Airshow DownUnder ’95 Preview

Perhaps the biggest disappointment of the inaugural show was the non arrival of the Su-27 and MiG-29. This time around Sukhoi has confirmed that it plans to bring Su-35 and Su-30 variants of the formidable Flanker. The Su-35 is an improved and advanced multirole development of the basic Flanker fighter. Sukhoi no doubt hopes to sell this aircraft, which is arguably the most advanced and most capable fighter flying, to South East Asian air forces. Features of this advanced fighter include fly-by-wire, canards, a rearward facing radar in the tailcone and improved developments of the Su-27’s radar, avionics and engines. An awesome package in any language. Sukhoi also plans to bring a two seat Su-30MK. The Su-30MK variant of the Flanker is another multirole model designed for long range interception and strike missions. Supporting the Flankers will be an Il-76. In addition Sukhoi plans to bring examples of its world beating aerobatic aircraft, a two seat Su-29 and a single seat Su-31. All aircraft of the Sukhoi contingent are well renowned for their breathtaking airshow display routines and hopefully will also thrill Australian crowds this March.

It is now almost seven years since the MiG-29 startled the western world with its appearance at the 1988 Farnborough airshow. Sadly for Australia however Mikoyan’s manufacturer MAPO (Moscow Aircraft Production Company) has advised that it will not be bringing aircraft to the show. MAPO had previously advised that it wished to display two MiG-29s. Ilyushin meanwhile plans to bring two aircraft to the show. The Il-96 is once again making its way down under, but this time in westernised Il-96MO form. Powered by P&W PW2000s and featuring Rockwell Collins avionics, the Il-96MO prototype is the pinnacle of Russian/US aerospace cooperation. The four engined widebodied airliner is similar in size and design concept to the Airbus A340. The Il-76MP meanwhile is the firebomber version of the familiar Il-76 freighter. Ilyushin hopes that the Il-76MP’s 44 tonne fire retardant payload will attract strong interest from local firefighting authorities. Finally Antonov had not yet decided upon its participation at the show at the time of writing, but the organisers hoped the Ukrainian design bureau would display an An-124 or even the massive six engined An-225, the world’s largest aircraft.

This year Airshows DownUnder has been dealing directly with the Russian manufacturers/design bureaus, and was hopeful that the non appearance of several key promoted aircraft types would not be repeated this time around. A strong US military contingent looks set to be a highlight of this year’s show. The biggest aircraft in the US contingent will be a C-5 Galaxy but the types bound to draw the most interest should be the F-4 Phantoms and F-16 Fighting Falcons. Sadly the legendary Phantom is slowly being phased out of US service but their visit to Australia will give a new generation of spectators a chance to see what was the world’s best fighter in its day, while for others bringing back memories of the great RAAF airshows of the early 1970s where the F-4 was a major highlight. Also scheduled to be on display are Desert Storm veterans the A-10 Thunderbolt II tank killer and the AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter. A KC-135 tanker will also be present. Unlike 1992 where the US military aircraft were on static display only, these aircraft are scheduled to take part in the flying display.

New Zealand has always brought a strong military presence to Australian airshows and this year again Nowra based 2 Squadron will be bringing Skyhawks. Singapore too will be bringing their GE powered Skyhawks to the show. Other international military participation is also a possibility. The Australian Defence Force will again have a major aircraft presence at the show with examples of every major ADF aircraft type planned to participate including F-111s, F/A-18s, Hercules, Caribou, 707, Orion, Army Black Hawks and Navy Seahawks. Airliner participation will come in the form of a Qantas 747-400 and 767, while freight specialist Federal Express will have a 747 freighter on display.

As would be expected a strong warbirds showing is planned. Favourites such as the Spitfire, Mustang and Sea Fury plus numbers of Trojans, Harvards and Winjeels will be joined by Steve Picatti in the US’s ex RAAF Canberra, Australia’s only airworthy MiG-21, Guido Zucolli’s Boomerang and recently repainted Fiat G.59, the RAAF Museum’s Sabre, Vampire and Ventura plus Sopwith Pup and Fokker Trimotor replicas, a Firefly, Grumman Tracker, Neptune, Strikemaster and others are all planned to appear. One aircraft that should be a major drawcard if it makes it to the show will be the Lockheed Super Constellation. The Connie is slated to participate in the show, but obviously this is dependant upon it arriving in the country in time. Again local classic and antique aircraft should feature strongly as well.

