The Avalon Airshow (1-3 March)

There has been a lot of preparation for the Avalon Airshow – organising uniforms, posters & lots of other things for the On a Wing & a Chair static display there.

I had to go to Lethbridge for briefings on how to fly into Avalon over a few weekends as Avalon is controlled airspace & the organisers needed to properly coordinate the many aircrafts flying in for the show. I didn’t want to have the F-22 Raptor up my rear on final – it would make me rather nervous.

Thanks to Michael, one of the OWC support plane pilots, who came down early from Griffith to fly in with me – from Tooradin to Avalon.

When we departed Tooradin, the weather looked pretty good however, once we got to Frankston, we were down to 500 feet with cloud & we couldn’t see too far ahead. We turned around & took the route passed Moorabbin where we were lucky to get clearance to fly straight into Avalon.

On a personal note, I’d have to say that flying into Avalon with that massive runway ahead, was an awesome experience!

My view as I was approaching Avalon Airfield

Michael & I, just after landing at Avalon.

At the Avalon Airshow, we set up the display on Thursday & were ready for the crowds on Friday to Sunday. Our display was great but our position wasn’t the best which meant we had limited traffic.

I feel it was still a great success, with a lot more people getting to know about On a Wing & a Chair and its message – that is, raising the public’s expectations of what people with disabilities can achieve and providing inspiration to all.

Speaking with some of the public during the three days, I know we have opened up minds to what people with disabilities can do – and also given some family members hope that their disabled son or daughter can have a fulfilling future.

I had a great chance to show people how I fly the plane (see below).

How I fly my plane

I was also glad to meet Chris Dixon from Thomson Aviation (from Griffith NSW) who have very kindly loaned us a SpiderTracks unit for real-time tracking of my plane throughout the flight. This means that anyone can go to the OWC website & see where we are.

Stay tuned for more on the SpiderTracks as I’ll be doing a test flight shortly.

Dave with Chris Dixon from Thomson Aviation.

A big thank you to everyone who volunteered their time to help with the On a Wing & a Chair display – including the Executive Team, Committee and Flight team.

What’s next for me?

I’m flying to Naracourte in South Australia to give a talk on the 23rd March. If you’d like to come, send us an email & we’ll provide further details.

Also, I’ll be having a display at the Natfly 2013 in Temora (28-30th March) & I’ll be giving a talk their on the Saturday.

Over & out,

Dave