Add a Comment   Listen to Podcast   Return to Previous Page

My Latest Conspiracy

Entry 2436, on 2026-04-01 at 20:46:01 (Rating 3, Comments)

I love a good conspiracy, in fact I love a bad conspiracy even more, but it's important not to take them too seriously. So after that inauspicious start, let's move on to what I really want to talk about here: my own latest conspiracy which I don't necessarily believe.

Amongst my geeky interests is aviation, and especially military aircraft, so I usually go to New Zealand's premiere air show, "Warbirds Over Wanaka". Previously I attended this in 1992 ,1996, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2012, and 2024. I also attended the Omaka Air Show in 2017. Of course, I have reports on these shows, including photos, sounds, and movies on my web site.

This year I got tickets a few months back and was quite enthusiastic about going, mainly because an F-22 was going to be there. That is a fairly modern American jet fighter, with some stealth ability. I like old planes, but fast noisy jets are my favourite, and this is one I hadn't seen before. Previous shows included an F-111, some F/A-18s, and an F-16.

So a few weeks back it was announced that the F-22 would not attend, and I never found a really detailed or convincing explanation why. In addition, other more modern aircraft, which are currently in use, from Australia and Singapore were also cancelled, and more recently the New Zealand Air Force also cancelled their visit, and the RNZAF has been at every other show I have been to.

Now, it is possible that the Americans needed the F-22s in Iran, but I doubt it. It is also possible that the extra cost of fuel made attendance too expensive, but I also reject this. By the way, those who criticise the show for its use of fuel during a global crisis should know that it uses about 50,000 litres of aviation fuel over five days, but New Zealand consumes around 24 million litres of fuel per day in total, so the use at the show is really just a "rounding error" (0.04 percent of the total).

I remember earlier this year that various activists were commenting that displaying current military aircraft while they were also being used in various conflicts around the world was "inappropriate". This was before Iran, so I guess they were referring to Gaza and Ukraine. By the way, whenever I see the word "inappropriate" I assume we are talking about some major BS, because all it really means is something the activists don't like.

So my conspiracy is that anti-war activists have threatened violence (oh, the irony) or damage of some sort if modern jets are displayed at the show. Alternatively the government has got involved and requested they not attend to prevent any embarrassing connection with current unpopular wars (this would have come from the pathetic National Party, not Act or NZ First).

This seems to make more sense than the aircraft being required in an actual combat role or the somewhat increased price of fuel being a factor. Can I prove it? Well, no, of course not, or it wouldn't be much of a conspiracy theory, would it? The best conspiracies are those where there is some superficial evidence, but not enough to result in any firm conclusion!

Anyway, that's my theory. if you have any better explanations, leave a comment, but I want you to know: all good conspiracies are totally unaffected by the facts!

Comment 1 (8546) by OJB on 2026-04-01 at 20:50:34:

By the way, the fact that it is April 1st today should not be considered as a factor in deciding how seriously to take this post!

You can leave comments about this entry using this form.

Enter your name (optional):
Enter your email address (optional):
Enter the number shown here:
Enter the comment:

To add a comment: enter a name and email (optional), type the number shown, enter a comment, click Add.
Note that you can leave the name blank if you want to remain anonymous.
Enter your email address to receive notifications of replies and updates to this entry.
The comment should appear immediately because the authorisation system is currently inactive.

I do podcasts too! You can listen to my latest podcast, here: OJB's Podcast 2026-04-14 How Far is that Star?: How would we really know how big the universe is? Or subscribe to my podcast RSS feed, on my RSS Feeds page.

If you're not sure what to view from the thousands of pages on my site, here are some suggestions: My Latest Airshow Report (photos and movies from Warbirds Over Wanaka, 2026), My Favourite Wines and Beers (tasting notes for some of my favourites), An Interesting Astronomical Observation (learn a bit about astronomy from these observing notes), See Some Photos (A short rail journey through the Taieri Gorge), Read Some Mac Tips (Learn about how to use your Mac, and fix some problems).

Latest Site News and Notifications (Desktop): You are currently viewing OJB's web site, version 2.4 which has some major changes, and possibly errors! Please report any problems to ojb@mac.com.