peterson, John Lanham and Keith Skilling all  doing the job from time to time."
The Roaring Forties Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team - 2002
--	--	Gavin Trethewey Kerry Campbell Peter Houghton Frank Parker See Below	No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5
Notes: Gavin Trethewey recalls: "...we alternated the number 5 man from time to time - John Peterson, John Lanham and Keith Skilling all  doing the job from time to time."    Above: The 2002 Roaring Forties Harvard Team at Warbirds Over Wanaka. Left to right are: Frank Parker, Kerry Campbell, Gavin Trethewey, Peter Houghton and John Peterson. Photo kindly submitted by Gavin Trethewey
The Roaring Forties Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team - 2003
--	--	Gavin Trethewey Kerry Campbell Peter Houghton Frank Parker See Below	No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5
Notes: Gavin Trethewey recalls: "...we alternated the number 5 man from time to time - John Peterson, John Lanham and Keith Skilling all  doing the job from time to time."    Above: The 2003 Roaring Forties Harvard Team. Pictured are: Standing, left to right: Peter Houghton, Frank Parker, Gavin Trethewey and Kerry Campbell, with John Peterson kneeling. Photo kindly submitted by Gavin Trethewey   Above: The 2003 Roaring Forties Harvard Team with the 2003 Red Checkers team from the RNZAF, then lead by Jim Rankin Photo kindly submitted by Gavin Trethewey
The Roaring Forties Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team - 2004
--	--	Gavin Trethewey Kerry Campbell Peter Houghton Frank Parker See Below	No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5
Notes: Gavin Trethewey recalls: "...we alternated the number 5 man from time to time - John Peterson, John Lanham and Keith Skilling all  doing the job from time to time. The team was reduced to four aircraft just before the Taupo show in March 2004 when Kerry Campbell was killed in the Fouga crash. Wanaka 2004 we flew with only 4 aircraft.  After that the team broke up and Frank Parker formed the current team which is led by Frank with No. 2. Liz Needham, No. 3, Gavin Henderson, No. 4, John Kelly, and No. 5 Rob Sillich.  Peter Houghton and myself have stood in on occassions when someone was unavailable."
The Warbirds Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team - 2005
13th of Nov 2005	Armistice in Cambridge	Frank Parker Liz Needham Gavin Henderson John Kelly Rob Sillich	No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5
The Warbirds Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team - 2006
5th of Feb 2006 _ 12th of Nov 2006	SportAvex Airshow Tauranga Armistice in Cambridge	Frank Parker Liz Needham Gavin Henderson John Kelly	ZK-TVI ZK-ENF ZK-MJN ZK-JJA
The Warbirds Harvard Formation Aerobatic Team - 2007
3rd of Mar 2007 7-9 of Apr 2007	Whenuapai Open Day Classic Fighters, Omaka	Frank Parker Liz Needham John Kelly ? ?

 

Wanganui Aero Works Team

Display Dates	Venue	Pilots	Notes
1991	Hamilton	Richmond Harding Mike Harding

Mustang and Venom Pair

Display Dates	Venue	Pilots	Notes
1990 1991	Ardmore Hamilton	Trevor Bland John Denton	ZK-VEN ZK-TAF

Chinese Checkers (CJ-6 Nanchangs)

Display Dates	Venue	Pilots	Notes
2004 Chinese Checkers _______________________________CJ-6 Nanchang
Easter 2004	Warbirds Over Wanaka	Graeme Frew Jason Hayes Steve Petersen Barry Stott ?	ZK-FRU ZK-WOK ZK-STP ZK-CVI ZK-OII
2005 Chinese Checkers _______________________________CJ-6 Nanchang
2006 Chinese Checkers _______________________________CJ-6 Nanchang
9th December 2006	Christmas Wings, Omaka	Tim Sullivan Dick Veale Graeme Frew Jay McIntyre Steve Petersen	ZK-WOK ZK-JOS ZK-FRU ZK-JQS ZK-STP
Note: See some excellent photos of the Nanchang team here and more at their official site here

