Avalon Airshow 2009(56K? Don't make me laugh)

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tim31
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Avalon Airshow 2009(56K? Don't make me laugh)

Post by tim31 »

I'd wanted to go to this for years, and so finally I arranged to meet my dad in Melbourne for the Friday afternoon/evening extravaganza, which included a simulated bombing run but a two-ship of RAAF Hornets. The cloud was down to about 900 feet AGL, so we couldn't see the birds, only hear them roar over as the targets lit up with a boom. Somehow, I felt that was more realistic. Anyway, what we saw during the day included but was not limited to:

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Old school replicas. I apologize for not remembering what this was, though no doubt someone will know.

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Likewise, I can't recall what this was. My knowledge of aviation is in well grounded from the late 1930's onward...

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I didn't get any good shots of this Yak-9's aerial display, but it was sweet. This particular one had been bought by an American enthusiast and fitted with an Allison engine. I don't know if the OotRB and the kill silos are genuine, as the announcer claimed during its performance.

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...on to the modern fighters. I can hear some people booing and hissing already, but the fact is that we're getting them. Let's hope they do the job.

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They didn't fly this, which I was mildly disappointed about.

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They flew this though, a little too high and fast for me to capture!

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RAAF Hornets outbound

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They pulled all the usual stunts you'd expect with a four ship, but this was the only one that translated onto a still image.

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Best thing about airshows: if you want to stand within fifty feet of a jet fighter as it lands, you can.

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The last time we'll see the 'Pig' at Avalon while it is still in service(Super Hornets on order as an interim replacement)

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Turn and burn, baby!

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This was cool. It was actually a mothballed USAF C-121 that a group bought, flew back to Australia from the Boneyard in Arizona and restored in Qantas livery. It was gorgeous on the inside, though they had fitted it with a 2 x 2 seating arrangement for comfort, since this thing isn't trying to turn a profit. While waiting for the night bomb run, they put this thing out on the runway and did three aborted takeoffs with the mixture settings very rich. The sight and smell of this thing spouting flames as it roared past are giving me a cold shiver several weeks on.

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*sigh* romantic notions...

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He wishes he was a celebrity.

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Galaxys are friggin' huge.

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Friggin huge.

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Globemasters are less huge, but we've bought four of them, and they're all busy, so the USAF generously flew one in to perform cunning stunts.

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Someone forgot to tell the RNZAF that you can't fly 757s like fighters, because they were doing steep climbs, 60+ degree banks, and low altitude 300+ knot passes.

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Something deadly this way comes...

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Not so scary all the way up there, which is misleading.

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The good old Caribou. RAAF workhorse for forty years, the fleet will be replaced by the C-17s.

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Every transport plane bar the Kiwi 757 showed off their short field landing ability by coming to a stop and then rolling backwards down the runway. Smart arses.

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Herc on the left, RAAF's new Boeing Wedgetail AWAC toy on the right.

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A shout out to our good friend Wicked Pilot! Wrong tags, right tone!

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More smart arse cargo jocks.

More pictures may be available...
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Re: Avalon Airshow 2009(56K? Don't make me laugh)

Post by Chardok »

Man, I hate airshow pic threads because there could be a thousand pics, and I still want to see more. I should maybe, you know GO TO ONE someday. *le sigh* shame I pseudo-married a woman who would be bored out of her gourd by stuff like this.
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Re: Avalon Airshow 2009(56K? Don't make me laugh)

Post by aerius »

Man, why does every airshow, except for the one in Toronto have planes on the ground which you can walk up to and touch? This is going to annoy me to no end, everyone else gets to touch the planes, we get planes in the air that never come closer than 200' or so.
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Re: Avalon Airshow 2009(56K? Don't make me laugh)

Post by tim31 »

Some more to temporarily assuage your grief Chardok.

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The pig rides out(crappy res)

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Moar Lancer

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Malaysian armed forces show that aviator sunglasses transcend politics, religion, borders, and language barriers.

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Boeing being advertising whores(is this all about the tanker contract controversy?)

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Re: Avalon Airshow 2009(56K? Don't make me laugh)

Post by Count Chocula »

Man, great photos! My most memorable airshow experience was probably the Blue Angels and Army demonstration at Lake Washington outside Seattle, about (oh shit!) 14 years ago. The Army boys dropped a CH-47 in the water, lowered the ramp, and sent a couple of squads out the back in RIBs to storm the beach!

Then the Blue Angels did their thing. Goddamn. I've seen the Angels and Thunderbirds many many times, but a lake setting was just fantastic for their exhibition! Several times, the solo pilots stayed low around the hills (and million-dollar homes) and then appeared at 400 knots out of fucking nowhere 50 feet over the crowd. I could feel the Hornet's jet wash. Good times.

I'm also lucky enough to live only an hour from Lakeland, and the Sun 'N Fun airshow is less than three weeks away! I'll take pics and post them.

PS I think the first two planes are a Sopwith Pup and DeHavilland Tiger Moth.
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Re: Avalon Airshow 2009(56K? Don't make me laugh)

Post by tim31 »

Just looked at the full-res shot of the French one, and it's a Nieuport 17, or at least a smaller scale replica of one! As for the other one, it looks similar to a Tiger Moth but I don't think it is... I'll post some more photos of it shortly to help with the mystery.
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Re: Avalon Airshow 2009(56K? Don't make me laugh)

Post by Simplicius »

Second picture: VH-USC "Silver Centenary" is an Australian one-off, homebuilt in 1930 to an original design. I'm working on the first; it's not a Nieuport for sure, nor a Pup.

Edit: Not a Nieuport 17, but a Nieuport 11 (or patterned on one.) You can see the same strut arrangement, half-cowl, and peak where the slightly swept leading edges meet:

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More photos still welcome!
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Re: Avalon Airshow 2009(56K? Don't make me laugh)

Post by The Grim Squeaker »

aerius wrote:Man, why does every airshow, except for the one in Toronto have planes on the ground which you can walk up to and touch? This is going to annoy me to no end, everyone else gets to touch the planes, we get planes in the air that never come closer than 200' or so.
Our good airshows are special invite only (meaning, get a friend in the airforce or get out of luck), so it's not just for you.

Awesome photos!
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