This was my first year at Avalon & I absolutely loved it. While everyone's comparing it to a expo in another country, how about comparing it to a similar sized event in Aus, like the footy, or the big day out, or even just taking a normal flight at the airport. There you'd be in huge lines waiting to get your bag thoroughly searched after waiting in a huge line to have your ticket scanned, and get sniffed at by sniffer dogs. It added an extra 10 seconds or so to my day to chuck my bag onto the conveyor to have it xrayed. At least there wasn't full body scanners like you'd get at the airport.
I went on the Sunday and given the 7ish hours of aerial displays as well as the static displays and the amount of things to do it was definitely worth the money. The F22 floored me with its ability to defy the laws of physics, and I had no idea they could throw around a C17 as much as they did at the display.
And big thanks to all the pilots/aircrew that were always up for a chat about the aircraft! I spend all day talking to pilots (usually giving them delays), but never get the chance to just have a chat about the beautiful machines on display.
