72 |FLIGHTPATH
ABOVE:The RNZAF operated 48 Grumman TBM
Avengers between 1943 and 1959.
MAIN IMAGE:KermitWeeksintheSopwithSnipe
replicabuiltbyTheVintageAviatorLimited.It is
powered by a Bentley BR2 rotary engine.
RIGHT:John Luff’s de Havilland DH.112 Venom
FB.4 wears 14 Squadron RNZAF markings from
the Malayan Emergency. Built for the Swiss Air
Force in 1956, it is now operated out of RNZAF
Base Ohakea.Classic Fighters
The event’s special guest this year was Brisbane-based Yak-3U
‘Steadfast’. Built in Romania in 2005, and powered by a Pratt
Whitney R-2000 radial engine, it has set nine world speed records.and