I've just got back from the Mudgee Airshow! It was a terrific event with something there for everyone. There was plenty of cloud in the morning and most of the other display and visiting aircraft could not get out of Sydney for the trip across. We joked about how many displays I might need fly to fill in the day ... Luckily, the weather cleared and everyone arrived, albeit, a little late. Rob and the other organizers did a great job massaging the program and things ran smoothly for the rest of the day - good job everyone!
I flew my 5 minute aerobatic display and received some great feedback from various people. My display is certainly a work in progress and I'm adjusting it as I get feedback. Different people like different things but in general I seem to be heading in the right direction.
A little later in the day I did a couple of drag races with this race car, it is a very nice Lola.
It looks like I'm winning but it was actually a very fast car. Even though the Rebel is probably the highest power to weight aerobatic aircraft in the country, he was able to beat me until about mid runway when I would slowly start catching up. He reached over 300 km/hour, which is impressive - the Rebel was just reaching its stride of course. The car was in front virtually all the way to the end of the runway!
It certainly was a lot of fun and no doubt a spectacle for on lookers.
Another interesting spectacle was this helicopter that dropped a car from 1000 feet directly in front of the crowd - it certainly got a cheer!
Overall a great event, crowd numbers were good and so the hard work of the Mudgee Aeroclub was rewarded. Congratulations to all involved.
I've now received some information about the Lola. It is a 1987 Lola F3000 with a Lites 630 HP Buick engine. It has a top speed of around 350 km/hour, does 8 second quarter mile passes and has a better power to weight ratio than a current Formula 1 car. The car won the Australian hill climb championships in 1989, 2004, 2006 and 2008. It also does 0 to 200 km/hour in just 6 seconds.
Doug Parry - you have a very impressive car!
No wonder it was hard to catch, even in the Rebel ...
Another interesting spectacle was this helicopter that dropped a car from 1000 feet directly in front of the crowd - it certainly got a cheer!
Overall a great event, crowd numbers were good and so the hard work of the Mudgee Aeroclub was rewarded. Congratulations to all involved.
