Daring stunts wow crowds at ‘special’ country air show
Katelyn Catanzariti |
Third-generation aviator Emma McDonald grew up in the skies – watching, and sometimes going along for the ride, as her dad performed tumbles and tricks as an aerobatic pilot.
But it wasn’t until she was standing alongside her father watching an Old Station Air Show display that she considered turning the high-octane sport into a career.
On Saturday, the 35-year-old returned to the iconic central Queensland show for the first time as a solo aerobatic pilot to wow an estimated 15,000 people with her loops, rolls, barrels and tumbles in a two-seat Extra 300L.
“I pulled up to 10Gs, which is 10 times your body weight, with a roll rate of 400 degrees a second,” Ms McDonald, Australia’s only current female aerobatic pilot, told AAP.
She trained as a diesel mechanic out of school and didn’t get her pilot’s licence until many years later after watching former RAAF fighter combat instructor-turned Red Bull Air Race world champion Matt Hall at the same event.
“It was the first time I’d seen it as someone doing it for a living and I was like ‘oh my god, I want to do what he does’,” she said.
“I went out and worked really hard, ticked off a heap of things … and ended up with the job with Matt Hall Racing.
“Six years later, working continuously hard, I was able to do my very first aerobatic display at the Old Station Air Show with Matt out on my wing.”
At the latest edition of the show, held at Raglan in Queensland’s Gladstone region, Ms McDonald performed for the first time under her own brand, Beyond Gravity.
“I’m here to inspire the next generation and anyone who wants to get into aviation,” she said.
The popular air show is a family affair, beginning as a gathering for members of the Old Station Flying Club, set up by the Creed family on their Raglan property in 1989.
Thousands of people make the pilgrimage from across Australia to the property, where they were treated to a weekend of air shows – including a display of WWII “warbirds” – as well as other displays.
Some arrive by car, but hundreds also fly in with special instructions on where to park their planes safely.
“It started as a small club event with just a handful of members,” said Samantha Creed, whose grandparents began the tradition as a fundraiser for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
“Over the years, it’s just grown and grown and evolved and we’ve become so big we need help to run it.”
Local community groups lend volunteers to help run the show and in return receive donations to their causes.
At the last event, in 2022, more than $100,000 was raised.
“We’ve helped put kitchens into local CWA halls, we’ve stocked libraries with books … built a truck stop, upgraded sporting equipment,” Ms Creed said.
Ms McDonald has performed her stunts in front of millions in the US and hundreds of thousands on the Gold Coast, but the Old Station Air Show is still a favourite.
“(The) Creeds have been absolutely phenomenal, giving me the opportunity to spread my wings and do what I need to do, so this air show is very special to me,” she said.
AAP
