A week ago our second oldest son Zac asked me if I could to take him to the Wide Bay Australia International Air Show which is on this weekend. I jumped at the opportunity straight away. With an interest in aviation and the chance for a day off a team of wild horses could not keep me away. It wasn’t long before I had a couple of tickets booked for Saturday which is the first day of the two day event.
The Big Day Arrives.
Saturday morning arrived with perfect conditions for an air show. The sun was shining without a cloud in the sky and there was just enough breeze to keep it comfortable out in the sun. We departed with plenty of time to get to Bundaberg Airport where the event is being held. After the usual traffic delays that come with any large event we arrived in time for the opening sequence which involved a couple of parachutists descending with large Australian and Wide Bay Australia (the major sponsor of the Wide Bay Australia International Airshow ) flags. All the time being closely circled by a Pits Special aerobatic plane. It was going to be an entertaining day.
The Static Displays
Being early in the day we decided to have a look at the static displays and stalls first. There was everything on offer from $20 radio controlled helicopters to $2,000 joy flights in a jet fighter on offer. Many of the local flying schools had information booths set up as well as the QLD Institute for Aviation Engineering and a university. All with plenty of information for anyone interested in a career in aviation. The one that we headed for straight away was the Defence Force Recruiting area. Zac is interested in becoming a navy helicopter pilot when he has finished his schooling. So we were after any information that we could get to help him work towards that goal.
The Aircraft
Once we had finished getting a lot of valuable information from the Defence Force Recruiting stand we had a good look at the wide variety of aircraft on display, including many modern small aircraft including the locally made Jabiru as well as a good variety of warbirds, The RAAF Roulette’s and Matt Hall’s air racing aircraft. Many of these we were going to see perform as the day went on.
The Flying
As good as all these aircraft were to look at the flying displays were what everyone was there to see. I don’t think that any one would have left disappointed. there were a couple of Pitt Specials that did a superb acrobatics display before racing an old Chevy Blitz truck and a hatchback along the runway. The truck and car won. They both have jet engines mounted in the back.
This was followed up by Matt Hall performing a spectacular airobatics display and the RAAF Roulette’s with an incredible display of there own. Most of which is done in tight formation. There were a wide variety of flying displays from the warbirds that were there also, including a couple of jets that were a lot of fun to watch. The one display that took my breath away though was the visit from one of the new Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18F Super Hornet’s. Watching one of these aircraft performing a low level pass at 500 miles per hour or turning in an incredibly short length at high speed and so close is amazing. But it absolutely took my breath away when the pilot went from less than 100 feet to 20,000 feet in a matter of seconds vertically.
A Good Day Out
Over all Zac and I had a fantastic day out and are planing to come back for the next Wide Bay Australia International Airshow . If you have as big a love of aircraft as Zac and myself I am sure that you would have a very enjoyable and memorable day if you came along too.
Have You Been To The Airshow In Bundaberg?
Cheers,
Dave
New Life On The Road
G’day Lisa Dave and Zac,
Very happy to hear you had a great day at Bundaberg Airshow. I wish I’d been there to catch all the action – especially Matt Hall and the Roulettes with their formation aerobatics display.
Zac, many years ago I flew with an ex-RAN helicopter pilot on pipeline patrol in a Bell 206. He was one of the smoothest pilots I’ve ever crewed with, and went on to be a corporate pilot on a Sikorsky S76.
Fair Winds
Harry
Sounds like a fantastic day out, especially since you both love aeroplanes. I have been to the wide bay australia international airshow once and we also had a great day.
I LOVE an airshow. The Blue Angels will by flying in the one by my house on Labor Day weekend. I cannot WAIT. Thanks.
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That would be a blast 🙂 Having them fly past your house!
Cheers
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
Glad to hear you both had a great day at the Wide Bay Airshow, they are a lot of fun.
Would have been great to see Matt Hall fly, I think he is a competes in the Red Bull Air Race.
Thanks for sharing,
Cade
Hello Cade,
Thanks for stopping here for the Wide Bay Australia International Air Show! David and Zachery actually went to the air show for the event, the rest of us stayed home! Within a few hours the battery went dead on our phone so we only had a limited amount of photos! So wished we had way more photos from the day, so that our other boys got to share the experience of what was there for the day!
Cheers
Lisa
Sounds like Dave and Zachery had a fantastic time at the Wide Bay Australia International Air Show. Don’t worry about not having a lot of photos – I’m sure you’ll be able to find thousands of them on Google Images! 🙂
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Dave and Zachery had a ball at the Wide Bay Australia International Air Show 🙂
It was so much fun – Zac keeps telling us!!!
Cheers
Lisa