Goolwa Great Air Spectacular - KEITH visits Goolwa in the Fleurieu Peninsula region of South Australia

As we approached the Goolwa airport we could see a signature smoke trail streaming from a vibrant red Pitt Special Bi-plane in the skies overhead. It had to be Chris Sperou. Thirteen times National Aerobatic Champion, Chris is one of a long line of extraordinary South Australian Aviators.

After all, Australia’s first powered flight happened over a paddock at Bolivar. Harry Butler made the Southern Hemisphere’s first airmail delivery in 1919 when he flew a bag of letters across Gulf Saint Vincent in his Red Devil. And those famous brothers, Ross and Keith Smith who won the air race from Britain to Australia in 1919 - they were Adelaide boys too.

We’ll see a display of that pioneer passion in the skies over the Fleurieu Peninsula at the Goolwa Great Air Spectacular on March the 6th. The Postcards team caught up with a few of the pilots as they were running through some of the routines planned for day.

The Goolwa Great Air Spectacular will attract more than one hundred aircraft from all over Australia and the air will be alive - not just with planes but with the enthusiasm these pilots have for ‘real’ flying. And as I found out, if you hang around them long enough - the enthusiasm becomes contagious. The show’s patron, Chris Sperou proves that.

“There’ll be Tiger Moths and other old planes,” he enthused. “All the old planes that bring nostalgia back into aviation again will be here. A lot of ultra lights will be coming too and they are affordable. I reckon the kids are going to love it. It’ll be a kid’s day basically, big kids too, like us.”

Among the highlights will be the Chinese fighter trainers affectionately known as the Warbirds. The Chinese military redesigned a Russian trainer and called it the Nanchang. They’re a real buzz - I can vouch for that thanks to a ride in retired Jumbo pilot, Dave Holbourn’s personal plane.

If you want to involve fifty or more flying machines in an unprecedented spectacular, you need to make sure the bloke in charge is the best. Terry Jackson is just the man - ex Royal Air Force and a former chief air traffic controller, he’s also directed those spectacular aerial displays at the Adelaide and Melbourne Grand Prix’.

“We are hoping we will get fifteen Nanchangs at the show,” Terry said. “We’ll have a mini Chinese Air Force - it’ll be the biggest gathering of Nanchangs outside of China ever been seen in the air at the one time.”

There will also be a squadron of ultrlight aircraft - from sophisticated two-seaters to something that resembles a flying sewing machine called an Eastwood Tyro. An ‘ultra’ ultra-light built by Geoff Eastwood who took it up and gave a wonderful demonstration of its manoeuvrability for our cameras.

Based at Goolwa, Geoff loves flying so much - he bought the airport! And in his spare time he knocks up the Tyro ultra-lights and sells them in kit form. They’re ‘flying proof’ that you don’t need to be loaded to get airborne.

Prefer something a little bigger? Try the distinctive Tiger Moth. It’s an all-time favourite and was developed in the 1930s as an RAF trainer. It had all the mod cons too - the pilot and co-pilot communicated to each other by talking into a length of rubber pipe between the cockpits. There’s a bit of ingenuity involved in the placement of the top wing too - it’s forward of the front pilot. In the days before ejector seats, that came in handy.

“The simple reason is,” explained Terry. “If you want to get out, you turn the aircraft upside down, just fall out of the cockpit.“

Just make sure you are wearing a parachute!

If your not up to that the Air Show will offer an amazing alternative where you can enjoy the thrill of being a pilot without leaving the ground in a model plane.

Champion modeller, Adam Talbot put on an amazing flying display with his 4/10th-scale model of an Extra 330. In real life the Extra is a stunt plane but the grown up version couldn’t come close to the tricks Adam can perform with his remote control.

Director Terry Jackson can’t wait for the big finale - the ground attack sequence.

“I might have half a dozen aircraft in the air actually doing the ground attack sequence with bomb bursts, machine gun fire and all sorts of things. It’s actually going to be fun sequence. Fifteen minutes of mayhem.”

And that’s after a day devoted to the joys of getting airborne. It all happens between 10am and 4pm on March 6, 2005 at the Goolwa Airport. Just follow the signs. Gates open at 8am. For more information log onto their website.

Goolwa Great Air Spectacular
Sunday March 6
Adults $15.00, Children U15 - free
Flying program 10am - 4pm
www.goolwaflyin.com.au