Reach for the sky: First officer Chris Lee taking off from Echuca Aerodrome. Photos: Michael Lloyd
Photo by
Michael Lloyd
Three Echuca-Moama aerobatics pilots will showcase their talents at this week’s Pacific Airshow on the Gold Coast.
Inverted: Adrian Van Der Sluys leads fellow pilots Chris Lee in the yellow aeroplane, with Michael Jones in red.
Photo by
Supplied
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Adrian van der Sluys, Chris Lee and Michael Jones have spent the past few days in the skies above the twin towns fine-tuning their routines for the August 18-20 event.
Victorious: Adrian Van Der Sluys, Michael Jones and first officer Chris Lee relive a successful rehearsal.
Photo by
Michael Lloyd
“We were invited by the organisers who are from California. They’ve been running it over Huntington Beach for the last 10 years,” Mr van der Sluys said.
Up in the air: The pilots while performing the aerobatic stunts.
Photo by
Michael Lloyd
“So it’s exciting for them because it’s the first time they’ve brought it to Australia and really good for us.”
A critical aspect of the gruelling rehearsals is the discussions that occur while on the ground, ensuring everything goes smoothly while performing complex stunts in the air.
Close quarters: Birds of a feather, stick together. Well aeroplanes in this case.
Photo by
Michael Lloyd
“Our display at the moment just sort of flows on. It’s a mixture of formation aerobatics and then into some solid figures as well,” Mr van der Sluys said.
“There’s probably 10 to 15 figures in the performance and takes you 10 minutes to get through it.”
Mr van der Sluys spoke about the increased time spent in the cockpit leading into the inaugural air show.
Preparation: The three pilots carefully perform the routine on terra firma before heading up into the sky.
Photo by
Michael Lloyd
“Generally we fly at least once a week,” he said.
“But leading up to the event like this will mean we’re here practising four or five times a day, just really dialling it in.
“We just want to be really comfortable with what we’re doing for the show.”
Flying has been a long-time passion for Mr Jones.
“It’s an extreme sport that’s personally thrilling,” he said.
“The mental side of things is trusting yourself being comfortable with flying at speeds in excess of 350 kilometres an hour, just metres off the ground in front of crowds.
“I own and run the Moama Airfield. So my passion with aviation is not just the flying ... it’s also the involvement in the community that aviation brings.
“It’s an absolute honour to be invited to a major air show, it was a definite yes (from us).
“And it probably just goes to show that the work that we’ve put in over the years is paying off. And we’ve been recognised Australia-wide to be asked to do a show like this.”
Chris Lee is a first officer who flies a Boeing 737.
He shared what he does to maintain peak performance.
“I’ve been looking forward to this for the last six months,” he said.
“You’re training hard and you’re really putting it together over the past few days, sort of training every day and can’t wait to get up there.
“Over the past week or so we’ve been putting the final polish to all the flying. We’ve got a six-month base of flying together.”
Mr Lee said the intrepid trio would soak up the experience of being part of the inaugural air show.
“It’s an honour to be flying at the Pacific Airshow in front of the big crowds. I can’t wait to get up there and perform for the large crowds that will be watching.”
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