"We are planning it will be a beauty, because we think there will be a really strong appetite from the public," Mr Gilks said.
"It will have been six years [since the last airshow] so we are planning for this to be a ripper."
The cancelled 2020 and 2022 airshows were both expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors to the Upper Clutha and generate between $20 million and $25 million in economic benefits for the region.
He confirmed the trust and its 100%-owned company, Warbirds Over Wanaka Airshows Ltd, would not carry a financial burden from a recent out-of-court settlement with Yak-3 pilot Arthur Dovey, following an incident at the 2018 airshow show that damaged the vintage Russian aircraft.
The settlement and amount of damages had been negotiated and paid by the airshow insurer, Mr Gilks said.
"The Dovey incident is fully covered by insurance."
It cost about $3 million to organise an airshow, he said.
The Wanaka show had earned little income since 2018, due to the two cancellations, but had continued to maintain the Warbirds office at Wanaka Airport.
"You can’t just close the close the doors and pull the blinds down and go away.
"There are things going on all the time," Mr Gilks said.
"Thankfully we are in good financial shape because going back to before the last airshow [2018], we had a sound financial position, which we had built up over a long period of years.
"During the period affected by Covid ... we have been fortunate. We have had a lot of support, particularly from local funders and sponsors.
"Some of the people who gave us financial support for the 2022 airshow ... said look, just keep the money.
"Others said keep the funds and apply it to the next airshow."
A recent sold-out Top Gun Maverick film premiere event also helped raise some working capital.
The most recent financial records posted on the Charities Services website show that, for the year ending September 30, 2021, the Warbirds trust recorded a deficit of $219,168 and total assets less liabilities of $523,918, and the Warbirds company recorded a deficit of $194,582 and total assets less liabilities of $256,671.
