Avalon Airshow 2009

[Stationair8]

A little confusion seems to exist around the dates of Avalon airshow for 2009 and the F1 Grand Prix.

In the latest Flightpath, Avalon Airshow has a quarter page add which shows the date has the 24-29th March, and the Grand Prix is listed as been on the same weekend. Yet another website shows the Grand Prix as being on the 15-16th of March and Avalon as the 24-29th of March.

Anyone know the correct dates?

[Flash_11]

The dates have changed to March 10 - 15 on page 19 of the September edition of Aust Aviation.

[Cinders]

March 10-15

AVALON 2009 - AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL AIRSHOW AND AEROSPACE & DEFENCE EXPOSITION - 10-15 March 2009 GEELONG VICTORIA (http://www.airshow.net.au/)

C.

[short-field]

yeah they changed it 2 weeks after I booked my accommodation!

DUH!

Would have made a brilliant weekend - airshow Friday Saturday and Grand Prix Sunday....

[JaseAVV]

with most of our defence contract sorted it will be a pretty dull year for fighter buffs I'm predicting..

[Jay Bo]

Like wise i got some cheap tickets on jstar for the weekend of the 25th only to check their website to say that they had changed their dates.
AARGGHGHGHHH!!! the fees they charge for a date change:eek:

[elche]

IMHO the first ever Avalon air show (1995 I think??) was the best! The Russians certainly know how to put on a show!! :D Their chopper AND jet pilots are absolute nutters!! :D:D:D

If I remember correctly, the Kiwi's did a few loops in some A4s while hooked up with the refueling line - Absolutely awesome!! :D:D
And the Yanks... just a tight turns and low fast fly by... :ugh:


My goal has been to fly my old-man to the show... maybe 2009 may be the year :ok:

[Mick.B]

I thought 91 was the first.

[G.A. Boy]

I thought it was 92, held in the second half of the year, before it was held next in about March 95.

[mingalababya]

Yeah, I think it was Sept 92 .. I remember taking a sickie to attend on the trade day ..it was free back then if you held a pilot license. IIRC, there was also an A340 fly-past by Airbus at the show before they entered service.

[runway16]

The problem lays with the Grand Prix people altering the race dates, not the Avalon Airshow people.

Two major events in Melbourne on the same weekend would simply not be possible - from an organisational point of view. For a start the Grand Prix 747 freighters would be clogging up Avalon where they land to off-load the F1 machines. .

[elche]

95 was probably the first time I'd heard of it... In 91-92, I would have been 10 years old - sorry. It still was the best show I've seen so far. Hopefully 09 can better it? :ok:

[Highflyer787]

Do you think Qantas might put an A380 on static/flying display for a bit of PR?

[Stationair8]

Thanks for the info.

October 92 was the first Avalon, Melbourne had one of its wettest Springs on record and consequently the airshow organisers had to go out and buy a large amount of tan bark so that the public didn't finish up ankle deep in mud.

[Critical Reynolds No]

:zzz::zzz::zzz::zzz::zzz:

Same same but no different. Airshow been same same since 2001. The F-15 and F-16 airside commentary is the same script "more power than the entire grid of the indy 500" etc etc. Plus the show commentators should be replaced.
Add in Jetsrat* take-offs and recovery and the show loses it's pace. (Maybe Air-AxisX next year?)

Didn't the crowd boo at the 2007 nite-a-lite?

Save money and go to any of the defence force shows. Amberley is coming up in October and Nowra as well. At least the Temora stuff et al go to those.

out.

[Walrus 7]

As long as there is trouble in the Persian Gulf, we are unlikely to get any of the magic stuff from the USA. In 2005, we were all sucked-in by rumours of 32 different types coming from the USA, including unsubtle hints of a possible B-2 Spirit from the media wizards at ASDU. We got the Pacific display team of F-16s, F-15s and the usual tankers. It is not looking much better for 2009 at this stage.

Avalon is just too far away to have your major assets in times of conflict or potential conflict. The European shows are well attended by the big air forces of the world because they are still within striking distance of the trouble.

To their credit, ASDU asks for one of everything every time, but the USAF and USN never commit anything until the last minute. Expect the same thing to happen in 09 as well.

Walrus

[Critical Reynolds No]

I take your point on that Walrus and fair enough. Though what about Temora? They have been no shows the last two times.

[Ultralights]

Does anyone have any experience flying into Avalon for the show weekend? and i hear the onsite camping wont be onsite anymore? if you fly in and camp, will they provide transport to camp area from the parking tie down area?