The Yak 52 Team

Display Dates	Venue	Team Pilots	Notes
2004 2004 Easter 2004	Taupo Airshow Wings Over Wairarapa, Masterton Warbirds Over Wanaka	Paul "Huggie" Hughan Brian "BJ" Coppersmith Brett Emeny Kevin Jane John "JP" Parker	ZK- ZAY ZK-YNZ ZK-YAK ZK-YAC ZK-TYS (s)
Notes: The Taupo Airshow was the team's first aircshow and consisted of just two aircraft, flown by Paul Hughan and Brian Coppersmith, who were both ex-RNZAF pilots Brett Emeny joined the team after seeing the Taupo display and getting an invitation to join Kevin Jane then joined the team, followed by John Parker who became the soloist. All five were in the team by the Wings Over Wairarapa airshow. The same team flew at Wanaka in 2004 too. Doug Batten and John Street joined the team as groundcrew and ferry pilots for the Wanaka show but did not display there with the team
Easter 2005	Classic Fighters, Omaka	Paul "Huggie" Hughan Brian "BJ" Coppersmith Brett Emeny Kevin Jane John "JP" Parker	ZK- ZAY ZK-YNZ ZK-YAK ZK-YAC ZK-TYS (s)
Note: Follwing the Omaka airshow, Doug Batten, Rick Grant, John Street and Peter Vause joined the team as additional flyers, and the now nine-ship team began working up towards the Warbirds Over Wanaka airshow in 2006 with the larger team
5 February 2006 14-16 April 2006 December 2006	SportAvex, Tauranga (Five ship) Warbirds Over Wanaka (Nine ship) Christmas Wings, Omaka (Five ship)	Paul "Huggie" Hughan Brian "BJ" Coppersmith Brett Emeny Kevin Jane John "JP" Parker Doug Batten Rick Grant John Street Peter Vause	ZK- ZAY ZK-YNZ ZK-YAK ZK-YAC ZK-TYS (s) ZK-YAQ ZK-KGB ZK-LIZ ZK-PTE
Note: Faye Emeny, daughter of Brett Emeny, began training with the team in late 2006 too, in ZK-YAK At Christmas Wings in December 2006, the Yak team did a formation flypast with the Harvard team. See some excellent photos of the Yak team at this event here

The Polikarpov Fighter Display Team

Display Dates	Venue	Pilots	Notes
1998 Polikarpov Team _____________________________________I-16 Rata
Easter 1998	Warbirds Over Wanaka (Debut - Five Aircraft)	Mark Hanna Stu Goldspink Steve Taylor Keith Skilling Rex Dovey	'4' '9' '28' '34' '45'
Notes: Five aircraft flew at the Wanaka airshow in a display routine, but the Warbirds Over Wanaka 1998 official book lists eight different pilots as having flown at the show in these fighters. The three additional to those listed above are Ray Hanna, John Lamont (who apparently flew '9') and Tom Middleton. Perhaps some were only doing training or familiarisation flights that weekend? Or perhaps the team rotated pilots on alternate days? It may also be that pilots changed from the display team routine to the mass airfield attack routine, where the likes of Ray and Mark Hanna would have been flying other fighters? Does anyone know what the situation was for sure? Stu Goldspink says he flew Polikarpov ZK-JIN '9' once on Friday the 10th of April 1998, and twice each day on the 11th and 12th displaying at the airshow. The five aircraft used in 1998's airshow at Wanaka were marked The Engineering team for the Polikarpov Team at Wanaka for 1998 were Ray Mulqueen, Peter Brensell, Keith "Maddog" Dore, Matt Bailey, Geoff Morrison, Greg Parker, Greg Napper, Malcolm Brown, Ewan Fallow, Paul Jones and Dave Ives
2000 Polikarpov Team
Easter 2000	Warbirds Over Wanaka	Tom Middleton: Stu Goldspink: John Lanham: Keith Skilling Steve Taylor John Lamont John Petersen Rex Dovey	I-153 '16' I-153 '10' I-153 '75' I-16 I-16 I-16 I-16 I-16
Note: Stu Goldspink says "I flew the I-153 "Chaika", and I-16 "Rata" at WOW 2000."
2002 Polikarpov Team
Easter 2002	Warbirds Over Wanaka	Stu Goldspink Stu Goldspink	I-16 '9' I-153 '75'
2004 Polikarpov Team
Easter 2004	Warbirds Over Wanaka
2006 Polikarpov Team_______________________I-16 Rata and I-153 Chaika
Easter 2006	Warbirds Over Wanaka	John Lanham Stu Goldspink John Petersen	I-153 "75" I-153 '10' I-16

