Warbirds Over Wanaka has released a clip in its ‘Meet the Pilots’ series, in the run up to its international airshow next Easter.

Every two years a number of the world’s best warbird aircraft pilots head to Wanaka to show off their skills, and Paul ‘Sticky’ Strickland will be one of them.  

‘Sticky’ is a former USAF F-16 pilot and member of the world-famous Thunderbirds aerobatic team. 

Since leaving the air force Sticky has teamed up with others to form the civilian Patriots L-39 display team which performs at airshows around the US.

While he loves flying the Aero L-39 Albatros (a sleek Czechoslovakian built jet which has been a popular jet trainer around the world) these days, he still remembers back to his air force days, especially flying the F-16.

The L-39 Albatross PHOTO: Steve Zimmerman

“After a stint in Europe I came back to the US and was flying the F-5 fighter. Then came the move to the F-16 which was like going from a Triumph Spitfire to a Maserati race car,” Sticky said.

“A monster capable of pulling 9-Gs with a tactical radar and decisive manoeuvring, the F-16 was like a glove one fits on and simply sighs at the comfort and fit.”  

Tickets for the 2022 Warbirds Over Wanaka International Airshow are now on sale.