Australian International Airshow 2015 by Jeroen Oude Wolbers

The twelfth biennial Australian International Airshow (AIA) took place between February 27th and March 1st at Avalon Airport, Victoria, Australia. Following the three-day Australian International Aerospace and Defence Exposition, the airshow was a public event with a balanced mix of warbirds, aerobatics and military aircraft / helicopters.

For aviation photographers, AIA is the major event in Australia at which to photograph the aircraft and helicopters of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). This proved to be mainly assets of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), as unfortunately the level of participation by the Royal Australian Army (RAA) and Navy (RAN) was rather poor.

The setup of the airshow was unchanged in 2015 from previous editions. The active runway at Avalon Airport is very close to the crowd line, making it ideal for take-off, landing and taxiing shots – at least in the mornings, as in the afternoon it is backlit. Fortunately Media Operations allowed a small group of photographers to go to the other side of the runway in the afternoon. The weather was also comparable to previous years. A mix of sunny and very hot weather (causing heat haze), overcast, heavy rains, thunderstorms and strong winds made photography rather challenging. Many flying displays were shortened, postponed or even canceled.

Nearly 170,000 visitors made it to Avalon Airport during the 2015 edition. The crowds were drawn in part by a new feature of the show, a ninety minute ADF showcase. Demonstrating the interoperability of the RAAF, RAA, and RAN, this set piece included a ground attack scenario featuring RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornets and a Forward Air Controller PC-9/A, an assault scenario with Army parachutists jumping from RAAF C-130J-30s, air-to-air refueling of Super Hornets from a KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport, a RAAF C-17A assault landing to unload ground forces, and RAA Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters and MRH-90 Multi Role Helicopters conducting an infiltration and resupply mission. The air assets were coordinated and controlled from a RAAF E-7A Wedgetail.

With the ADF headlining the news in Australia over the past months, due to the search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 in the waters off Western Australia, humanitarian air drop missions in Northern Iraq and more recently Operation OKRA, the ADF’s contribution to the international effort against the Islamic State terrorist threat in Iraq, the ADF showcase was the perfect way for the general public to familiarize itself with the aircraft and military personnel involved in those missions.

Besides the aircraft in the showcase, ADF representation in the flying display included "Taipan Black" flying the AS350BA Squirrel, an AP-3C Orion solo display, "The Roulettes" display team flying the PC-9/A, a four-ship of KingAir 350s, a Hawk Mk127 solo display and a very impressive F/A-18A/B Classic Hornet solo display.

The Classic Hornet display was flown by Squadron Leader Adam Grinyer, a Qualified Flight Instructor from 2 Operational Conversion Unit (2OCU) at RAAF Base Williamtown: "2OCU needed a new display pilot. I was in the right place at the right time and they needed an Instructor with required hours and experience level." Grinyer, who has logged more than 1000 hours in the Classic Hornet, trained for six weeks both in the simulator and in the air. "When I was up there doing the display I went through the sequence in my head and stay one step ahead… The displays only went for twelve minutes, but they were quite fatiguing. They involved high G’s and you had to be switched on. I got quite exhausted… so I sat down, ate and rehydrated".

International participation in the flying display at the 2015 airshow was unfortunately rather thin. A few weeks before the show, rumors on social media grew stronger that the absolute highlight of the flying display, the United States Air Force’s F-22A Raptor, would not be performing. Unfortunately this rumor became reality as, according to a press release "…the United States Air Force display pilot has been diverted to other operational duties." Two F-22s from the 199th Fighter Squadron at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, did appear in the static display as consolation.

With the F-22 absent from the sky, the USAF’s participation was limited to Pacific Air Forces F-16 Demo Team from Misawa Air Base, Japan, and a B-52H fly-by on Friday afternoon. Rounding out the foreign visitors, the Republic of Singapore Air Force participated in the flying with a two-ship aerial display by the solos from the "Black Knights" F-16 display team.

Acknowledgements

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