Spent the weekend at the Avalon Airshow - took the missus who yawned through an F/A-18F aerobatics display. I'll not make that mistake again.

Biggest surprise - Bob Carlton's jet powered sailplane. I saw it take off and couldn't believe my ears. Two tiny microjets powered a sailplane which did an incredible aerobatics display.

Biggest disappointment - the B-52 flypast. I last saw a B-52 at the 1988 Richmond airshow and the overwhelming impression it left on me was of staggering noise and size. For some reason this time they did their flypast at a couple of thousand feet several miles beyond the display line. The Jetstar A-320 arrival looked bigger and was louder by comparison.

Anyway - a pretty good airshow, but it was a bit too same-old. Why not a parachute drop from a C-130 or rope in from an Army helicopter? The Tiger helicopter and Hornets did demonstration strafing runs, but no blank cartridges? The only ally to show up and do a display came from the USAF, all the rest were manufacturers looking to sell us stuff.



The USAF F-16C, which looks like worlds most fun jet to fly. This bloke looked like he was having the time of his life, which he probably was.



The DHC-4 Caribou. We are looking to replace it, unfortunately, it looks like the only replacement for a Caribou is...another Caribou.



QANTAS 747. When you see these things sailing overhead everyday it's easy to forget how elegant the lines are, and how enormous they are.



Aussie Tiger, the Army's first attack helicopter. Now they just need some tanks to shoot at.



F/A-18F Super Hornet (aka Rhino.) For sheer power and brute force it's hard to beat. Noisiest plane of the day, and I love jet noise.