The Australian International Airshow, also called the Avalon Airshow, is a large air show held biennially at Avalon Airport, between Melbourne and Geelong in Victoria.
The event has a strong focus on military aviation, featuring aircraft from the Royal Australian Air Force, United States Navy and the United States Air Force. Representatives from other air arms have also appeared at the airshow on many occasions, including aircraft from the Royal Air Force, Japan Air Self-Defense Force, Republic of Singapore Air Force and many others.
It has been said by air show organisers to be the largest air show in the Southern Hemisphere.
The airshow has periodically attracted anti-war protests.Airshow anti-war protest takes off February 19, 2003 Green Left Weekly Retrieved 6 March 2017McLennan, Rob Peace protest targets airshow March 1, 2017 93.9 Geelong Retrieved 6 March 2017
History
In 1957, the first air display was held at Avalon, when the head of the Port Melbourne Government Aircraft Factories, Geoff J. Churcher OAM, put on a display for the employees. As the employees at the factory only ever saw individual parts of aircraft, it was decided to mount a flying display at Avalon so the employees could see the final result of their work.
1988–1991: the first air shows In 1988, to celebrate the Australian Bicentenary, the first major airshow in Australia was held in Sydney at the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) air base at Richmond in New South Wales. It was organised by members of the Schofields Flying Club, which had been running small-scale air shows at the small strip at Schofields Airfield. The Bicentennial Airshow featured a vast array of international military aircraft, including the F-15 Eagle, Panavia Tornado F3, Sea Harrier, the Royal New Zealand Air Force aerobatic team "Kiwi Red", Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, BAE Systems Hawk and a flypast by a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bomber.
In February 1991, a second air show was held at Richmond, to celebrate the RAAF's 70th Anniversary. It was the last air show run by the remnants of Schoe's, who provided the prime impetus to get the Aerospace Foundation of Australia up and running. The foundation was responsible for forming AirShows DownUnder.
With the success of those two New South Wales shows, plans were laid for the Avalon airshow.
1st edition (1992) – Moving to Avalon
In 1992, the Australian International Airshow was moved to Avalon Airport near Geelong. Held during October, the show coincided with the wettest spring in Victoria's history. The show organisers nearly cancelled it due to the wet, but the rain stopped just before the opening day. The two public days of the 1992 show were attended by about 175,000 people.
There were 226 exhibitors from 12 countries. The move to Avalon in 1992 was hoped to be the first of many locations, however the weather caused financial difficulties that resulted in the air show remaining at Avalon for many years.
Besides the weather, further problems presented themselves, including the absence of the MiG-29 and Sukhoi Su-27 promised by the Russians. Other aircraft were present, notably the enormous Antonov An-124 Ruslan and Ilyushin Il-86. On display were warbirds, and the Airbus A340, which had been in commercial service for only seven months. The show featured significant RAAF participation.
2nd edition (1995) The 1995 show was the second to take place at Avalon. The date was moved from October to 21–26 March, taking advantage of finer weather during autumn.
The show was largely stolen by the visiting Russian contingent of Anatoly Kvochur, his specially modified Su-27P "Flanker" and Ilyushin Il-78 "Midas" tanker aircraft. They were supported by other Soviet/Russian aircraft such as the Ilyushin Il-76DMP, Il-96M and the Tupolev Tu-204. Present were the RAAF's General Dynamics F-111G "Aardvark", and the BAE Systems Hawk, Dassault Alpha Jet, CASA/IPTN CN-235, and the Kaman Seasprite, which were running for Australian Defence Force orders.
Aerial in-flight refuelling was displayed as well as Kvochur's world-famous flying routine with the Flanker which involved the "Cobra", knife-edge and extremely low level passes. The final display on the Sunday show saw the Flanker cruise down the Avalon runway at approximately above ground level. The RAAF and USAF were reluctant to compete with the Flanker and so there was no solo F/A-18 Hornet aerobatic display. The USAF flew the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon with external drop tanks fitted, which they said limited the aircraft to a "3g max" display. Kvochur won the award for best flying display this year.
3rd edition (1997) The 1997 Avalon air show was held between 18 and 23 February. In contrast to the 1992 show, which was the wettest spring in Victorian history, 1997 took place during the hottest February ever. Attendance was 171,168. $63 million was contributed to the Victorian economy.
Aircraft present were the USAF F-16 Fighting Falcon, KC-135 Stratotanker and C-17 Globemaster III, a Canadian CP-140 Aurora, a United States Marine Corps Super Cobra, a special Airbus A320 in Sydney Olympics livery, and two Canadair CL-215 Scoopers. The most notable aircraft was a Super Constellation, restored by HARS in the US. Another display was by the F-111 with its "dump and burn" during the Night Alight on Friday evening.
4th edition (1999)
In 1999, there were 472 exhibitors from 26 countries. It was opened by Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett on 16 February 1999. The USAF again had a heavy presence, contributing two F-16Cs, a KC-135R tanker, a C-5 Galaxy, and a B-52. The B-52 was parked at the end of the runway, ready to take off at a moment's notice for deployment in Iraq.
The RAAF displayed its new Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Super Hercules, even though it was yet to enter service. Eurofighter sent a mock-up of its Typhoon, promoting the aircraft as prospective replacement for the RAAF's F/A-18 Hornet. Business jets, warbirds and historic aircraft were featured heavily, including five North American P-51 Mustangs.
Novelty acts included wing-walking as part of the performances under the name "Stars of Oshkosh". Bob Hoover returned to perform in his Aero Commander.
