Just wondering which of the big players in the Air Mobility & Air Surveillance competitions might make an actual physical appearance in NZ in the near future? February 2017 would be an excellent opportunity. On the 25-26 Feb the RNZAF are holding an 80th anniversary airshow at Ohakea. Hopefully the traffic management is better than that for the 75th. The weekend before (17-19 Feb) is the Wings over Wairarapa airshow at Masterton. While Hood Aerodrome is probably too small for the larger aircraft under consideration to actually land at, it is only a short flight from Ohakea to make an overflight / flying display. So, a prime opportunity to fit in two public displays (each is 2-days, so 4 flights total), spend the week at Ohakea (and presumably Whenuapai & Wellington) with the RNZAF / MOD / NZ Govt, all in the space of ten days.
Would love to see Airbus demonstrate an A400M (Malaysian or French?) and a C295 (if the Portuguese are not available again - it's a very long way for them to come - then one of the South East Asian models perhaps - Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia). Similarly it would be a good time for the Japanese to show their wares (P-1, C-2, KC-767). Aussies could stump up with a C-130J & a C-27J, maybe a KC-30? Probably too early for an Aussie P-8. Might get the US to show up with one though (maybe also a C-17 if it's still an option).
P.S. In Australia, the Avalon airshow in Geelong occurs the weekend (3-5 March) following the Ohakea show, with the accompanying aerospace & defence expo running from 28 Feb to 5 March. That could add a little more synergy as well. Not sure if the Aussies are in the market anymore for the kind of equipment the RNZAF wants, but Avalon is probably the largest expo in Australasia, so the major players are likely to be present anyway.