By James Kightly, Commissioning Editor
The 2024 Tyabb Airshow at Westernport Airfield in Victoria, Australia is just a week away on Sunday, 10th March. Normally a biennial event, the Covid pandemic caused the intervening year of 2022 to be skipped, so here we take a look back at the last show, in March 2020. We will also be bringing you a report on the upcoming event from James Kightly and Nigel Hitchman. [Now published]
Tyabb provides a premier version of the local aero club airshow seen worldwide. While most of these events have a selection of local aircraft, Tyabb is lucky to have an active and diverse range of unusual machines and can call in favors from other local operators to put on, in a small venue, a big show.
Running from mid morning through the afternoon (the 2024 show will run from 10.00 to 4.00) the show provided a wide variety of flying, from unique aircraft to modern military, from inter-war trainers to today’s aerobatic teams, military and civil, and with an emphasis on local fighter warbirds.
The 2020 event was presented by Paul Bennet Airshows for the airfield operators the the Peninsula Aero Club.
Known as Mornington Peninsula Airport, Westernport, or just Tyabb, the airport is run by the Aero Club, which has around 600 members and the airpark has approximately 170 aircraft based there, including several notable warbird operators and vintage aircraft restoration facilities.
As well as the private collection of Graham Hosking, Judy Pay’s Old Aeroplane Company is well known across Australia and beyond and both are key supporters of the event, offering the top line of WWII fighters to the show, among many other types.
The airfield was established in the early 1960s and has had local shows supporting important charities from even those early days; but by the 2000s, the biennial show was a regular highlight on the schedule.
A typical ‘local’ show perhaps, but the exceptional element can be gauged from the fact the Aero Club Peninsula won the Australian Branch of the Royal Aero Club of the year award not once, but twice – in 2015, 2016.
While the weather was good visually, tricky winds prevented several acts from participating, but even so the feeling was it was an excellent general aviation airshow, strong in vintage, warbirds and some exotics (as seen here) but also modern military participation and aerobatic entertainment.
Congratulations to the Peninsula Aero Club, Paul Bennet Airshows, and the many people who put on another excellent Tyabb Airshow today. A terrific effort. Well done.
This report is an update, and reminder of a great event. We carried a contemporary report in 2020 from Phil Buckley, which you can also read here. And to finish, here’s the promotional video for the 2024 event. See you there! [Our report has now been published here.]
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James Kightly, from Melbourne, Australia, discovered his passion for aviation at the Moorabbin collection in the late 1960s. With over 30 years of writing experience for aviation magazines in the UK, US, Australia, and France, he is a feature writer for Aeroplane Monthly and an advisor for the RAAF History & Heritage Branch.
James has interviewed aviation professionals worldwide and co-runs the Aviation Cultures conferences. He has flown in historic aircraft like the Canadian Warplane Heritage’s Lancaster. At Vintage Aviation News, he ensures accurate and insightful aviation history articles.
Outside aviation, James has worked extensively in the book trade and museums. He supports the Moorabbin Air Museum and the Shuttleworth Collection. James lives in rural Victoria with his wife and dog.
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