Southern Knights
The Southern Knights Formation Aerobatic Team came together in 1997 and, since then, have performed at airshows around Australia. The Southern Knights fly a precision display showcasing the demanding skills required when flying in close formation.
The four ship routine consists of various privately owned WWII vintage T-6 Harvards/Texans. The T-6 which is often referred to as “the pilot maker�, is a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Force, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s. Designed by North American Aviation and powered by a 600 horsepower, nine cylinder Pratt & Whitney radial engine, the T-6 is known by a variety of designations depending on the model and operating air force. More than 15,000 of the various models were constructed throughout a ten year production run.
Display performed by Doug Hamilton, Stephen Death, Guy Bourke & Scott Taberner. Owners Alan Pay, Stephen Death & Judy Pay X2.
Pitts S-1-11B Super Stinker
Display and owner Chris Sperou.
Chris Sperou in his Pitts Super Stinker fittingly liveried with Pepe Le Pu. Chris is 13 times Australian aerobatics champion. The Pitts Special (company designations S1 and S2) is a series of light aerobatic biplanes designed by Curtis Pitts. It has accumulated many competition wins since its first flight in 1944. The Pitts biplanes dominated world aerobatic competition in the 1960s and 1970s and, even today, remain a potent competition aircraft in the lower categories.
Sky Blazers
Chris Sperou & Warren Stewart perform their SkyBlazers routine involving Chris flying a Pitts Super Stinker while Warren flies a Beech Debonair.
Wolf Pitts Pro
The Wolf Pitts Pro is the highest performing aerobatic biplane in the world, made using the latest design concepts utilising the latest in materials, it was designed and hand built by Steve Wolf from the United States. Powered by a 400hp Lycoming engine and a empty weight of 450kg the Wolf Pitts is capable of a cruise speed of 185kts (340 km/hr) and a top speed of 224kts (414 km/hr).
Display and owner Paul Bennet.
Paul has been performing at airshows since 2005, and has won numerous aerobatic competitions during that time. In 2008 Paul was crowned the Australian Advanced Aerobatic Champion. In 2009 Paul was crowned the Australian Unlimited Aerobatic Champion, receiving the Phillips Cup. In 2011 and 2012 Paul won Unlimited in both the Queensland and Victorian State Championships.
SkyAces
The SkyAces are Australia’s only high performance civilian aerobatic team consisting of three biplanes piloted by of Australia’s finest aerobatic pilots. Paul Bennet hand picked Australia’s finest aerobatic pilots to fly with him in the SkyAces Team. Glenn Graham and Ben Lappin are highly skilled aerobatic and display pilots.
Rebel 300
Display by Glenn Graham. Owner Paul Bennet Airshows.
The Rebel 300 is a Unlimited aerobatic monoplane powered by a 300hp Lycoming engine. It was originally designed by Zivko Aeronautics who later redesigned the aircraft to become the Edge 540 which is now synonymous to the Red Bull Air Race series. Different to the Edge the Rebel is lighter in design and utilises a slightly longer wooden wing which helps with energy retention and cornering ability.
Cessna 152
The Cessna 152 is an American two-seat, fixed tricycle gear, general aviation airplane, used primarily for flight training and personal use. It was based on the earlier Cessna 150, including a number of minor design changes and a slightly more powerful engine running on 100LL aviation gasoline.
The Cessna 152 has been out of production for more than thirty years, but there are still a large number of aircraft in flying condition. Due to the aircraft’s durability many examples have flown more than 15,000 hours and over 60,000 landings and are still in regular use for flight training.
Display by John Hughes. Owner Peninsular Aero Club.
Rowe UFO
Display and owner David Rowe.
Construction commenced 23 January 2015, first flight 4 December 2015. Powered by a Rotax 503, this builder-designed aircraft has an empty weight of just 145 kg.
Robinson R22
The Robinson R22 is a two-bladed, single-engine light utility helicopter manufactured by Robinson Helicopter Company. The two-seat R22 was designed in 1973 by Frank Robinson and has been in production since 1979.
In the early 1970s, Frank Robinson had a vision of business executives commuting between their homes and workplaces in small, light, affordable helicopters. The skies were going to be filled with these little two-person helicopters, giving people freedom they’ve never had. This helicopter was going to be all about economy of operation. He designed the two-bladed helicopter, which would become the R22, in his southern California home. The process engulfed his entire house and he even cured some of the components, like the tail rotor, in the same oven he cooked with. The first flight of the Robinson R22 helicopter was in 1975, and four years later received its certification from the FAA. The R22 became the most widespread helicopter trainer in the world and to date over 4,500 R22s have been built. All parts, except for the engine and instruments, are made and assembled in the Robinson factory at Zamperini Field in Torrance, California. Display and owner Jim Wickham.
