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THIRD time’s a charm for a big American bomber’s flying visit to New Zealand.
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress was an icon of United States air power and was successful in its third attempt to come to a New Zealand air show yesterday.
United States charge d’affaires Kevin Covert said months of preparation had gone into the B-52 visit, and they were thrilled to have it finally happen. ‘‘Wow, what an amazing aircraft. What a marvel of engineering and avionics and aviation history.’’
The aircraft type has seen service in every American military conflict over the last 70 years.
The plane flew a 19-hour round trip from its base in Guam and required refueling once while in the air. It flew past the crowd three times just after 1pm before departing back to its Pacific base.
Operational issues meant the plane was unable to attend the 2019 air show and last year’s show was cancelled due to Covid-19.