On Monday 7th March, I landed back at Cessnock airport after an uneventful 2.3 hour cross country from Avalon airport. It was quite surreal to arrive back into the circuit, taxi to the hangar, shutdown and unpack the plane without another person around. It was in stark contrast to the week I had just had at the Australian International Air Show at Avalon, and reminded me of racing, where there would be intense moments of flying and media, followed by silent times in private.

The show was an outstanding success for all concerned. I arrived with the race plane on Tuesday to a warm welcome from the organisers and volunteers, and everything was already in full swing from all the other performers. In fact, I was probably one of the last displays to arrive as everyone else had been there from the end of the previous week, getting organised and practicing. After a quick check in, it was off to Melbourne to speak at the 14th Annual International Aerospace Congress. Wednesday dawned windy, though we managed to do a talk to the Airshow’s careers expo, a couple of media interviews and have my display checked as safe by the officials (which I must have passed!). Thursday was some more organising, another practice flight and dinner in Melbourne with some old friends.

Come Friday it was game on as the public displays started in earnest. After talking once again in front of approximately 400 students about careers in Aviation, I flew a clean display (even though the conditions were windy and overcast), and managed to get away before the crowds leaving made the roads unusable! Saturday dawned clear skies, and a nice wind away from the crowd, so almost perfect display conditions. After a great lunch with a competition winner, it was once again back in the cockpit to do my stuff. We filmed this display from inside the cockpit, the entire flight can be viewed on our website set to the same music people in the crowd were hearing (transmitted to me as I flew). After the display, some good time at our stand, signing autographs, meeting people and allowing people to get some photos with the Race Plane. We finished off Saturday as the guest speaker for the Aviators Function.

Sunday was a repeat of Saturday, and by Sunday night, I was one tired fellow. I had in fact lost my voice after all the talking engagements, meeting people, and answering that most popular question “what is happening with the Air Race?!?!” We packed up our stand, prepared the aircraft for our Monday departure, then had dinner with all of the volunteers for the show at a local pub.

I was very happy with how the display went. I had put a lot of time and effort into designing a spectacular display that was set to music, though was done allowing me flexibility to adjust the display for wind to get the timing and position correct, while at all times being safe. In not only my view, but the views of the other performers and organisers, I managed to pull it off! A key point of this can be seen on our video as I am doing the low level point rolls crowd centre, all to the beat of the music, which was very cool to achieve. My thanks goes to all those who helped me prepare for the show, and helped at the show itself as either a team member, volunteer or support personnel.

The rest of the acts at the show were also amazing to watch. The fighter displays, B1 bomber, C27 transport aerobatic display (!), warbirds and other aerobatic displays were all professionally flown, and were all unique and entertaining. I am sure for those who were lucky enough to attend this show, you walked away with a very large smile on your face.

Now it is time for an engine change (put the spare engine in, and closely inspect the current engine after one year of use), and get ready for the next display coming up in Echuca on the first weekend of April. If you are around, come out and watch, say hello, and enjoy the Aviation environment in general.

Matt.