Flying into Avalon for the Airshow 2009 Question
 

Dear all,

Thinking of flying into Avalon aboard a Jetstar flight one day of the airshow this year.
My question is, how do you get from the Jet* terminal to the airshow gates? Is it a short walk? Shuttle bus etc?

Thanks all in advance.

T.

You can't walk it because traffic has to cross an active taxiway between the terminal and the airshow site - found that out the hard way two years ago...in the rain...

There are shuttle busses which meet every incoming flight, but NOT shuttle busses back to the terminal to meet outgoing flights as far as I know.

I was in the Avalon Terminal on December 28th and the structures for three giant marquees ( minus canvas ) were already in place.

The actual or Great Circle distance from the Terminal to the site is only about 400-500 metres but as Andrew said the taxiway gets in the way.

Whilst on the Avalon topic, I am in the process of deciding which Grandstand to choose (ie-Spitfire/Sabre/Meteor), and was after any advice for good seats? Row "M" perhaps??

Im flying to Tullamarine then hiring a car then taking the last flight home. Were in the Gold Pass area right next to the runway so I hope its good!

Any rough ideas what will be there?

Wouldn't it be better if it was a surprise?

Yeah but I want to know anyway:D

Don`t be surprised if nothing is there.

I'd have to agree with that one.

I wonder what the effect of the current financial climate and prices at $50 per head will do to crowd numbers? Be interesting. I think more people will watch from the freeway!:eek:

Based on previous Avalon Airshows that I've been to, I wouldn't bother buying grandstand tickets to this. Just take a chair with you and wander around and enjoy it.

Mick

I'll second Micks thoughts - i've always arrived around 8am, walked around the static displays and then picked a spot on the fence and enjoyed the display.

Yep the good old $5 jobs from bunnings are a treat.

make sure there are stubbie holders in the arms of the chair...

That's a prerequisite :D

I'm driving down and was told the traffic is chaotic at best in the area of the airport with traffic jams everywhere, anybody know if that is true?

Depends on what time you drive and how patient you are.

If you accept that it's a major event with ~60,000 people in attendance, 50,000 of whom use the same road to get there and back, and you choose to drive in and out at the same time as most of these people then you'll need to be patient.

If you think a little laterally, i.e. stay in Geelong, or go early and leave late, or go late and leave early, then it's not so bad. We go early and leave late every day, and rarely have any hassles driving to and from the show from Melbourne.

Excellent advice thanks Andrew.

We will more than likely be staying in the Geelong area.

Whats the go with EBU. Is it still sitting outside where the photo was taken of it all blue or is it in some hanger? I havent been to Avalon before and id love to see it.

I will add though, that although the drive on the freeway to and from Geelong is a little easier than Melbourne, the final leg to and from Lara into the airshow site can still be tedious, so again, be patient.

Can almost guarantee it'll be in a hangar come Avalon...

Ok thanks Andrew. If so, Will its tail be sticking out and is the hanger in photo range?

I drove to the previous airshow from MEL Apt as I did it as a day trip from BNE.

The drive was fine - the last few KM's into the car park were a little slow but nothing chaotic compared to the Brisbane traffic we deal with everyday!!

Good move. Driving from the Geelong way is less chaos than coming from Melb. You will most likely only get a bit bumper to bumper once on the airport grounds just before the carpark.

Confirmed today and no suprise, 2 x Super Hornets due from US.:rolleyes:

how overly exciting...same display pilot I see too...going to be another yawn fest in terms of flying displays:cool:

Yeah it's not like Boeing need to flog it off to us anymore, we've bought the damn things! Bring something new/different Boeing. :D

Like what Tony? What else are they trying to flog off to us that is available for sale and for display?

Boeing is actually trying to sell us more Super Hornets, plus they and the RAAF think it's important for the taxpayers to see what their money is buying them.

Going by the sensitivities surrounding EBU's future, I think it'll be as out of site as possible Tim.

:eek: If you think the Super Hornet display is a "yawn fest", then you're obviously not easily entertained Daniel! :confused::confused::confused:

What else would you like to see? Before you answer, don't forget there's a recession either on or just about to hit most of the world, and consequently most of the exhibitors this year have scaled back their presence at the show.

The best entertainment for the public to see day by day would VH-EBU facing the muncher.Then they would have an idea what happens to older aircraft when they have had their life.

What about a Super Hornet taking out EBU in a nearby paddock, I'd like to see that.

Well we've had about 5 previous airshows in non-recession times, and the aircraft involved in those flying displays were basically identical each year, so I guess I can't expect much. What would I like to see? How about some more Russian or British involvement? South Africa? Any of our Asian neighbours? We seem to have so many allies, but barely any show up at our airshow. It's biannual as well!

And yes, the super hornet has been done over and over. Not to say I won't watch and be in awe, but its the same old stuff over and over and with no variation year in year out, yes it doesn't start to become boring.

Oh well, at least it appears we'll have one less car to contend with in the carpark! :rolleyes:

A Naval variant of the Apache:D

Why do Boeing and the RAAF care though and would the local mug punter?

Is that your new nickname Ray? :D :D :D

correct...I'll be flying myself in...will give you a wave!:D

I flew down on Jetstar for the day in 2007, shuttle bus both ways.

the plane was late getting into Sydney, so we were an hour late before getting on the plane, taxied out to 34R.. but the brakes hadn't cooled down so we cleared the runway and lined up again..

Of course, this made us late getting to Avalon, so we had to circle for a while waiting for a hole in the airshow.

Moral of the story: If you're flying into the airshow, take the early flight.

Surprising. I always thought RPT traffic into AV had right of way, and they would move airshow traffic out of the way for them. Seems this isn't the case. I'm sure Jetstar aren't overly happy about this arrangement!

It would be extremely poor publicity by Qantas to leave it outside.


When I was there 4 weeks ago, Avalon was as dry as chips, so unless they get some rain, dust will be a big problem.

No rain in sight and 40c+ for the next 5 days. Ouch!:mad: