All eyes were on the skies as Point Cook held its biannual Air Pageant on the 9th of April 2006. Thousands of people flocked to this historic airfield
just 30km west of Melbourne Australia, to witness a collection of rare, vintage and modern aircraft. Point Cook was chosen as the initial site for military aviation in Australia in March 1913. Early in 1914 the Australian
Flying Corps was established here and then after World War One in 1921 it became the site of the Royal Australian Air Force making it the true home of military aviation in Australia. Of the many highlights of the show were the
Lockheed Hudson, which is believed to be the only flying example of the type in the world today, and the Yak 9, a rare Russian World War 2 fighter aircraft. The Yak 9 is considered by many as one of the best fighter aircraft
ever to have been built during World War II. Also on display were the usual crowd favourites of “The Southern Knights” in their Harvard’s, Mustangs, and of course Australia’s premier Aerobatics team “The
Roulettes”. Among all these were the displays of the Cessna O-2 with its unique push-pull configuration, some beautifully restored DC3s from “Air Nostalgia”
Once again the Air Pageant started with the usual Flag Drop by “The Commando Skydivers”, flying the Australian flag after jumping from a
Sikorsky S-76 Search and Rescue helicopter. Next we saw a demonstration of the C-130J Hercules transport aircraft, that although being briefly bogged in the tarmac, provided a tremendous demonstration of its handling
capabilities and flying prowess, in both “dirty” and “clean” configurations. The J model is powered by four Allison AE2100D3 engines, generating 29%
more thrust while increasing fuel efficiency by15%. Combined with a six blade Dowty Aerospace R391 propeller system, it also is lighter in weight and has less moving parts than previous Hercules models. The J model also
incorporates an advanced Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), its “Glass Cockpit” also features a holographic heads up display and four head down multi function displays, while its state of
the art night vision systems allow the Hercules to also operate in total darkness.
A rare and privileged sight was the Lockheed Hudson of the Temora Aviation Museum in New South Wales which is the only working Hudson in
the world today. The Hudson is largely an unsung hero of the Second World War, being based on the Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra passenger/cargo plane. The Royal Australian Air Force received 247
Hudson’s between January 1940 and May 1942 in several versions which severed throughout Australia and the South West Pacific. The aircraft is powered by two Wright GR-1820-G205A engines with two speed
turbochargers each rating at 1,200hp at takeoff. This aircraft’s restoration and conversion to its original military state was completed in 1993. Another highlight from Temora was their beautiful Gloster Meteor. The Meteor was
one of the first jet fighters to see operational service during World War II and was the first jet aircraft to see service within the RAAF. The Temora Collections Meteor is presently the only F.8 variant flying in the world
and was represented at Point Cook in the colours of “Hale Storm” as flown by Sgt George Hale of No 77 Sqn RAAF during the Korean War. The Gloster Meteor F.8 is powered by two Rolls Royce Derwent 8 Single stage,
centrifugal flow turbojet engines each producing 3600lb (1636 kg) of thrust, providing a top speed of 508 knots (941 km/h). Typical armament consists of four nose mounted 20mm cannon, two 1000lb (455 kg)
bombs or eight 60 lb (27.3 kg) ground to air rockets. The Meteor entered RAAF service in 1951 and first saw operational service with the RAAF during the Korean War.
Another great display was that of the Yak-9 arguably one of the best fighter aircraft of the Second World War. Because of its small size and
therefore greater power to weight ratio it was able to out-manoeuvre, out climb and out run its competitors such as the P-51 and Spitfire as well as the Me-109 and Fw-190. This new build (by one of the original factories in
the former USSR) Yak-9 is powered by an Allison V12, 1,710 engine which is highly reliable and still relatively cheap to produce. Some great demonstrations were also produced by the Mustangs, the two types of
aircraft were able to compare their respective prowess in the skies.The Point Cook Museums replica Sopwith Pup was also an impressive sight, although at one stage it did get a little close for comfort to the
photographer’s area! This replica Pup is depicted in the markings of No. 8 (Training) Squadron, Australian Flying Corps (AFC) based at Leighterton, England during World War I. Armament consisted of a single .303
Vickers machine gun. No. 1 Flying Training School operated 12 Pups from Point Cook for use as an intermediate fighter trainer until 1925.
As a finale a General Dynamics F-111 from RAAF Amberley / Queensland performed several passes ending in their signature “Dump and Burn” that only the “pigs” are famous for! The Point Cook Air Pageant once again provided a wonderful showcase of RAAF aircraft currently in service and from a bygone era. The diversity of aircraft in attendance more that made up for the poor weather conditions that did not dampen the general public’s enthusiasm for attending this wonderful biannual event.
Eddie Wassenaar / CHK6 Australia (with additions from Rob Hynes)
Release 4.0/2008
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