With the Centenary of Military Aviation Air Show (CMA14) just three weeks away, preparations at Point Cook are entering their final stages.
The air show will commemorate 100 years since Australian's first military aviation capability was established in 1914, at the very site that now houses RAAF Williams and the RAAF Museum, and will run across two days 1-2 March.
Leading the air show team is Air Commodore Phil Byrne. "This is the sixth air show I have helped to organise, but what makes this one so special is that we will have the greatest range of aircraft, starting with the oldest Australian military aircraft and ending with the Super Hornet," he said.
"People will be able to compare aircraft that were flown by the very first Australian military pilots with the powerful, complex machines of today."
CMA14 shows promise to be one of the largest air shows in Australia this year, with a long line-up of RAAF, Navy and Army Aviation assets on the display list.
Most appropriately, the RAAF is touting a deep line-up of warbirds to represent the many types that would have used Point Cook during their heyday as front-line assets.
But like all military presences at any air show, there are no promises as operations may require any aircraft to be pulled out of the show at any time. The tentative line-up at the time of writing includes:
- C17 Globemaster
- C130 Hercules
- F/A18-F Super Hornet
- Hawk 127
- Wedgetail
- Orion
- KC-30A MRTT
- King Air
- The Roulettes
- F/A-18 Hornet
- Seahawk
- Squirrel
- Huey
- Blackhawk
- Tiger ARH
The RAAF has also announced a Heron remotely-piloted aircraft will be on ground display. The Heron is used to collect intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance material and can stay in the air for 24 hours.
On the warbird side, the RAAF is not discounting any of Australia's extensive fleet of ex-military aircraft; the list of possibles includes just about everything. Clearly, significant support from the Temora Aviation Museum and the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society is expected.
However, the star of the antiques will undoubtedly be the RAAF Museum's flying Bristol Boxkite replica, which has been painstakingly recreated as close as possible to the original design.
Flying in
Private aircraft will be allowed to fly in to the show, but only if the aircraft has registered for arrival and departure slots before the show. Registration can be done on the Air Movement website.
Airservices Australia has issued an AIP SUP for the show, and three temporary restricted areas have been established. Point Cook will operate as controlled air space for the weekend.
This is not a free show. Tickets will need to be bought from Ticketmaster before flying in. There won't be any gate sales.