Thousands of aviation nerds will descend upon Albion Park Rail this weekend for the annual Wings Over Illawarra air show, with blue skies forecast.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It’s about time the bad weather laid off so bird enthusiasts can enjoy the dozens of aircraft on display without being swept away. In recent years torrential rain and gale force winds have wreaked havoc at the event, but not this year.
Wings will feature dozens of flying and static aircraft on display, hailing from all over the country.
There’s even some World War I birds on show, flown down from Caboolture north of Brisbane.
Owner Andrew Carter said many Australians don’t realise there were fighter planes in the Great War, nor do they realise Australia had a squadron – be it small.
He said his planes are still “quite the spectacle” while their speed often leaves jaws dropping.
They can only track around 130 kilometres in two hours.
Wings Over Illawarra is like a ‘show and shine’ for vehicles of the sky and started out as an open day to the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society 15 years ago.
Now it’s grown to be one of the Illawarra’s premier tourist drawcards, run by Mark and Kerry Bright.
The RAAF has brought a large contingent of metal to the Illawarra for the show including the Roulettes, ready to fly in formation and turn tricks.
Those on the ground may get a sore neck from all the exciting delights in the sky (hopefully drivers on the Princes Highway won’t have any accidents either).
We haven’t even got to June yet and the region has hosted a myriad of spectacular events.
A while back there was the Bentley Drivers Club who held their national rally here, then there were the Mustang Owners Club of Australia doing their national event at the lighthouse.
We had a beer and barbecue festival for the first time, John Farnham brought his voice to Kiama, not to mention several cruise liners stopping by.
It’s been a big year for the region with plenty more events to come.
Next week is the first Healthy Livin’ Festival in Kiama, Sir Elton John is set to rock the house at WIN Stadium, the Yours and Owls festival is returning (with an announcement coming soon) and the list goes on.