Stewart S-51D Mustang The Stewart S-51D Mustang is an American aerobatic homebuilt aircraft that was designed by Jim Stewart and produced by Stewart 51 of Vero Beach, Florida, introduced in 1994. When it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction. The S-51D is a 70% scale version of the World War II P-51D Mustang fighter aircraft. Display and owner Jim Wickham.
Transavia Pup
Developed from a personal aircraft flown by Harry Hawker in 1915, the Pup gained its nickname because it resembled a scaled-down Sopwith 1 ½ Strutter. The Pup originally served with the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and a total of 170 aircraft were built for that service, beginning in late 1916.
Display by Chris Tulk. Owner RAAF Museum.
The RAAF Museum’s Sopwith Pup is a replica constructed by the Transavia company in Sydney during 1979. Faithful to the original design, the aircraft has a welded steel tube fuselage instead of timber, and an Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major radial engine replaces the original rotary. Originally operating alongside the RAAF Museum from 1982, the aircraft was acquired by the Museum in 1989.
Caldwell Snipe
Using sources such as from the RAF Museum, Hendon, UK and a global network of Great War aficionado contacts, Nick built his remarkably authentic Snipe over ten years, with 10,000 hours work. Initially he used his garage until assembling it in the Old Aeroplane Co. hangar at Tyabb. Very accurate to the original production examples, the only significant variation was the substitution of a similar horsepower fixed radial Continental W670 for the comparable size but very much rarer 250hp (186kW) Bentley BR2 rotary original to the type. Numerous other parts are fully original including gun sight, controls, cockpit switches and all the instruments. Registered VH-SNP, the first flight was on 17 October 2014. After an issue with the engine was sorted out, Nick got to enjoy the aircraft fully in flight, before it was acquired by the RAAF Museum in 2019.
Display and owner Nick Caudwell.
Display and owner David Marshall.
de Havilland Tiger Moth
Display By Borg Sorensen, Nick Caudwell & Tony Docherty. Owners Borg Sorensen, Judy Pay & Bruce Humphries.
The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and many other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. In addition to the type’s principal use for ab-initio training, the Second World War saw RAF Tiger Moth operating in other capacities, including maritime surveillance, defensive anti-invasion preparations, and even some aircraft that had been outfitted to function as armed light bombers.
The Tiger Moth remained in service with the RAF until it was succeeded and replaced by the de Havilland Chipmunk during the early 1950s. Many of the military surplus aircraft subsequently entered into civil operation. Many nations have used the Tiger Moth in both military and civil applications, and it remains in widespread use as a recreational aircraft in several different countries. It is still occasionally used as a primary training aircraft, particularly for those pilots wanting to gain experience before moving on to other tail-wheel aircraft. Many Tiger Moths are now employed by various companies offering trial lesson experiences. The de Havilland Moth club, founded 1975, is now an owners’ association offering a mutual club and technical support.
Ryan PT-22 Recruit
Display and owner Scott Taberner.
The Ryan PT-22 Recruit, the main military version of the Ryan ST, is a military trainer aircraft used by the United States Army Air Corps and its successor, the United States Army Air Forces for primary pilot training.
The PT-22 was the United States Army Air Corps’ first purpose built monoplane trainer and was developed in 1941 from the civilian Ryan ST series. The rapid expansion of wartime aircrew training required new trainers, and the Ryan PT-22 was ordered in large numbers. Named the “Recruit”, it entered operational service with the U.S. The PT series was in heavy use throughout the war years with both military and civil schools, but with the end of the war, was retired from the USAAF.
Boeing Stearman
Display By Mick Poole. Owner Allan Schwarze.
The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is a biplane used as a military trainer aircraft, of which at least 10,626 were built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Stearman Aircraft became a subsidiary of Boeing in 1934. Widely known as the Stearman, Boeing Stearman or Kaydet, it served as a primary trainer for the United States Army Air Forces, the United States Navy (as the NS & N2S), and with the Royal Canadian Air Force as the Kaydet throughout World War II. After the conflict was over, thousands of surplus aircraft were sold on the civilian market. In the immediate postwar years they became popular as crop dusters, sports planes, and for aerobatic and wing walking use in air shows.
RAAF Heritage Trainers
Display by Glen Coy (owner RAAFM Winjeel 439), Garry Herne (owner CT/4A 068), Matt Denning (owner CT/4A 062), Matt Henderson (owner Winjeel 427), Matt Grigg (owner Winjeel 450) & Darcy O’Connor (owner RAAFM Harvard NZ1075).
The CAC CA-25 Winjeel is an Australian-designed and manufactured three-seat training aircraft. Entering service with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1955 as a basic to advanced trainer, it served in this role until 1975. Later, it was used in the Forward Air Control (FAC) role for target marking until 1994, after which it was retired from RAAF service. The Pacific Aerospace Corporation CT/4 Airtrainer series is an all-metal-construction, singleengine, two-place with side-by-side seating, fully aerobatic, piston-engined, basic training aircraft manufactured in Hamilton, New Zealand.
The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1970s. Designed by North American Aviation, the T-6 is known by a variety of designations depending on the model and operating air force.
Pilatus PC-9/A
The Pilatus PC-9 is a single-engine, low-wing tandem-seat turboprop training aircraft manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. Designed as a more powerful evolution of the Pilatus PC-7, the PC-9’s first flight was made in May 1984 after which certification was achieved in September 1985. After this, the first production orders for the type were received from the Royal Saudi Air Force, with deliveries commencing in 1985. Since then, more than 250 airframes have been produced across five different variants and the type is employed by a number of military and
Owner RAAF.
civilian operators around the world, including the Swiss Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, and the Royal Thai Air Force. The Roulettes are the Royal Australian Air Force’s formation aerobatic display team. They provide about 150 flying displays a year, in Australia and in friendly countries around the Southeast Asian region. The Roulettes form part of the RAAF Central Flying School (CFS) at RAAF Base East Sale, Victoria.
Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk
The MH-60R Seahawk is the Royal Australian Navy’s next generation submarine hunter and anti-surface warfare helicopter and will form a very important part of it’s operations for years to come.
The MH-60R is equipped with a highly sophisticated combat systems designed to employ Hellfire air-to-surface missiles and the Mark 54 anti-submarine torpedo. The primary missions of the ‘Romeo’ helicopter is anti-submarine warfare and antisurface warfare. Secondary missions include search and rescue, logistics support, personnel transport and medical evacuation.
Owner RAN.
The MH-60R and its mission systems will replace the fleet’s S-70B-2 Seahawk aircraft. The Australian Government approved the acquisition of 24 MH-60R Seahawk ‘Romeo’ naval combat helicopters at a cost of over $3 billion. The helicopters are largely military off-the-shelf built by Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin and were acquired through the Foreign Military Sales process from the US Navy.
Grumman TBM-3E Avenger The Grumman TBF Avenger is an American torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps and eventually used by several air and naval aviation services around the world.
The Avenger entered U.S. service in 1942, and first saw action during the Battle of Midway. Despite the loss of five of the six Avengers on its combat debut, it survived
Display By Ben Lappin. Owner Paul Bennet Airshows.
in service to become one of the outstanding torpedo bombers of World War II. Greatly modified after the war, it remained in use until the 1960s. Currently painted in markings of VT.8 that flew from USS Bunker Hill part of CVG-8 (Carrier Air Group 8) commencing March 1944.
Cessna O-1 Bird Dog
The Cessna L-19/O-1 Bird Dog was a liaison and observation aircraft. It was the first all-metal fixed-wing aircraft ordered for and by the United States Army since the U.S. Army Air Forces separated from the Army in 1947, becoming its own branch of service, the United States Air Force. The Bird Dog had a lengthy career in the U.S. military, as well as in other countries.
Display by Michael Dalton & Rob Fox. Owners Matt Henderson & Rob Fox.
The L-19 received the name Bird Dog as a result of a contest held with Cessna employees to name the aircraft. The winning entry, submitted by Jack A. Swayze, an industrial photographer, was selected by a U.S. Army board. The name was chosen because the role of the army’s new aircraft was to find the enemy and orbit overhead until artillery (or attack aircraft) could be brought to bear on the enemy. While flying low and close to the battlefield, the pilot would observe the exploding shells and adjust the fire via his radios, in the manner of a bird dog (gun dog) used by game hunters.
