ADF Airshow at Amberley Oct.2/3 (big pics)

ADF = Australian Defence Force (for those who don’t know)

It was a fantastic day (and whole weekend!). And the weather was perfect. I have taken a LOT of pics, but mostly static on the digital, as my battery died just before the main flying display, but I took 30 odd photos of the flying displays with my 35mm backup camera on good film (hope they turn out). I took most with my 5 mega-pixel Canon S50, and at 1024×768 screen resolution. There were more people there today (Sunday) than yesterday apparently, so I definitely went at the right time, but there were still LOTS of people there. It was hard to get some good static shots without a few bodies or heads in the way, but I did well I think.

Lessons I learned

Strong Sunscreen needs to be applied right from the start of the day. We were there from 8am till 4pm. I got burnt along with a mate of mine I was with, as we didn’t apply enough soon enough.

Take a back-up battery for the digital camera!! I was close to buying another one a week ago, but I took a chance knowing how long the battery does last, but it wasn’t enough. Still, I managed nearly 200 static and motion shots on the Digital, and a couple of video clips as well. I did quite a bit of zooming for some shots, and that no doubt had a great drain effect on the battery. Will no better next time. Hopefully Avalon next year!

The static displays included a couple of AS 332 Super Pumas from Singapore too.

A great airshow I thought! Good to see all the ADF heavy weights flying too; F-111s, F/A-18s, Hawks, Blackhawks, Seahawks, Chinooks, Hueys, Kiowas, a Herc, and the AP-3C, and warbirds including two Mustangs were all flying in the afternoon. There was also multiple dump-and-burn flybys from the F-111s, and a cannon straffing run from one of the Hornets as well. Army displays included troops rapelling from two Blackhawks, the Herc unloading recon vehicles and demonstrating it’s reversing capability,the Caribou doing a low-level pallet cargo drop, and the Chinook lifting and deploying two 105mm guns. There were many other flying highlights including the RAAF Roulettes, skydivers (the Red Berets), and some very cool, and VERY big, R/C models too.

It was a GREAT DAY!!!! 🙂

Here is a selection of mostly static shots from the digital of the modern military aircraft, and other related stuff. Enjoy! (More later).