Bart Bear's Blog

It was hot at the Avalon airshow in March. We had been walking for what seemed like hours, looking at all the aircraft parked in the static display areas. Small bears get hot very quickly and I needed to find a shady spot for a short rest. Now, there is one aircraft that has a shady spot just the right size for me. It is the F-16, and this one was visiting from Singapore. While the Oldies were talking to the Singapore crew, I settled down in the gap above the air intake for the engine and below the front fuselage. I recommend it as a resting spot for all small bears who are overheating at airshows where F-16s are parked. Just remember to stay awake and get down before the engine starts.

Labels: aircraft, airshow, aValon, Victoria

I am sitting near an access panel on a BAe Hawk 127 LIF at the Avalon airshow. This is a great little jet. It is a special variant of the Hawk trainer, specially modified to be close to the Hornet fighter in its handling properties. Its cockpit instruments and layout are also close to the Hornet's. This means that RAAF fighter pilots can be trained on a cheaper aircraft before they graduate to the Hornet. LIF stands for Lead-in Fighter. I love Hawks, they are fast and noisy. Best of all, the pilots seem to like small bears. I was able to look all over this one and even see the electronics inside the hatches, nobody else at the Avalon airshow was able to go where I did.

Labels: aircraft, airshow, aValon, Victoria

This sleek aircraft is a Rockwell B-1 Lancer. The B-1 has been in service with the USAF since 1986. It is a swing-wing, supersonic low-altitude bomber. I have seen a B-1 flying at previous Avalon airshows, and it is very impressive. They aren't allowed to go supersonic at the airshow, but they get pretty close to it and with the wings swept back they are low, loud and very fast. With the wings fully extended they are not much faster than an airliner at landing speed, but they are still very loud. I love the noise they make, specially when it comes way behind the aircraft. There is always a crowd near the B-1 on static display and sometimes it can be hard for a small bear to get a good look at it, but not this time. Just look closely at the crew ladder and you will see me with my new American friend, coming down after a look inside. No other visitor at Avalon was able to do this; small bears are special.

Labels: aircraft, airshow, aValon

This is the Lockheed-Martin F-22 Raptor, possibly the best all-round fighter in the world today. There were 2 of them at the Avalon airshow and I just had to see them. I have read about the F-22 and Dad and I have made a model of it, but it is different seeing them for real. As soon as we were past the airshow gate I steered the Oldies toward where I figured the Raptors would be. You couldn't see them from any great distance because they were parked between a C-17 and a B-1, both much bigger 'planes. The Raptor has been around for a while. The first one flew in September 1990 and it went into service with the USAF in 2005, but these were the first to come to Australia. I was a bit disappointed because they didn't fly on the day we were there, but I did get a really close look at them. Just check out the bottom photo. The pilot took me inside the barrier and showed me just about everything possible without getting into the secret bits. Small bears really do get everywhere.

Labels: aircraft, airshow, aValon, Victoria

Last weekend we went down to Melbourne again, and on Saturday we went out to the Avalon airshow. This one was commemorating the 90th birthday of the RAAF, so it had examples of most of the aircraft that have flown with our air force. Most of them flew during the day. I have shown you lots of these aircraft in previous posts, so will only have a few from this time around. These pictures are of an FA-18 Hornet with special 90th tail markings. The problem with military aircraft markings these days is that everything is in various shades of grey, so it is a bit hard to see them at times. A good example is the fuselage stripe and squadron badge on this 'plane; in earlier times they were emerald green. Anyhow, the thing that most of the onlookers found fascinating about this aircraft at the time the photos were taken was what was happening in the cockpit. Just look closely at the bottom picture (click on it for a bigger image) and you will see somebody that you should recognize. Small bears can get anywhere.

Labels: aircraft, airshow, aValon, Victoria

At Avalon airshow I saw a really mean-looking helicopter. It was bigger than the one I flew in and it had a big gun under its nose. Gee, I could have some fun with a machine like that. Dad says that it is a Tiger. Well, maybe, but real tigers have yellow and black stripes and this one had brown, green and black ones. The small photo in the corner is a good example of why you never turn your back on Mum when she has the camera. OK, Dad and I were both looking up and we have more or less the same shape but we don't need photos to prove it!