[shnee]

As long as they have some nice corporate gear there, I will be there.

As for flying in there. Make sure you have your life insurance up to date.


Shnee.

[Walrus 7]

Temora has been in dispute with Avalon for a while now. The problem can be many-fold, depending on who you talk to. The real reason is probably one of, or a combination of, these.

1. No hardstand parking is available for the warbirds because it is all needed for the heavy stuff.

2. Avalon is a very dusty place and several warbird owners won't take their planes there.

3. The Avalon Airshow is a commercial venture and therefore TAM is well within their rights to charge full cost recovery and perhaps more for their planes, which ASDU won't part with.

4. TAM only takes their planes to shows that support aviation heritage themselves, such as the HARS fly-in, Albury and Point Cook. They also support groups that occasionally support them.

5. TAM wants people to come to Temora to see the planes.

OAC at Tyabb also won't go to Avalon anymore. Having spoken with people involved in the airshow business on this very issue, all of the above have been brought up.

Walrus

[OZBUSDRIVER]

It just sounds like AAC has forgotten their roots at Schofields:(

[Critical Reynolds No]

How long do we think the airshow will be held at Avalon? Especially with increasing RPT use? What other airfield could hold it? (Doesn't have to be in Vic).

[Walrus 7]

The major factor in the future of the show is now whether or not AV will have to have a C-class tower. The chances of that happening are actually pretty good at the moment. Whether or not it's justified is a different thing.

Linfox may find it harder to attract users to AV because they will now have to pay the tower charges. In this case, they may as well use ML. All the advantages they had of operating from AV will be removed. I seem to remember somewhere that Jetstar were talking about relocating to ML if a C-class tower was put in at AV.

In other words, the effect of the C-class tower of movement numbers is unclear. The other thing to remember is that the airshow is contracted to AV until 2015.

As for alternatives, there aren't many airports as big as AV that close to major population centres in Australia. The capital airports would have to be out of the question.

Walrus

[aulglarse]

Richmond AFB would'nt be a bad idea I thought? It was a great set-up in '91?

[jumpuFOKKERjump]

I seem to remember somewhere that Jetstar were talking about relocating to ML if a C-class tower was put in at AV.
Reality is they would only have to announce the relocation and the tower would be closed in a snap. They then cancel the relocation, and another five years bleating from DS and bumbling efforts by CASA would reopen it. Go back to step one.

Found out last week I don't get to talk to aeroplanes next year at Avalon. Not sure I'll go.:oh:

[Falcon124]

1. No hardstand parking is available for the warbirds because it is all needed for the heavy stuff.

Last Avalon the HARS folks had their larger aircraft parked in the keyhole (Connie & the PBY) and the Dak on grass around the loop with the other Daks. Then there was the warbird area which is another tarmac bay next to the combat jet compound. We had the Dragonfly in there last year and a stack of other aircraft.

So, there is some hardstand parking for warbirds - perhaps not enough though?

[judemoar]

Hi all,

We are making our 5 bedroom house in Geelong West available to rent during Avalon Airshow March 2009.

It is available from Monday 9th to Sunday 15th March 2009.

Please contact me for further details

Regards Jude

[VH-XXX]

Walrus, what is your point? Are saying that people won't visit the airshow because of the airways charges from a tower? Surely not. If you're talking $10 to land once at Avalon main for the airshow across a whole weekend I really don't think anyone is going to stay home because of that.

How many people actually land at Avalon during the week other than Jetstar as there are no GA facilities there, meaning you can't even get off the tarmac once you arrive (unless you have a very special prior arrangement)?

Don't Linfox charge for an ILS now anyway? Therefore, why would a tower stop people flying into Avalon because bugger-all fly in there anyway?

For those that haven't been there during the airshow, the RPT traffic comes and goes without issue and passengers are provided with an alternate entrance to the airport terminal when they show their ticket to security.

[FoxtrotAlpha18]

XXX - There is a decent GA strip mown in the adjacent paddock for the airshow - no ILS, no tarmac.

[Sunstar320]

Avalon Airshow is certianly SENSATIONAL for watching GA traffic coming in and out. Its non-stop!

[Capt Wally]

"XXX" actually we fly into AV a fair bit, seems a waste of resource to me but we do:-) I enjoy the over 3k's of tar, one can make the old Beech do some amazing tricks with that much black stuff laid out in front of you:-)
I flew into AV during the last airshow, was fun to have it all stop for our arrival:)
Anyway AV I believe is still ideal for an Airshow. As for the tower? Well it's all about cost.


