Gliders set to wow Wellington with aerobatics, pyrotechnics

The Grob-109b have been modified to perform aerobatics with smoke, lights and pyrotechnics, which will be one of the feature events of Wings Over Wairarapa this year. The big wings provide an impressive level of glide performance and give the aerobatic display the grace of a glider.

Two motorised gliders will leave a trail of sparks over Wellington Harbour on Thursday night, just a taste of what people can expect at the weekend's Wings Over Wairarapa airshow.

Aerosparx pilots Guy Westgate and Tim Dews plan to wow the capital with their wing-mounted pyrotechnic display as they perform formation aerobatics in their highly-manoeuvrable aircraft with large glider-like wings.

The Grob-109s are decorated with computer-controlled display systems which light up LED strips along the length of the fuselage.

Emergency services have already been warned they may get calls about planes on fire as the Aerosparx displays have been known to generate a variety of responses, including UFO sightings over London that have clocked up millions of hits on YouTube.