Fokker Triplane Team (non aerobatic)

This team is not actually an aerobatic display team as such, but they have to be the world's most unique formation display team. They consist of full sized accurate replica Fokker Triplanes which take off in formation, fly in various formations together, and then with other WWI types they break off and do battle. Nowhere else in the world since 1918 have so many Fokker Triplanes been seen in the air. they're such a fantastic formation group they have to be mentioned here.

Display Dates	Venue	Pilots	Notes	ZK Reg
Fokker Triplane Team_2003 ______________________Replica Fokker D.1 Triplanes
18-20 Apr 2003 _	Classic Fighters, Omaka	John Lanham Jim Rankin Pete Cochran Paul Hughan Gavin Trethewey		ZK- ZK- ZK- ZK- ZK-
Notes: This airshow was the debut of a stunning team of five Fokker Triplane replicas from the Omaka Collection. This was the first time so many of the type had flown together since 1918.
Fokker Triplane Team_2005 ______________________Replica Fokker D.1 Triplanes
25-27 Mar 05 _	Classic Fighters, Omaka	John Lanham Gavin Trethewey Paul Hughan Jim Rankin Pete Cochran		ZK-FOK ZK- ZK- ZK- ZK-
Fokker Triplane Team_2007______________________Replica Fokker D.1 Triplanes
5-8 April 07 _	Classic Fighters, Omaka	John Lanham Scott McKenzie Paul Hughan Frank Parker Gavin Trethewey Jerry Chisum Greg MacDonald	Manfred von Richtofen Werner Steinhauser pilot unknown Hans Weiss Eberhardt Mohnicke Lothar von Richtofen Richard Wenzl	ZK-FOK ZK-JOC ZK-JOG ZK-FOC ZK-JOB ZK-FOT ZK-JOK
Notes: This year there were seven aircraft flown together. On the evening of Thursday the 5th of April, six Fokker Triplanes were seen together in the air for the first time since 1918. On the next morning, Friday 6th of April 2007, all seven took off and flew together for the first time. They did two routines per day plus photo flights over Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This year all seven aircraft were painted into accurate colour schemes of the famous Jasta 11 squadron, better known as Baron Manfred von Richtofen's Flying Circus, as they were on the 30th of April 1918. Above I have listed the actual pilots, then the German WWI pilots that they represented at the show, plus the ZK-register of the Fokker Triplane wearing that scheme. I have not yet put ZK's to all the planes, the remaining being ZK-JOC, JOG, and JOK The real pilot of the aircraft that Paul Hughan flew is unknown John Lanham, Paul Hughan, Frank Parker and Gavin Trethewey were all ex-RNZAF pilots, while Scott McKenzie is a current RNZAF pilot who also flew the RNZAF Historic Flight's Harvard NZ1015 at the airshow. Gavin Trethewey says about flying in the Fokker team: "It certainly is a unique experience flying a big formation in the Triplane. It is very unstable so is quite hard work.  Smooth air is needed to keep good positioning, and if a bump throws you out of position you can easily lose sight behind one of the wings of the aeroplane you are formating on. Makes formating in any of the heavier stuff seem easy." Thanks to Gavin Trethewey, Damon Edwards and Gavin Conroy their assistance with this Fokker Triplane team entry The following photos of the team were kindly supplied by Blenheim-based aviation photographer Gavin Conroy