Located just over the Victoria-New South Wales (NSW) border three hours
drive north of Melbourne is the city of Albury. Situated approximately four kilometres east of Albury is a small regional airport that serves as a local hub for several national and regional airlines and represents the second
busiest airport in NSW recording approximately 210,000 passenger movements each year. Its location provides quick and easy access to beautiful Murray River, the Snowy Mountains and the majestic Victorian High
Country. It is little wonder that this airport was the venue for the Albury Air Show on Sunday 6th of April 2008. Under almost perfect weather conditions this bi-annual event provided all who attended a wonderful range of both
flying and static displays. Warbirds were particularly well represented with the flying display commencing with a spectacular display from the Southern Knights aerobatic team. Flying
their WWII era Harvard trainers, the Knights thrilled the audience with a magnificent display of precision and agility. The Harvard is a WWII basic trainer that became the backbone of pilot training within the US, British
and Commonwealth air force’s during WWII. More recently the Harvard has become very popular amongst warbird enthusiasts worldwide as an affordable means of entry into the growing warbird scene.
The Yak-9 is considered by some as one of the finest piston engine fighters
of WWII. This formidable fighter fulfilled numerous roles including anti-tank, light bomber and of course as a fighter. The original Yak-9UM was powered by a single Klimov KV-107A V12 engine developing 1,650 HP providing a top
speed of 700 km/h to an altitude of 11,300m. Interestingly the new build example flown at Albury is powered by a US manufactured Allison 1710 V12 power plant producing 1,325 hp. The Yak-9UM displayed at Albury is owned
by the Ganot Pty Ltd of Moorabbin Victoria. Another example also originating from behind the former iron curtain is the Aero L-39C Albatross. The Aero L-39 is a sleek two-seat Czechoslovakian built high performance
trainer/light attack aircraft that is still operated by many of the former soviet bloc countries. The example at Albury is an ex Ukrainian L-39C powered by a single Progress/Ivchenko
AI-25TL turbofan engine that produces 3,800 lb of thrust providing the L-39 with a top speed of 750 km/h to a ceiling of 11,500m. The example present at Albury is owned and operated by Jeff Muller and his syndicate of Narromine NSW.
The Temora collections sublime Cessna A-37 Dragonfly was another fast jet
warbird in attendance at Albury. Originally designed as a trainer for the USAF, the A-37 was later configured for the ground attack-counter insurgency (COIN) and Forward Air Control (FAC) roles being utilised
extensively during the Viet-nam war. The A-37 is powered by two General Electric GE J85 17A Turbojet engines producing 1,293 kg of thrust providing a top speed of 778 km/h. Armament typically consisted of one 7.62mm
Minigun and various bombs and rockets. While both the L-39 and A-37 provided a fast jet element to the Albury air show, the warbird scene was well represented by their propeller driven cousins in the form of a
wonderfully restored Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk owned by Allan Author of Albury while other vintage aircraft included the Temora collections Spitfire Mk VII and Judy Pays pristine P
-51D (CAC-18) Mustang. These important aircraft represented early generations of RAAF combat aircraft thrilling the crowd with close formation flying all to the wonderful sound of their Rolls-Royce Merlin engines.
Flying displays later in the afternoon featured other Temora jet aircraft
including their marvellous De Havilland DH-115 Vampire fighter T-35. Australia operated 80 of these British designed fighters for 1949 to 1970 with the Temora Collections Vampire bring the only Australian built example
still flying within Australia. The Vampire is powered by a single De Havilland Goblin 35 Turbofan engine producing 1,588 kg of thrust providing a top speed of 855 km/h. Armament typically consists of either two or four 20mm
canon bombs or rockets. The strong warbird representation was continued by the colourful aerial display team the “Russian Roolettes". Flying a mixture of Chinese Nanchang CJ-6 and Russian Yak 52 two-seat trainers
these aircraft were adorned stunning nose art as this colourful display team provided a marvellous display of formation flying. Their display culminating in the simulated bombing of
‘enemy’ base all helped along by the right amount of pyrotechnics.
Surly one of the most unusual looking aircraft to grace Australian skies is
the Transavia PL-12 Airtruk. Its short pod fuselage incorporating twin (unconnected) tail booms give the PL-12 an almost unworldly appearance so much so that it made a star appearance in a Mad Max film! The PL-12
made its maiden flight in 1965 as a single seat utility aeroplane of all metal construction. Power is provided by a single tractor engine developing 300 hp producing a top speed of 112 kts to an altitude of 10,500ft. Clearly
aimed at the agricultural sector for crop spraying and seeding this ungainly but versatile machine can also be utilised for cargo, air ambulance and survey work. The examples displayed at Albury are operated by the Hazair
Corporation of Albury NSW. A stunning display of solo aerobatics and agility was provided by current Australian Aerobatic Champion and New South Wales Unlimited Aerobatic Champion,
Richard Wiltshire flying his Extra 306. Richard thrilled the audience in his bright yellow Extra 306 while Paul Bennet of Maxx-G Aerobatics flying his S-1 S Pitts Special also provided the audience with a stunning display
of precision aerobatics.
Closing this year’s show was no other than the RAAF aerobatic display
team, The Roulettes. Flying their red and white PC-9/A trainers the Roulettes thrilled the crowd with a spectacular demonstration of close formation precision aerobatics that had been the highlight of many local
and national air shows since their inception in 1970. The Pilatus PC-9/A is a two-seat trainer and is the standard basic training aircraft of the Australian Defence Forces (ADF). The PC-9/A is powered by a single Pratt & Whitney
PT6A-62 turboprop engine producing 950 shp providing a top speed of 576 km/h to an altitude of 11,580 m. In summary, the Albury airshow was a small well run event that included a broad range of aircraft ranging from
WWII fighters to modern jet trainers, presenting something for everyone. The only problem is that as a biannual event there will be a two year wait until the next one!
Rob Hynes / editor, CHK6
Release 4.0/2008
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