North American T-28 Trojan The North American Aviation T-28 Trojan is a piston-engined military trainer aircraft used by the United States Air Force and United States Navy beginning in the 1950s. Besides its use as a trainer, the T-28 was successfully employed as a counter-insurgency aircraft, primarily during the Vietnam War. It has continued in civilian use as an aerobatics and Warbird performer.
Display by Stephen Death & Doug Hamilton. Owners Michael Murphy & Judy Pay.
On September 24, 1949, the XT-28 (company designation NA-159) was flown for the first time, designed to replace the T-6 Texan. The T-28A arrived at the Air Proving Ground, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, in mid-June 1950, for suitability tests as an advanced trainer by the 3200th Fighter Test Squadron, with consideration given to its transition, instrument, and gunnery capabilities. Found satisfactory, a contract was issued and between 1950 and 1957, a total of 1,948 were built.
Yakovlev Yak-52
Display and owners Jim Wickham & Jack Vevers.
The Yakovlev Yak-52 is a Soviet primary trainer aircraft which first flew in 1976. It is still being produced in Romania by Aerostar, as Iak-52, which gained manufacturing rights under agreement within the former COMECON socialist trade organisation. The Yak-52 was designed as an aerobatic trainer for students in the Soviet DOSAAF training organisation, which trained civilian sport pilots and military pilots.
Nanchang CJ-6
The Nanchang CJ-6 is an aircraft designed and built in China for use by the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) as a basic trainer. Due to its low price and sturdy construction, the CJ-6A is a popular hobby plane. A used CJ-6 in the United States can cost as little as $75,000. The aircraft appears on the civil register of the USA, Australia, New Zealand, UK, South Africa and other countries.
Display and owners Matt Wuillemin & Anatole Mills.
In Australia, CJ-6 aircraft are generally operated in the Limited Category. This is administered by the Australian Warbirds Association Limited (AWAL). The AWAL operates under an approval from the Australian government’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to manage the operation of ex-military aircraft.
CAC Wirraway The CAC Wirraway (an Aboriginal word meaning “challenge�) was a training and general purpose military aircraft manufactured in Australia by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) between 1939 and 1946. It was an Australian development of the North American NA-16 training aircraft. The Wirraway has been credited as being the foundation of Australian aircraft manufacturing.
During the Second World War, both Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) deployed a number of Wirraways into combat roles, where they served in a makeshift light bomber/ground attack capacity, striking against the advancing forces of the Empire of Japan. While the type had been primarily used as
Display by Tim Dugan. Owner Paul Bennet Airshows.
a trainer and general purpose aircraft, being present in small quantities within the majority of front-line squadrons for these purposes; the aircraft was often pressed into combat when required. Typically, fighter versions of the Wirraway were operated over theaters such as New Guinea to perform ground attack missions and other Army co-operation tasks over extended periods until more advanced aircraft had become available in sufficient quantities. On 12 December 1942, the Wirraway achieved its only shoot-down of an enemy aircraft, a Mitsubishi A6M Zero, while flown by Pilot Officer J. S. Archer.
CAC CA-13 Boomerang The CAC Boomerang was a fighter aircraft designed and manufactured in Australia by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation between 1942 and 1945. Approved for production shortly following the Empire of Japan’s entry into the Second World War, the Boomerang was rapidly designed as to meet the urgent demands for fighter aircraft to equip the Royal Australian Air Force. The type holds the distinction of being the first combat aircraft to be both designed and constructed in Australia. Different variants of the Boomerang were manufactured under a series of corresponding production contract numbers CA-12, CA-13, CA-14 and CA-19, the aircraft supplied under each subsequent contract would incorporate various
Display by Scott Taberner. Owner Temora Aviation Museum.
modifications, typically aimed at improving the aircraft’s performance. The effectiveness of the Boomerang has been contested, the aircraft proving to be slower than contemporary fighter aircraft and thus rarely engaging in aerial combat. During early wartime operations, the Boomerang was mainly dispatched to equip home-based squadrons, freeing up other fighters for use elsewhere overseas. In later service, the Boomerang would commonly be used for ground support duties, cooperating with Allied army units, in addition to secondary roles such as aerial reconnaissance and air sea rescue.
Lockheed Hudson
Display by Doug Hamilton. Owner Temora Aviation Museum.
The Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by the RAF thereafter. The Hudson served the Allies faithfully during the war on most fronts and with little fanfare. The air forces of Britain, Canada, the United States, New Zealand, the Netherlands, China, Brazil and Australia all operated Hudson’s. Derived from the Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra 12 passenger transport, the Model 14L/214/414 Hudson first flew in December 1938 and by the time production ended in mid 1943, a total of 2,941 examples had been built, most of which served the Royal Air Force and Commonwealth countries. The Royal Australian Air Force received 247 Hudson’s between January 1940 and May 1942 in several versions.
CAC Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was originally designed to use the Allison V-1710 engine, which, in its earlier variants, had limited high-altitude performance. It was first flown operationally by the RAF as a tactical-reconnaissance aircraft and fighterbomber (Mustang Mk I). The replacement of the Allison with a Rolls-Royce Merlin resulted in the P-51B/C (Mustang Mk III) model and transformed the Mustang’s performance at altitudes above 15,000 ft, allowing the aircraft to compete with the Luftwaffe’s fighters. The definitive version, the P-51D, was powered by the Packard V-1650-7, a license-built version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin 66 two-stage twospeed supercharged engine and was armed with six .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2/AN Browning machine guns.
Display by Darcy O’Connor & Nick Caudwell. Owner Judy Pay & Peter Gill.
In November 1944 the Australian government decided to order Australian-built Mustangs, to replace its Curtiss Kittyhawks and CAC Boomerangs in the South West Pacific theatre. The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) factory at Fishermans Bend, Melbourne was the only non-U.S. production line for the P-51.
In 1944, 100 P-51Ds were shipped from the U.S. in kit form to inaugurate production. From February 1945, CAC assembled 80 of these under the designation CA-17 Mustang Mark 20, with the first Australian-built aircraft flying on the 29 April 1945 and the first aircraft was handed over to the RAAF on 31 May 1945. The remaining 20 were kept unassembled as spare parts. In addition, 84 P-51Ks were also shipped directly to the RAAF from the USA.
Curtiss P-40N Kittyhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational service. The Warhawk was used by most Allied powers during World War II, and remained in frontline service until the end of the war. It was the third most-produced American fighter, after the P-51 and P-47; by November 1944, when production of the P-40 ceased, 13,738 had been built, all at Curtiss-Wright Corporation’s main production facilities at Buffalo, New York.
Display & owner Doug Hamilton.
The “Warhawk” was the name used by the United States Army Air Corps and after June 1941, the USAAF adopted it’s name for all models, making it the official name for all P-40s. The British Commonwealth and Soviet air forces used the name Tomahawk for models equivalent to the P-40B and P-40C, and the name Kittyhawk for models equivalent to the P-40D and all later variants.
The Kittyhawk was the main fighter used by the RAAF in World War II, in greater numbers than the Spitfire. Two RAAF squadrons serving with the Desert Air Force, No. 3 and No. 450 Squadrons, were the first Australian units to be assigned P-40s. Other RAAF pilots served with RAF or SAAF P-40 squadrons in the theater.
Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, using several wing configurations, and it was produced in greater numbers than any other British aircraft. It was also the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the war. The Spitfire continues to be popular among enthusiasts; about 54 remain airworthy, and many more are static exhibits in aviation museums throughout the world. The Spitfire was designed as a short-range, high-performance interceptor aircraft by R. J. Mitchell, chief designer at Supermarine Aviation Works, which operated as a subsidiary of Vickers-Armstrong from 1928. Mitchell pushed the Spitfire’s distinctive elliptical wing designed by Beverley Shenstone to have the thinnest possible cross-section, helping give the aircraft a higher top speed than several
Display by Stephen Death. Owner Temora Aviation Museum.
contemporary fighters, including the Hawker Hurricane. Mitchell continued to refine the design until his death in 1937, whereupon his colleague Joseph Smith took over as chief designer, overseeing the Spitfire’s development through its multitude of variants. The Supermarine Spitfire in the Pacific is probably best known due to the shark’s teeth 457 Squadron RAAF painted on their aircraft. The Spitfire came to Australia due to a mix of British geo-politics and Australian requests for help. The Spitfire was not a good Pacific War aircraft. It had short range, logistics had to travel across the world from Britain to Australia and it was fragile in comparison to the American aircraft of the same era. However, it is a beautiful aircraft aesthetically and was loved by the pilots that flew it.
Warbird Balbo
Closing formation of (L-R) Curtiss P-40N Kittyhawk, CAC CA-13 Boomerang, Lockheed Hudson, Grumman TBM-3E Avenger, North American T-28 Trojan, CAC CA-18 Mustang and Supermarine Spitfire Mk VIII.