The Flying Displays

The airshow organiser is heavily promoting the extended flying displays, that on the three public days will run for up to twelve hours. Unlike the major European shows of Paris and Farnborough, plus Asian Aerospace in Singapore, and like major North American shows, the flying display’s emphasis on the three public days will be on creating an entertaining air spectacular. The air display will feature five separate theme based components. Flying is due to start off with an Air Spectacular, starting with hot air balloons and parachutists and including warbirds, heavy metal transport aircraft and culminating in displays from current jet fighters such as the F-16, Flanker and Hornet.

The USA’s Aerobatic All Stars will be familiar to visitors to Oshkosh, and are recognised as perhaps the world’s best civilian aerobatic performers. Their performance includes world class aerobatic routines in their custom made sport aircraft. Included in the All Stars is the current US aerobatic champion, who will also perform in his Extra and legend Bob Hoover will perform. The Aerobatic All Stars are sponsored and supported by Federal Express. FedEx will transport the All Stars aircraft to Australia in a 747 freighter that will then go on static display. Performances by a range of sports and aerobatic aircraft will comprise the AirSport Spectacular section of the display. Aerobatic displays will be performed by aircraft such as the Pitts Special and Sukhoi Su-26. Gliders, parachutists, hang gliders and model aircraft will take to the skies, while Harvards, Trojans and other WW2 era warbirds will battle out for honours in the Grand Prix of Air Races DownUnder. A Military Air Tattoo will feature mock air battles, simulated ground attacks, helicopter troop insertions, and displays by jet and piston engined warbirds. The Sky Show Finale is unique outside North America. The flying display will culminate in a sort of aircraft light and sound show against the backdrop of gathering darkness. Smoke emitting aerobatic aircraft will perform, Hornets will scramble into the sky with full afterburner, while the finale will be the F-111’s famous and awesome fuel dump and burn.

The Exhibitors

Many of the world’s major aerospace companies have booked exhibition space or will have some sort of major presence at Avalon this year. At presstime, 22 countries had given a commitment to exhibit, including companies from the USA, Russia, Israel, South Africa, Czech Republic, Singapore, France, New Zealand, Japan and Indonesia. At the inaugural Airshow DownUnder in October 1992 just 12 nations attended. Australian industry too will be heavily represented. In all, more than 300 exhibitors are expected to attend. On the military side a number of major manufacturers will be showcasing their products to meet major upcoming ADF programmes. Dassault and British Aerospace in particular are planning major exhibitions which showcase their contenders for the RAAF’s lead-in fighter programme, the Alpha Jet ATS and Hawk respectively. Alenia, CASA and IPTN meanwhile are all prospective contenders for the RAAF’s Caribou replacement/Light Tactical Transport project, CASA and IPTN with their versions of the CN-235, Alenia with the G.222. IPTN plans to bring a CN-235 to the show. The Army fire support and reconnaissance helicopter requirement has also attracted exhibitors, including for the first time South Africa’s Atlas Aviation, who will be promoting the Rooivalk.

The US participation will be the largest and the US pavilion has been increased in size by 50% compared with Avalon ’92. Major exhibitors include Boeing Defense and Space Group, Lockheed, McDonnell Douglas, E-Systems, Evergreen and AlliedSignal among many others. Canadian exhibitors will include the Bombardier conglomerate, Bristol Aerospace and CAE Electronics. Saab and BAe’s Jetstream will mount displays promoting the Saab 340 and 2000, and the Jetstream 31, 41 and 61 respectively. The Russian manufacturers’ presence meanwhile will be backed up by the export agency Aviaexport. Aside from aerospace companies, the airshow will also play host to a Travel and Tourism Showcase. Airlines, travel agents, major tourist attractions and hotels etc will promote their services and travel and tourism opportunities both within Australia and around the world. A Flyers World hall meanwhile will feature a number of vendors selling various aviation related merchandise including books, models and paintings.

