On the air

Flying the flag: The lead parachutist in the Red Berets Parachute Display team sets up for a landing. Photo by Pte John Wellfare

Top gun: An impressive display from No. 6 Sqn F111 pilot Flt-Lt Craig Whiting, No. 6 Sqn, as he warms the Avalon sky with the world famous dump and burn. Photo by WOFF Ray Bennell.

Hell of a show: The Avalon air show crowd enjoy a dump and burn. Photo by AB Kade Rogers

Rotor with a view: Members of 5 Avn Regt get a good view of the show from on top of a Chinook. Photo by Pte John Wellfare

From the oldest to the newest, the Avalon air show caters for every aviation enthusiast. Pte John Wellfare managed to stop craning his neck skywards to report the action.

Dropping in: Members of 2 Cdo Coy abseil from a Black Hawk as part of an Army air power demonstration for the Australian International Air Show. Photo by Pte John Wellfare

In the green: Tpr Chris Degering, School of Armour, mans the Leopard Tank display at the Australian International Air Show. Photo by Pte John Wellfare

High flier: Charles Jenson is shown the Iroquois pilot’s view by Cpl Simon Ramsay, Army Avn Centre. Photo by Sgt Dave Grant

There are some things one will see at an air show that don’t tend to happen anywhere else. A bustling crowd of thousands suddenly become motionless as a jet roars overhead and every single person as far as the eye can see looks skyward in unison. A pilot is treated like a superstar on the red carpet as he walks from his aircraft’s static display to a drink stand ten metres away. A girl aged no more than seven asks for autographs from every uniformed person who passes her family’s picnic blanket.

One of the Army’s most important public events for the year, the Australian International Air Show in Avalon, Victoria, went off without a hitch and gave the ADF an opportunity to show the public its latest technologies and its most reliable stalwarts.

With the catchline ‘the shape of things to come’, the show featured almost every aircraft imaginable, from some of the earliest WWI trainers to a full-scale replica of Lockheed Martin’s Joint Strike Fighter, which is still in the development phase. It also provided the fi rst opportunity for the general public to get close to the Army’s potent new weapon, the Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter.

Thousands of visitors to Avalon stopped by the ARH display, where the star attraction was the 001 aircraft, closely followed by the enthusiastic 162 Recce Sqn pilots.

To the disappointment of many, a Tiger fl ying display wasn’t included in the program and spectators looking to see the big cat in action will have to wait until 2007. Filling the void was 5 Avn Regt’s Army air power display, presenting a simplifi ed air mobile operation with troops from 4 Bde and 2 Cdo Coy. Lt Richard Vanzella, 162 Recce Sqn, said there was plenty of interest about the Tiger.

“I get lots of ‘does it have ejector seats? How much does it cost? Which one’s the pilot?’ They’re probably the most common questions,” he said.

The rest of the Army’s helicopter capabilities, including the new MRH 90 troop-lift chopper, occupied static displays alongside Air Force fast jets and heavy lifters.

Victoria’s brigade also provided the better part of the Army ground display. Units with equipment on show included 5/6RVR, 8/7RVR, 4CER, 4/19 Prince of Wales’ Light Horse Regt, 108 Sig Sqn, 2/10 Fd Regt, 4CSSB, 9FSB, 3 Rcvy Coy, 15 Tpt Sqn, 2 Cdy Coy, School of Armour and School of Artillery.

Tpr Chris Degering, School of Armour, said his small role at the air show was well received.

“As a soldier it makes you feel good and it makes you feel respected for the job that you do,” he said.

Spectators at the biennial event braved hot weather and anyone who showed up more than an hour after opening time had to walk several kilometres from the far reaches of the expansive car park to the front gate. Visitors were rewarded with an all-day program of flying displays, which meant the skies were never clear for more than a few minutes at a time and enough static displays littered the grounds of the airfi eld to keep an aviation enthusiast busy for days.

The trade pavilion featured a signifi cant slice of the world’s aviation industry, from the heavyweights such as Boeing and Northrop Grumman, both of which posted enormous stands with detailed models, video screens and souvenirs, down to the smallest aviation magazine or minor parts’ manufacturer with a corner booth. The Department of Defence stand was a popular attraction. DSTO’s 20cm-tall hologram, which gave information on its role within Defence while interacting with scale props built into the display, baffled and amazed young children.

It’s possible many spectators didn’t leave the fringes of the runway as everything airborne – from parachutists and paragliders – to the world’s fastest fighters and largest cargo carriers, soared overhead.

Those who did leave the flight line were rewarded with the chance to meet the people who fly and maintain some of the military’s top aircraft, as well as the dedicated enthusiasts who meticulously restore and pilot the fi nest pieces of aviation heritage.

They might come from all age groups and backgrounds, but it’s a certain crowd who visit air shows.

Even the most grounded, heights-fearing pessimist would have felt the irresistible urge to look to the heavens, take in the raw power and speed of the thunderous F-111, or the playful serenity of the aerobatics glider and, if only for a moment, dream of escaping the con- fi nes of the land and experiencing the limitless freedom of fl ight.