CW

[Horatio Leafblower]

XXX

Walrus was talking about JQ's reaction to a class C tower being permanently established at Avalon. :ugh:

[VH-XXX]

Read it again Horatio?

Perhaps you should. :ugh:

Walrus stated the following:

"The major factor in the future of the show is now whether or not AV will have to have a C-class tower. The chances of that happening are actually pretty good at the moment."

I can't see any reason whatsoever why this would be true!

Perhaps he meant, "The major factor in the future for Jetstar using Avalon is whether or not AV will have a C-class tower"


Capt, it's just an assumption of mine that you guys fly in almost anywhere. There doesn't seem to be many full stops at Avalon apart from the RPT and occasional aeromed.

[Walrus 7]

People and XXX,

Sorry for taking so long to get back to this. External considerations prevented me from logging in. All sorted now.

OK, my contention is that if the traffic at AV gets to the level that demands a C-class tower, then an airshow there will be impractical. As Linfox would rather have the traffic than the airshow, I can see that the airshow's days would be numbered after 2015. The paradox is that if a C-class goes in full time, JQ will probably abandon ship to ML, which would in turn reduce the traffic at AV below that needed to demand a tower.

It all hinges on whether or not JQ are serious about heading for ML, or are they just rattling sabres.

Either way, I suspect that Linfox will not be in a hurry to extend the airshow agreement beyond 2015.

Walrus

[Spodman]

The Office of Airspace Regulation may one day mandate a Class C service at Avalon, which would require Airservices to man the tower as required, but this would not neccessitate a Class C service during the airshow. OAR retain the ability to temporarily re-designate airspace, and I'll bet one shiny oxford scholar they will (again) promulgate temporary airspace that will permit modified GAAP, regardless of what applies the rest of the year.

And fair enuf too.

[Quill Shaft]

Richmond AFB would'nt be a bad idea I thought? It was a great set-up in '91?

Wasn't bad last year either. Mainly military stuff though, so I don't know what sort of restrictions would apply to commercial events

[mostlytossas]

I remember the first one at Avalon well. It was wet alright at least the ground was. I flew my family in in a c172 and had to land at Lovely Banks strip due to the wet conditions forcing the Avalon East stip to be abandoned. So too was the camping ground as we all camped in the wool sheds instead. The show itself was good though as was the one at Richmond that preceeded it a couple of years prior. My memories of that was the military controllers being overwhelmed by all the traffic and many having to divert to Scofields to land. Good memories.

[damo1089]

Sorry to not comment on this tower business...
I absolutely hate the American commentary over their F-16 displays. They might as well record and loop some ridiculously America-proud citizen commentator yelling "We are better than you, than everyone actually, don't mess with us, cause our planes are the s**t!"
I would like to see a flyable F-35 there, people are hanging out for one, and because we are gonna get them one day, they might as well...

[Walrus 7]

Spodman,

If the OAR mandates a C-class tower for AV because of the RPT, why would they downgrade it during the airshow? The RPT traffic level won't be changing when the show is on.

Damo,

The worst part of the US commentary is that it's actually a recording. And in the F-16 (or is that F-15?) sequence, there is an error that gets played every show. Right now I can't remember what it is, but would know it again if I heard it.

Walrus

[VH-XXX]

You are seriously deluded if you believe that an airshow such as Avalon won't happen because of a tower and some RPT traffic :ugh:

[Walrus 7]

I have never said the airshow would be under threat from a tower. I have said that the establishment of a tower would be an indicator of whether or not Linfox had been successful in increasing traffic and the increase in traffic would certainly make the airshow impractical. Even moreso when the owner of the airport doesn't support the airshow.

Anyhow, it was in the Herald-Sun today that Linfox has given up on plans to turn AV into a second international airport for Melbourne. He said it was because bureacratic red tape made it nearly impossible. I wouldn't have thought the tower was a possibility now, even if DS still thinks it's warranted.

Walrus

[lc_461]

I've booked my tickets, any word on what sort of aircraft will be in the displays? Also heard a rumour that the QF A380 is going to be there. Anyone in the know have any news?

[Sunstar320]

They dont usually reveal what aircraft is coming to Avalon beforehand.

I would like to see a Antonov 125 though.

[Critical Reynolds No]

I hope the commentators get the flick.

The website has confirmed the SUper Hornet with Ricardo Traybin flying it again.

[flog]

As far as military goes - they pretty much just ask for one of everything from everybody that has the range to get here (US, Asia, etc. included) and then very close to the date the various establishments let them know what's available. Has a lot to do with current operational deployment.