By Mike Mangano
Airline Geeks Invites You to Join Us at the Central Coast Airshow
Across the globe, AirlineGeeks and you – our community – are joined by one love: the love of flight. That love takes many forms, from airlines to aerobatics. For this reason, we are thrilled to announce we will be supporting on of Australia’s biggest air events this year – the Central Coast Airshow.
For two days, May 14 and 15, Airline Geeks will have their eyes glued to the Central Coast skies as heritage fighters share the sky with the newest of their kin. We expect incredible aerobatics, formation flights, and fast flyovers from Australia’s newest F-35 Lightning II.
But we want more: we want you to join us for this incredible event. As our first Australian sponsorship, we want to celebrate Australian aviation and this AirlineGeeks milestone with you.
As part of the Central Coast Airshow line-up, there will be classic fighters, including variants made just for Australia. These include the iconic Spitfire, the CA-18 Mustang, an improved Australian version of the P-51 Mustang, used in post-WWII Japan for Royal Australian Air Force occupation duties, the P-40 Kittyhawk, immortalised for their response to the attack on Pearl Harbour, the Grumman Avenger, and the CAC Boomerang – an Australian fighter produced rapidly to fill an Australian fighter gap and without a single prototype.
Another heritage favourite, the Lockheed Hudson, will also make an appearance. It’s role in anti-submarine patrols and armed reconnaissance was essential to Australian defence in World War II.
Moving forward, we see the development of more modern trainers, with action from a T-28 Trojan and an L-39 Albatross – a contrast of trainers from both sides of the Cold War. Joining these trainers will be the highly-manoeuvrable Zivko Edge 450 and the Paul Bennet Airshow SkyAces – a civilian display team of the highest standard.
The highlights, for many, will be the Royal Australian Air Force Roulettes – the one and only RAAF display team – and the Lockheed F-35 Lightning II. The new Australian fighter, replacing the now retired F/A-18, will be demonstrating its performance, speed and volume in the first exclusive display since the F/A-18 retired at the end of last year.
AirlineGeekse will be sharing photos, interviews and reviews with our audience.
With the weather mostly forecast as clear, it should be a fantastic weekend with planes, noise, and that intoxicating smell of jet fuel. If you can make it (we extend this invitation to those beyond Australia), we’d love your company as we lift our eyes ever upward and share in our true love – our love of flight.
Mike’s love affair with flight and mechanical objects in the sky began at an early age, fascinated by space documentaries and the vintage Flight Simulator ’95. He currently works as an instructor for UAVs and is training to receive his Private Pilot Licence with the goal of working in manned flight instruction. An avid reader of all things aviation and manned space flight, Mike stays close to developments in aerospace while reminiscing and sharing the rich history of flight with others. He loves writing, engineering and science.
