They might be able to see the airport from the backyard of their Albion Park home, but Wings Over Illawarra is a special time of the year for historian Michael Molkentin and his young son Teddy.
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Mr Molkentin is a lifelong plane enthusiast who has turned his passion for Australian wartime history into three published books, specialising in aviation.
He’s a regular visitor to the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society museum and now has Teddy hooked on the sky-high life as well.
“Ted and I both love planes and when there’s an airshow like this in your backyard, there’s no way we wouldn’t come,” he said.
While Mr Molkentin spent the day musing over the history of the planes on display, Teddy’s was drawn to the danger zone: “He just loves the jets,” Mr Molkentin said, referring to the RAAF F/A-18 Classic Hornets which took to the air during the show.
“I think he loves the noise – they do frighten him a little bit but he loves them at the same time.”
The pair was among the thousands of spectators who flocked to the annual air show, the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere.
Constant activity in the air from dozens of rare and specialised planes kept aviation lovers looking sky-high for most of the day., while on the ground, punters were able to get up close and personal with helicopters, war planes and the ever-popular Qantas Boeing 747.
