This story and
its photographs are the copyright of the Australian Department of Defence. Permission to
reproduce may be sought from the Editor, Army Newspaper Unit by contacting armynews@defencenews.gov.au
The following
story was filed by Cpl Brian Hartigan and published in ARMY Magazine in June 1999 under
the title:
AVALON
Flying High
Australian International Airshow 99
Sidebars to this feature
Below:
The props of the RAAF's new C130J-30 Hercules over Victorian skies during the
Australian International Airshow '99.
This particular cabin view is set to become very familiar to Aussie soldiers
in comming years.
"If you look to the skies to your right, ladies
and gentlemen, you will see Mr Bob Hoover in his twin-engined Shrike Commander.
What he will do now is descend to the airfield, complete an inside loop followed
by an eight-point hesitation roll. After turning through 180 degrees, he will
land with only his left wheel on the ground. He will then pick up and land with
his right wheel on the ground. After landing on both wheels, he will roll along
the remainder of the runway, enter the taxiway and place the spinner of his
right propeller into my outstretched hand. Sound easy? Well, there was one minor
detail I forgot to mention, ladies and gentlemen. During all these manoeuvres
Bob will have both engines shut down and the props feathered!"
Hair-raising stunts such as these, testimony to the skill,
nerve and, some would say, stupidity of barnstorming aviators, have drawn huge
crowds to airshows across the world since the airplane was invented. Indeed,
airshows are still a major crowd pleaser in the United States drawing an annual
gate second only in size to Baseball (yes, outstripping even Gridiron!).
Almost 200,000 people attended
this year's Australian International Airshow 99 at Avalon, south of Melbourne,
proving that the popularity of airshows in this country is almost as strong
as elsewhere. However, modern airshows on such a grand scale, although attracting
large, money-spending crowds, could hardly be mounted were it not for the behind-the-scenes
wheeling and dealing of big business. The two days and one fire-filled night
of wing-walking, soaring, swooping and general public showing off at Airshow
99 were simply the climax to a week of big business as the giants of the aviation
industry wooed politicians, decision-makers and military and industry leaders.
472 exhibitors from 26 countries
flocked to Avalon, hoping to sell everything from nuts and bolts to billion-dollar
aircraft fleets.
With several large defence contracts
like Air 87, Wedgetail and Caribou replacement up for grabs in the near future
and the eventual replacement of the F/A-18 and F-111 in mind, the opportunity
to hawk wares was too good to pass up.
Airshow 99 was the perfect place
for all parties to come together on neutral ground.
Trade exhibits, while geared towards
those with big bucks to spend, caught more than a cursory glance from mister
and misses Joe public and their 2.3 children, while the plethora of posters,
stickers, calendars and other attractive giveaways will decorate kid's bedrooms
for years to come. However, the main attraction, as the name suggests, was the
spectacle in the sky.
Friday night was the first of
the open-to-the-public aspects of the week's activities. Airshows Downunder
boast of being the only major airshow in the world to stage a night spectacular.
It may be hard to imagine how
three hours of darkness could be filled with night-flying that is visible to
the public, let alone entertaining. But, the innovative and imaginative addition
of pyrotechnics to the extremities of everything from parachutes to gliders
and the famous dump and burn by an RAAF F111 soon allayed any doubts.
Sentimental favorite with young
and old alike was Connie, the Lockheed Super Constellation registered VH-EAG.
Streaking blue flame from the exhausts of her four Curtis-Wright engines, the
venerable aircraft inspired the crowd, whether or not they were old enough to
remember the heyday of this aircraft type flying with QANTAS.
Connie never actually flew for
QANTAS, spending her life in the service of the American armed forces until
her ungracious retirement to a desert graveyard in Arizona in 1972. For the
next 14 years she was home to hundreds of pigeons. The quantity of guano that
built up in her interior over this period, was enough to make her unsuitable
even for smelting.
Relying solely on volunteer labour
and donated cash, the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society took Connie under
their wing (pun intended) for restoration and delivery to Australia. More than
10,000 man-hours of TLC later, saw her arrival in Sydney in early 1996 to occupy
a special place in the hearts of aviation buffs, young and old.
Saturday, and day two of public
displays, saw upwards of 60,000 people ranged along the center section of Avalon's
3000m runway for another bombardment of sight and sound. Every taste was catered
for. From the graceful aerial ballet of Manfred Radius in his H101 Salto glider
to the ear-splitting roar of military jets.
Eddie Andreini, an aerobatics
ace with more than 30 years experience, made his very-welcome Australian debut
in a vintage Boeing Stearman, teamed with wing-walker Anders Brandi. The pair
put on a heart-stopping display reminiscent of the heydays of post WWI barnstorming
America. After a display involving Brandi assuming various positions under,
over and between the Stearman's twin wings, Andreini completed the routine (with
Brandi in a more conventional interior location) by using those same wings to
cut two streamers suspended just 3m from the ground - while flying inverted.
Not to be outdone, Manfred Radius later completed the same manoeuvre in his
glider.
Popular with all but those blessed
with sensitive hearing, the power of military jets never ceases to impress even
the seasoned air buff. Airshow 99 boasted the largest and most diverse gathering
of military hardware since the Bicentennial Airshow in 1988 and even then scored
one or two runs on the board over the Richmond show. Most notably was the ground
presence of an American B-52 bomber, poised for action on the end of the taxiway.
With its mouth gaping wide, the
C5 Galaxy's cavernous interior was open to public inspection, as was its flight
deck high above the madding crowd, offering a short respite from the mid-day
sun. Few other aircraft can match the Galaxy for sheer size and jaw-dropping
statistics. Its cargo bay is longer than the Wright brother's first flight,
large enough to accommodate six Apache helicopters. Or, for those unsure of
that yardstick, as long as a football field and wide enough for an eight-lane
bowling ally. Its capacious appetite for fuel outweighs the cargo capacity of
eight new C130-J Hercules.
Ranged along the northern apron
of the airfield was more military might than the average person could hope to
see in a lifetime. Beyond the RedHawk, SuperCobra and Apache attack helicopters
stood a neat line of F15, F16 and F/A-18 fighter aircraft, two by two, shimmering
in the hot summer sun.
Day three, Sunday, saw a similar-sized
crowd treated to more of the same with one or two spectacular additions. A rare
treat was to witness two thirsty F/A-18s from the RAAF's No. 3 Sqn plug into
lifelines trailed from the wings of No. 33 Sqn's 707 aerial refueler for a low
pass over the sun-drenched airfield-- a manoeuvre not normally seen below 20,000ft.
Those who want to revisit the
excitement and spectacle of this year's Airshow, or those regretting they missed
it, have less than two years to wait for the next installment. The sixth in
the AirShows DownUnder series, February 13 to 18, 2001, is poised to commemorate
the Centenary of Federation and the 80th Anniversary of the RAAF, setting the
scene for an air spectacular of major national and international importance.