Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre shared its toys with the public at its fifth birthday celebration on Saturday.
Centre manager Jane Orphan said visitors to the centre were given half-price admission, while more than a dozen planes were rolled from their hangars for people to have a look at.
It was a nice day for members to enjoy, and a barbecue was fired up for the low-key celebrations and socialising between members and the public, she said.
The Nieuport 11 biplane buzzed the airfield and Blenheim. The Boeing Stearman World War II trainer went up too.
The centre plans to offer joy rides in the Stearman and was finalising the Civil Aviation Authority requirements, Mrs Orphan said.
Unfortunately, the Sopwith Pup World War I Allied fighter did not get the CAA tick in time for the day, but ran its original 1917 rotary engine on the ground instead, she said.
The privately-owned biplane was ready to fly and would be based at Omaka, which was great, she said.
The centre's logo featured the Sopwith so it was special that it could be brought out for the birthday celebrations, she said.
The Focke Wulf FW190 also missed the chance to fly, as the CAA had not signed it off either.
The Word War II German fighter had to be repaired after it was damaged during its first public outing in New Zealand at the Easter weekend Omaka Classic Fighters Airshow. It got its engine going for the visitors as well.
"We may hear it over the town sometime soon," Mrs Orphan said.
Also displayed on the ground was a Bristol fighter biplane, which flew late in World War I and into the 1930s.
Mrs Orphan hoped the centre would be able to hold open days with flying aircraft and displays on the field every two months or so from now on.
"It's so nice to be able to line up aircraft on the field. It's not just a static museum; you've got all these people who are keen one heritage aircraft and who are happy to bring them out and display them for the public."
More than 130,000 people had visited the aviation centre since it opened, she said.
"We're thrilled about that, it's going really well, numbers are increasing, the current year has been one of the best years and we're hoping it's going to go from strength to strength."
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