Labels: aircraft, airshow, aValon, helicopter, Victoria

I saw a really big helicopter at the Avalon airshow. It was much bigger than the one I flew in a week later. This is a Russian Mil-8 helicopter. It is one of the most successful helicopters ever. It is used in over 40 countries and there are over 10,000 of them in use. This one is used for carrying cargo and aerial agriculture work. The people who import these choppers into Australia told us all about them and let me climb all through this one. Aeroplane people usually like small bears.

Labels: aircraft, airshow, aValon, helicopter, Victoria

This is really a Bart-sized aeroplane! I found it at the Avalon airshow and fell in love with it. It is a French ultralight design called Cri-Cri and is the smallest twin-engined 'plane in the world. It is actually aerobatic and you can see some videos of it on the web. The first one flew in1973 near Paris. I couldn't find the pilot of this one so I didn't see inside it and can't tell you much about its history. Isn't it a cutie?

Labels: aircraft, airshow, aValon, Victoria

One of the highlights of a Captain Cook cruise is the crew show. The Barrier Reef crew of "Reef Endeavour" are good, but the Fijian crew of "Reef Escape" are superb. Fijian singing and dancing just has to be experienced at least once in your life. Actually once you hear it once you will surely want to hear it again. Here is some of the crew from our 2006 trip serenading us before performing some of the most exciting dances this small bear has ever seen. My special friend, 'Tiko the divemaster, is playing guitar at the far end of the front row. I just love this crew. There seems nothing they can't do to make the trip one to remember. I can't wait to meet them again.

This will be my last post for a few weeks. Tomorrow morning we hop on a plane for Melbourne. We go to the Avalon airshow, catch up with friends from our 2005 Barrier Reef trip, and spend the next 2 weeks driving to Adelaide, seeing all the spectacular scenery along the Great Ocean Road and checking every lighthouse along the way (all 22 of them!).

Labels: aValon, Barrier Reef, boats, Captain Cook, cruising, Fiji, Great Ocean Road, lighthouse, Victoria

Only a week left now until the Avalon airshow. I am getting really excited. Dad got the suitcases down yesterday and packing has begun. I really love airshows because the pilots let small bears go places that they keep people out of. Here I am at the last Avalon, sitting on a bit of the undercarriage of a Catalina flying boat. This bit has obviously been designed as a Bart-sized seat. Catalinas were really important to Australia during the war years, and as transports along the coast and the islands after the war. Dad has a real thing about flying boats, Catalinas and Sunderlands used to land and take off just outside his school in Grafton. It must have been a great way to travel. We are making a model Catalina sometime soon and I am looking forward to meeting my pilot friends again.

Labels: aircraft, airshow, aValon, catalina, Victoria

Great excitement! Dad has got our tickets for the Avalon airshow at the end of the month. This is the biggest airshow in Australia and happens every two years. I have been to the last two. The ground displays cover a huge area, far too far for a small bear to walk, so I usually ride in Dad's backpack but occasionally we manage to catch the train that takes you around the site. When this photo was taken we were on our way from the fast jet area to the transports. The aeroplane to the right is a Lockheed Super Constellation. Dad and I are going to build a model of it soon. Once the flying starts we settle down in the grandstand and watch Mum go hyper when the noisy jets go zipping past. Mum loves the noisy jets, Dad loves the old ones with several wings and fans on them. Avalon has enough of both sorts to keep them both happy. Me, I love them all.

Labels: aircraft, aValon, train, Victoria

We always go to the Avalon airshow. This happens every two years and is the biggest one in Australia. One of the spectacular events is on the Friday night where aeroplanes fly after dark. You can see the flames from the jet exhausts and the aircraft drop flares and things like that. It gets a bit scarey when there are big explosions and fires when they pretend to drop bombs, but it is also very exciting. Back in 2005 the show started at sunset with a lot of guys parachuting onto the airfield just in front of where I was sitting. I would love to try that. Dad rubbishes the idea. He says it is silly to jump out of a perfectly good aeroplane. Sometimes I don't think he understands small bears. But he has made me my own parachute that I can use down our stairwell and off our balcony, so I forgive him.

Labels: airshow, aValon, Victoria