Antiques, Classics and Warbirds
Hanriot Replica
During one of his first public flights at Avalon, Bill (the Hanriot's pilot) took advantage of the flat lands around the strip to fly his first every circuit (their home strip in NY has high trees around it which prevent any chance of flying more than a simple up and down hop.
This was the aircraft I was assigned to and I worked with a team of ground staff to help ensure the aircraft was ready to fly and recover it at the end of its flight.
Curtis Pusher
This is a replica of the first aircraft to land on a ship. On the last day of the airshow, Dan kept getting higher and higher, finally commencing the first circuit he'd ever flown in the aircraft (just as Bill had done with the Hanriot). On his second flight for the day, he did it again and I managed to get a great shot of him going over the top of the Camel.
With both the Hanriot and the Curtis replicas doing circuits for the first time ever, the Rhinebeck crew will definitely never be able to forget their trip to Australia (some of the team wondered if they'd need an aircraft to get home as they looked like they were ready to float :)
First Meets Latest
Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Rhinebeck and Boeing teams decided that having a replica of the first aircraft to land on a ship and the latest US Navy fighter at the same airport was too good to resist. Accordingly, a photo shot was arranged comparing the two aircraft and the clothes worn by their pilots. Note the shots comparing the Curtis aircraft's "hooks" underneath it against the enormous arrestor hook of the F-18F.
Fokker Dr-1 (Triplane) and Sopwith Camel Replicas
These guys put on a great battle re-enactment, getting down low and throwing themselves around the place. At Avalon we also had the benefit of a number of other flying WW1 aircraft that could take part, thus helping to fill the skies behind the combatants. Great stuff.
The Temora Aviation Museum Collection
Cessna A-37 Dragonfly
Canberra
Meteor
Vampire
Various Aircraft
Wright Flyer and Bleriot Replicas
RAAF Museum's Sopwith Pup
Beach 18's
DC-3's
Grumman TBM Avenger
HARS' Super Constellation
Hawker Hunter
Mig-15
Mitsubishi Zero
Nanchang
Sea Fury
Spitfire
Stearman
Winjeel
Others
Helicopters
Military Aircraft
727 - RNZAF
B1-B - US Strategic Air Command
C-130 - US Marines
Caribou - RAAF
F-15 - US Air Force
F-16 - US Air Force
F-18 - US Marines
F-18F Super Hornet - US Navy
F-111 - RAAF
Perhaps the best displays I've ever seen of the F-111 in Australia - the dump & burn routines (venting fuel out the tail) were much longer than previous ones and they were throwing the aircraft around much more than before (they actually looped it!).
KC-135 - US Air Force
AP-3C Orion - RAAF
P-3C Orion - RNZAF
Roulettes - RNZAF
Other Military Aircraft Photos
Other Stuff
Victorian Air Rally
During the airshow the final stages of the Great Victorian Air Rally were run. The last few stages involved flying into Avalon, having a gathering of all involved, then flying out around Port Phillip Bay and returning to Avalon.
Nice idea, only problem was that all the aircraft had to depart as quickly as possible, despite charter charter flights coming and going and the runway also being used by aircraft involved with the airshow, including the F-18F coming and going as it took various people on "evaluation flights."
The photos here are of the chaos as we tried to get all the Rally aircraft off the ground as quickly as possible. The last of the Rally aircraft were still waiting to get airbourne when some of the first ones started to come back and land. Combine that with a sudden storm that came in off the bay, the arrival of the aircraft from Temora and the F-18F coming back and, well, you can imagine the scene... (unfortunately I was too busy to get photo's during the latter part)
Going Home
On the last day of the show, a large number of aircraft were trying to beat the deteriorating weather and leave for home. A rather eclectic mix including a C-130, a P-3, a Carribou, a few jets, charter flights and an enormous number of light aircraft.
The Team
Note: Lynn's van hit a bump while racing down the grass next to the runway and wound up becoming fully airborne, thus the "Terrain Following Radar Equipped" sign that was put on the front :)
The Accident
Seems that one of the airshow staff stopped their car momentarily to watch the F-15 take off. Unfortunately, they were stopped on a grass taxiway and an aircraft had just come off the runway and was heading back to the main areas. The result - crash - written off car and plane... Fortunately, no one was seriously injured.
Das Boot
This is how my boot looked after my final day with the airshow. All the running around, chasing aircraft and generally being on my feet resulted in a very dead set of boots :)
