The Lismore Aviation Expo 2018 took place on the 29th of August 2018 at Lismore Airport, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The event was organised by the local Lismore City Council and featured static displays, handling displays, solo and synchronised aerobatics and adventure flights. Lismore is 600Km north of the state’s capital, Sydney, and 200Km south of my home city of Brisbane in Queensland. I made the 2.5 hour trip from Brisbane on the morning of the show, returning that same day which turned out to be a bit tiring after running around photographing all day.
As I had no media credentials for the show I moved around inside the general crowd area all day with no special access. The crowd line closest to the runway provided a great view, and the display line direction meant that I had the sun at my back all day. This was very welcome compared to the two previous airshows I attended where I had to shoot into the sun for most of the day, I was able to capture better contrast and colour on the flying displays from this show had than those previous ones All in all it was a big day for me but very rewarding, seeing the beautifully-restored P-40 Kittyhawk and very large TBM Avenger both up close and flying was a real highlight for me.
Due to the number of images I want to display, I’ve broken the airshow up into multiple articles. In this second of two articles I document the Paul Bennett Airshows aerobatic displays and the general aviation attendedees. The first article covers the military aircraft that performed at the event.
Paul Bennet Airshows Synchronised Aerobatics Display
Paul Bennett Airshows put on an action-packed two-ship aerobatic display with their WolfPitts Pro and Rebel 300 aircraft. Both are purpose-built aerobatic planes, and have +10/-10G handling limits. The pilots performed synchronised loops, rolls, climbs and turns with smoke. I was walking back with my lunch when they performed the split turn across one another, fortunately the announcer let us know what was coming and I had time to put down my drink and food to get a shot of it.
Paul Bennet Airshows Wolf Pitts Solo Aerobatic Display
Paul Bennett Airshows put on a solo display with their WolfPitts Pro stunt plane VH-PVB. The pilot started the display with low-level maneuvers right after takeoff, then climbing hard to begin the display proper. This little biplane packs a Lycoming IO-540 400hp 6-cylinder engine and weighs under 550Kg empty, so it can climb at 4,000ft/minute and cruises at 185knots. With maximum G limits of +10/-10G and roll rate of 380 degrees/second it sure does handle and the pilot threw her around in an energetic display.
Paul Bennet Airshows Rebel 300 Solo Aerobatic Display
We got a solo display from Paul Bennett Airshow’s Rebel 300 aircraft VH-TBN. This purpose-built aerobatic plane has +10/-10G limits and with its Lycoming IO-540 400hp 6-cylinder engine it can cruise at 185knots and climb at 3,000ft/minute. With smoke on, the pilot put the little blue and white machine through a series snap rolls, loops and an inverted pass to an appreciative crowd.
Paul Bennet Airshows Cessna 185 Skywagon
At the start of the event, Paul Bennett Airshows sent their Cessna 185 Skywagon VH-OZX up to drop a parachute display team. I didn’t get any good shots of the display, and from memory writing this two years after the event the skydivers were circled by Paul Bennett Airshow’s Rebel 300 aircraft trailing smoke as they descended.
Model Aircraft Display by Aaron "Bones" Garle
RC pilot Aaron “Bones” Garle fired up his Extra 300 radio-controlled model for a display right in front of my position on the crowd line. This model has a three metre wingspan and is powered by a 6.5cc engine and he sure does know how to show off its capabilites. He was able to get it balancing on its tail with power application just a couple of metres off the ground, an excellent balancing act that he performed a few times during the day. I am always amazed at how RC pilots can control these machines in an aerobatic display, the rate of turn and power to weight ratio on these models is phenomenal.
Aaron has won multiple Australian IMAC, FreeStyle and F3A championships and has reached the semi-finals of the F3A World Championships.
FAST Aviation Cessna 208 Grand Caravan
FAST Aviation were providing joy flights in their Cessna 208B Grand Caravan VH-OZH. The plane was kept busy all day, I lost count of how many times she took off with happy families on board for a scenic flight around the lovely Northern Rivers district. I managed to capture a few of the many takeoffs for the popular service that day.
General Aviation
The following section is an album of the various general aviation aircraft that I captured during the day. Many pilots took the chance to fly in for the event to have a day out in their aircraft and catch up with some of their friends.
After the show closed, there was one final interesting movement before I waked out the gate. The Northern NSW Helicopter Rescue Service AgustaWestland AW139 rescue helicopter VH-ZXD took off and banked low overhead. Only a shame to think that it was probably on its way to someone in distress, but fantastic to know the service is there when it’s needed.
Sometimes it pays to hang around after the last display.
Other Information
Location
Lismore is a city in north-east New South Wales, Australia. It is 600Km north of Sydney, 200Km south of Brisbane and 35Km inland from the coast. Lismore airport is 2Km from Lismore city.
Image Galleries
If you’d like to view more of images on this topic, below are some links to my photography gallery website.
