After 14 years at the helm of New Zealand’s premier airshow - Warbirds Over Wānaka - general manager Ed Taylor has decided he has one more airshow in him before moving on.

Warbirds has already advertised for a new general manager, and Ed hopes a replacement will be found in time for that new person to spend time with him in the role, including during the 2026 airshow at Wānaka Airport.

Organising a biennial airshow which attracts participants and spectators from around the globe is “an interesting business”, Ed says.

“You just build up and up and up, and the last three months is just full on… yeah it’s a buzz.”

With such a huge outdoor event “anything can happen”, Ed said, which “can add to the excitement”.

The general manager’s role is supported by “a really good team”, Ed says.

He was appointed as general manager in 2012 and said his 14 years in the role have “run by pretty quickly”.

“I was going to step down after the last year but I was enjoying it too much.

“It's not like going to work… Previously my wife Kim and I ran the radio station, and it was a blast - I didn’t really think of that as a job either. To walk out of that and into Warbirds over Wānaka… well, I haven’t really worked.”

After describing the role to the Wānaka App, Ed said “it does sound stressful”.

“You learn to manage the stress levels, it’s about prioritising… There’s a lot of logistics and goodwill involved and you have a really good team around you.” 

No two events are the same, he said.

“When I first joined the airshow I assumed they just had a blueprint and you rolled it out. But, no: Suppliers change, roads change, and so on.

“You need to be a people person. One day you’re having to negotiate with aircraft owners, then with a high ranking official of the United States Airforce.”

He said one of his “great thrills” is standing at the exit at the end of the event watching families leaving, “kids with bug eyes telling their parents what they’ve seen”.

“You have hard core aviation fans but you need the general public to come along and you need to entertain them. When you get that it’s pretty special.”

Ed chatting to ground manager Toby.

One of the things Ed is most proud of is introducing the free event at the Wānaka lakefront, which attracts as many as 8,000 people.

“I felt there was a slight disconnect between town and the airshow… It’s now become an integral part of our airshow. Parents can bring their kids down and not spend any money for a change.”

There have been “dark times” over the past 14 years, too. 

“Covid was not kind to us. We were the first big event in New Zealand to cancel in 2020. Only two weeks out from the airshow. To unwind a major event like that was huge.

“We lost the next airshow in 2022 because Covid wasn’t quite over. We called that one a bit earlier which was a lot less stressful. But what it meant was we were pretty much broke.”

Ed said the community trust which runs the event had to rely on its funders and sponsors, who came through in spades. 

Locals told Ed “we won’t let the airshow fall over”, and he said one person (not even a Warbirds fan) deposited $10,000 in the trust’s bank account because they considered the event was too important for Wānaka to lose.

Ed (left) looks forward to more road biking adventures with friends.

“We built up to the 2024 airshow [which attracted 65,000 people] and it was huge,” Ed said.

“I think Warbirds Over Wānaka has done a huge job in putting Wānaka on the map.

“We’ve put a lot of money back into the community - well over $300M for the life of the airshow.”

The airshow is evolving as well, Ed said, showing off new technologies and working with local groups such as Wastebusters, WAI Wānaka, and Te Kākano.

Ed paid tribute to the event founder, Sir Tim Wallis, describing the team’s sadness when he died just months before the 2024 show.

“We are able to do a salute to him at the airshow recognising his contribution to starting it all. I hope the show continues on forever.” 

Ed (70) will remain busy until the end of next year’s show, then he’s looking forward to riding his road bike and branching out into “other community things”. While he’ll “still be involved with the airshow in some way”, he is planning bike trips in Europe and closer to home - “just taking our time - it’s not a race”.

“I’m sure there’ll be plenty of things to get me out there, keep me active. There are so many things you can be involved in.”

He admitted to a love of drama and musical theatre and said a “back room role would be fun”. 

Tickets for the 2026 Warbirds Over Wānaka airshow are selling well and the event is expected to sell out again.

PHOTOS: Supplied