On Sunday, with some friends, we made an early start and headed up through the Clare Valley to the Mid North, and Jamestown for their triennial airshow. There was a fierce crosswind blowing that meant some displays were cancelled, but that did not phase the wing-walker whose display had us all holding our breath! (almost)
The airshow programme was a great mix of aircraft. There were vintage planes of all shapes and sizes from the luxurious Stinson of the 1930s to the giant russian Antonov An2 built from the late 40s.
There were aerobatics from high performance stunt planes like the Giles G-202 and the Extra 300, but Paul Bennet in his Pitts Special stole the show with his amazing display, and then his crazy stunt involving a motorbike jumping over him.
There were jets in the air, (L139 Albatross and Aermacci S211) and on the ground were the jet car powered by an engine from a Sabreliner executive jet showed it acceleration. (The pyrotechnics also started a fire and kept the local CFS busy
But everyone had really come to see the warbirds, vintage military aircraft. WW1 was represented by a replica Nieuport 11. I didn't realise they had GPS in WW1!
The Trojan, from the Korean and Vietnam eras is one of my favourites, as is the CAC Boomerang which saw service in WW2
The P40 Kittyhawk always give a good show, and the kids love those sharksteeth!
The real highlight for me though was the Grumman TBM Avenger, a huge beast of a plane with a 14 cylinder engine that powered around the skies.
This is by far the longest gap I've had between posts. Due to an eye problem, I have not been using my camera, or going birding since last October.
This weekend was the Barossa Airshow, and I decided it was time to give my camera a workout. Getting a sharp focus was definitely an issue, as was trying to use the viewfinder with my left eye, but all things considered I am reasonably happy with the results.
The show opened with the Adelaide Skydivers.
Followed closely by the crowd favourites, the RAAF Roulettes in their Pilatus PC-9s. They start off with all 6 aircraft in formation
before two PC-9s split from the main formation and do some mirror formations and fast head on passes.
Next, one of the CFS Airtractors gave a display dropping water on a small fire
Next up, some warbirds, a replica Nieuport, the CAC Boomerang and a Nangchang from Adelaide Warbirds.
Jesse Jury (Yellow) and Chris Sperou (Red) raced against each other in their Pitts, performing a number of aerobatic manoeuvres in the first race of its kind in Australia.
The pace was slowed down when the beautifully restored Stinson Reliant gave its display, before finishing with a bang when the SIAI Marchetti S211 jet trainer arrived.
A great day out!
Last weekend I headed 2 1/2 hours north of Adelaide to the triennial airshow at Jamestown. For a small country town, they put on a really good airshow.
The runway has recently been sealed, and this allowed for jets to be based her for the first time. The show was opened by a fast pass of the L-39 Albatross.
This was followed by a pair of AT-6 Harvards and the inimitable Chris Sperou in his Pitts Special.
Another jet on display was the SIAI Marchetti S-211. A big change in speed followed, with the DHC-1 Chipmunks of the "chipettes" doing their formation display.
Jamestown is really known for its warbirds, and this year was exceptional with two Curtis P-40s, a model F Warhawk, and a model P Kittyhawk, a Vultee B-13, the last airworthy Lockheed Hudson in the world, and two Aussie classics in the CA-18 Mustang and the CA-13 Boomerang.
The show was closed by the RAAF Roulettes, with their exhilarating display of close formation flying.