International Aerospace Congress

In conjunction with the airshow, the International Aerospace Congress will see Melbourne play host to a number of major conferences during the last week of March. The gathering will be at the World Congress Centre from March 20 to 23 where the Pacific International Conference on Aerospace Science and Technology and the Australian Aeronautical Conference will be held. Here leaders and key personnel from around the world will speak on research and development, advanced manufacturing, operations, propulsion, aerodynamics and education. A keynote speaker will be Charles Masefield, Director of British Defence Sales, the President of the Royal Aeronautical Society and the former Commercial Director at Airbus. The Defence of the Air Sea Gap conference (to be held at the Melbourne ParkRoyal between March 20 and 22) is planned jointly by the Naval Association of Australia and the RAAF Association and will look at the impact of coastline and oceans on vital air and sea defence infrastructure, and logistics management. Speakers and panel discussions will look at a wide range of defence related issues including intelligence gathering and assessment, the importance of air cover, the influence of coastal terrain on air sea and land defence movements, oceanographic influences on naval vessel type and capacity selection, weaponry options, communications systems and command structures. A third major conference is the Defence Export Outlook Conference ’95 to be held at the Regent Hotel between March 21 and 24. Topics to be covered include export opportunities, niche products and growing markets, joint ventures and research and development for defence products and services. The conferences are expected to attract large delegations of overseas visitors, particularly from the Asia Pacific region.

Making A Bigger And Better Airshow

Fate conspired to deal the inaugural Airshow DownUnder a cruel hand when the wettest spring on record and heavy rains right through to just before the airshow opened saturated the site. The rain caused major operational problems for the organisers and at one stage the show was close to being called off. car parking spent most of their time underwater forcing carparks to be located much further away from the show site than planned, while the roads serving the improvised car parking areas were narrow and not designed for heavy traffic volumes, thus slowing up traffic and introducing a considerable walk to the show site. Bottlenecks and slow moving traffic had a snowballing effect on traffic driving to the airshow along the Princes Freeway and slowed traffic to almost a standstill at some stages though in fairness this was often as a result of traffic accidents on the freeway. To combat the traffic problems a number of measures have been taken, including establishing a coordinating body between Police, the airshow organisers, VicRoads and the Public Transport Corporation, and a light aircraft equipped with TV cameras will be used to coordinate traffic police on the ground and direct them to potential traffic trouble spots. Last time parking was charged as the cars entered the car park, further slowing the traffic flow, whereas this year parking is incorporated into the cost of the airshow admission ticket, thus allowing cars to be directed to their parking spots quickly without holding them up.

The rain also flooded areas that were set aside for visiting aircraft, forcing people who flew in to the show from around the country, plus a number of warbirds, to base out of alternative fields. Further, many areas around the site were soggy and muddy, particularly on the trade days. On the broader issue of avoiding spring rain the airshow’s date has been moved to late March, which historically is a warm, dry time of year. Further, over $700,000 has been spent on permanent infrastructure at the Avalon site, with greatly improved drainage and new pathways. Aside from the problems caused by the rain, other areas of the airshow drew flak too. Certainly the number and the conditions of the toilets provided were not adequate, while most food outlets typically only offered low quality fast food, the commentating was often grossly inaccurate and disappointing and many trade day visitors seemed to have tenuous links to aviation or related industries.

A number of positive steps are being taken to address these deficiencies. For example the number of toilets will be increased from 364 to 652, with 30 dedicated cleaning staff; four new cafes will be established, bringing the total to six, and general food outlets will increase from 28 to 39. With regards to trade day visitors, the airshow organisers are keeping a much tighter check on who is allowed to attend, but at the same time they are actively encouraging people within the aviation and associated industries, particularly those in decision making roles, to attend. Overall the whole orientation of the airshow site has been changed. Now the flying display axis is along the runway which means the public can view performing aircraft taking off and landing as well, rather than just the flying sequences. Overall too the site is more compact and accessible than before. Other changes to the airshows’ format include three, rather than two public days, thus increasing the capacity of the airshow.

The frequency too has been changed to biennial, timed to take place every odd year between every even year’s Asian Aerospace at Singapore, while general admission costs have increased. The success of this year’s event will almost certainly determine the chances of Australia holding Airshow DownUnder as a regular event. However, this time around the organisers are more experienced and have taken steps to counter the problems of the inaugural event, so the stage seems set for a professional and entertaining 1995 Australian International Airshow and Aerospace Expo.