5th edition (2001)
It was held on 13–18 February 2001, which celebrated Australia's 100 years of federation and 80 years of the Royal Australian Air Force. About 100 United States Air Force pilots took part in the 2001 air show. Planes included a B-1 Lancer, two F-15 Eagles, two F-16 Fighting Falcons, a B-52 Stratofortress, a C-17 Globemaster III, a Hawker Siddeley Nimrod, two Tornado GR.1s, a Vickers VC10 tanker, two RAF Hercules, and a Eurocopter Tiger, among others. The Bombardier CRJ700, Dash-8 (Q400) and Learjet 45 made their AIA debut, accompanied by a Cessna CJ2, Dassault Falcon 900EX and Cirrus SR20.
The 2001 show featured the last public display of the RAAF's Aermacchi MB-326 jet trainer before retirement.
6th edition (2003)
In 2003, the official theme was "Celebrating the Centenary of Powered Flight", commemorating the first powered flight by the Wright brothers on 17 December 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. There were 440 exhibitors from 30 countries. There were more than six hundred aircraft on the field. It included replicas from the early 20th century, such as a 1910 Hanriot replica and 1911 Curtiss Model D Pusher replica. There were Tiger Moths, Sopwith Pup, Bleriot XI and a scale version of a Wright Flyer II and other similar aircraft. For jets it had a Canberra, MiG-15, Hawker Hunter, Gloster Meteor and Vampire. A NH90 arrived in an Airbus Beluga, which was an attraction in itself.
A Chinese military delegation was given a tour of the air show. The 2003 show took place in the lead-up to the Iraq War which began the following month and appearances by a number of American aircraft scheduled to join in the show such as the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk were cancelled, due to possible anti-war protests. There was a model of an F-35 Lightning II, made of wood and fibreglass. An anti-war protest took place outside, and Gavan O'Connor, the local parliament member boycotted the airshow.
7th edition (2005)
The theme of the 2005 show, held from 15 to 20 March, was "The Shape of Things to Come". The airshow experienced increased business activity, with more than 500 exhibitors from 22 countries and 11 major conferences. The air show increased Geelong's economy by $15.6 million.
It featured many planes ranging from ultralights to large military aircraft, such as the F/A-18 Hornet, F-15 Eagle, B-52 Stratofortress (a surprise flyover), F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark, P-51 Mustang, C-130J, Seahawk, Caribou, Orion and CAC Boomerang. A specially painted RAAF F/A-18 Hornet was present was the show, commemorating 20 years of service with Australia
8th edition (2007)
The theme of the 2007 air show, held between 20 and 25 March, was "Breaking the Barriers", as it was the 60th anniversary of the breaking of the sound barrier by Charles "Chuck" Yeager. Yeager was the guest of honour at the show, and a full-scale mockup of the Bell X-1 was specially constructed. During the show, 611 companies from 20 countries exhibited their products. There were 457 featured aircraft, and 182,769 visitors attended. The 2007 show injected A$120 million into the Victorian economy, creating 1,800 jobs.
It was the 60th year of the United States Air Force, which once again featured prominently at the event, sending the F-15 Eagles, F-16 Fighting Falcons, E-3 Sentry and a C-17 Globemaster III. The F/A-18F Super Hornet display was made possible by United States Navy aircraft from VFA-102 off of the USS Kitty Hawk. Besides those from the USAF, other military aircraft featured included the F/A-18 Hornet, General Dynamics F-111, F/A-18F Super Hornet, BAe Hawk 127, C-27J Spartan and C-130 Hercules, along with military helicopters including the S-70 Black Hawk and Eurocopter Tiger.
The RAAF's first C-17 Globemaster III transport was on display and there was a USAF B-52 bomber flyover. The Roulettes, the RAAF's aerobatic display team, took part in their Pilatus PC-9 aircraft. A large number of civil aircraft were on display, which included modern-day light and sports aircraft, and jet airliners including the Airbus A320, Boeing 737 and Boeing 747. A large number of warbirds and older aircraft took part, such as the P-51 Mustang, P-40 Kittyhawk, Douglas DC-3 and Lockheed Super Constellation.
The show saw the appearance of three-time world aerobatic champion Yurgis Kairis, test pilot Ricardo Traven, who piloted the F/A-18, and American stunt pilot Jim LeRoy. Jim died on 28 July 2007 during a helicopter transit, following a crash at the Vectren Dayton Air Show. Bob Carlton made his debut appearance in the Super Salto Jet Sailplane.
9th edition (2009)
The 2009 air show was held from 10 to 15 March. Trade sessions ran from Tuesday until 2 pm Friday, after which it was opened for the public until Sunday. The theme of this edition was "Towards Tomorrow". Andy Thomas, an Australian-born astronaut, was the guest of honour. The airshow also remembered the 40th anniversary of the first Moon landing. Andy grew up in Adelaide, while the American space programme was still in its infancy. The show was the last featuring the F-111 Aardvark, with the RAAF retiring the aircraft in December 2010, replaced by the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Approximately 165,000 people turned out to the six-day-long event.
Aircraft that visited the show were Qantas' Boeing 747 and Airbus A380, the latter of which was first delivered the previous year. V Australia, a new Brisbane-based competitor in the international market, contributed with its Boeing 777-300ER. Also on display were the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, C-17, B1-B Lancer, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, F/A-18F Super Hornet, F-111 Aardvark, and the KC-10 Extender.