A Vampire and two Strikemasters fly in formation over the Capital for Wings Over Wairarapa.

The Strikemaster pilot's concentration was fierce as he battled jolts of turbulence boiling up from the Rimutaka Range, flashing below at 500kmh.

Seeking distraction from my churning stomach I thought about my great-uncles and thousands of other World War I soldiers who marched over the Rimutaka. If they could slog over this hill on foot I could endure a two minute journey - albeit filled with adrenaline and fear.

"It's about as exciting as aviation gets . . . it's a jet, so it's fast as hell," was how my pilot Dean Beverley put it during pre-flight checks at Masterton's Hood Aerodrome yesterday, the first day of the Wings Over Wairarapa airshow.

ASHTEN MACDONALD FLYING HIGH: Reporter Caleb Harris gives a nervous thumbs up as he's put through his paces in a Strikemaster jet.

We were heading for Wellington in the ex-airforce trainer Strikemaster, now privately owned after being retired from service in 1992. Instead of cannon and rockets the sleek, snub-nosed warbird now packs a Go-Pro video camera and paying passengers.

As we taxied for takeoff my pulse surged, seeming audible over the engine's menacing growl. Then we leapt forward, the engine bellowed and we were away.

In seconds we were alongside the Vampire jet leading our V-shaped formation, with another Strikemaster off its other wing. Beverley's eyes locked on the Vampire's elegant silver wing-tip, staying there for the next 30-odd minutes. "He's the leader and I'm a wing-man. It's about absolute trust - I just watch him. If he flew into a hill, we would too," he said into the helmet mike as wind-sculpted bush flowed and bumped by beneath us.

ASHTEN MACDONALD Warp speed: Two Strikemasters in camouflage paint and a silver Vampire obtained CAA permission to fly low over the Wellington CBD yesterday afternoon to get this weekend's Wings Over Wairarapa airshow underway at Masterton's Hood Aerodrome. The formation was accompanied by a L39 jet.

Minutes later, just after 1pm, Wellington welcomed us with wind gusts and more turbulence. We blew down the Hutt River, past Petone and suddenly the harbour, the wind turbines and the tall buildings along Lambton Quay were all crowding my overloaded senses.

I felt my bodyweight double as gravity kicked in during a hard, banking turn over Island Bay. I found myself gazing straight down into the Basin Reserve, gleaming bright green just 300 metres below. Another turn and it was the Vampire hanging below me, glittering and surreal in the sunny air, balancing on a wing tip against the ruffled harbour backdrop. Then we blasted low and loud along the airport runway before wheeling back northward over Day's Bay.

Soon sun-browned Wairarapa was below again, laid out in sculptural folds. We raided the airshow, hammering down low then peeling up and away one by one before sweeping back to land.

We'd flown about 400km in just over half an hour. As we landed Beverley said he was soaked with sweat: "That was horrendous turbulence . . . rough as guts."

Rough all right, but pretty special.

Wings Over Wairarapa runs until this evening. Flights are available until Monday. More information and bookings: wings.org.nz