The small plane soars straight up into the sky, reaching a maximum height of 18,000 feet and 500 kilometres per hour. It makes a 180-degree turn, the tip of its nose pointing towards the ground. Suddenly, it begins to free-fall, plummeting to earth at great speed. Right before impact, its nose lifts and it sails seamlessly along the tarmac.<\/p>\n
This manoeuvre \u2013 the \u201ctorque roll\u201d \u2013 elicits shocked gasps from the nervous crowd below. Thankfully, the man in the aircraft doesn\u2019t feel nervous at all.<\/p>\n
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Aerobatic pilots Emma McDonald and Matt Hall at the Avalon Airshow.<\/span>Credit:<\/span>Luis Enrique Ascui<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cEveryone assumes I\u2019m an adrenaline junkie … I don\u2019t get adrenaline,\u201d says Matt Hall, the aerobatics pilot who was steering the aircraft just seen hurtling towards the Avalon Airport runway.<\/p>\n Hall, 51, is the reigning Red Bull Air Race world champion, a former Royal Australian Air Force top gun fighter pilot, and he owns and directs his own eponymous racing company. Wearing black sunglasses and a pilot jumpsuit covered in badges, he exudes the nonchalance of Tom Cruise in Top Gun<\/em>.<\/p>\n He\u2019s been in the air enough to know that he only gets nervous when something has gone wrong \u2013 no matter how high, fast or upside down he is.<\/p>\n \u201cAdrenaline is fired in when your body is concerned about its own survival … So when something is going wrong, when you\u2019re not in control,\u201d he says. \u201cIf I get that in an aircraft, it means I\u2019ve pushed too hard.\u201d<\/p>\n That has only happened a handful of times, including when he crashed a plane and was being shot at during combat operations. The air show on the other hand, regardless of the inconceivable flips and tricks he masters, is Hall\u2019s safe space.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s probably the freest I feel. When you\u2019re engaged in something like what I just did, you don\u2019t have any external thoughts in your brain,\u201d he says. \u201cLife becomes very simple. You\u2019re not worried about your bank balance, you\u2019re not worried about your car breaking down, all you\u2019re worried about is what\u2019s happening right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite his evident \u201ccool factor\u201d, he remains humble. He says he doesn\u2019t fly to show people how talented he is but continues in the hopes of motivating others, particularly young children, to pursue aviation.<\/p>\n Flying alongside Hall is Emma McDonald \u2013 the only female aerobatics pilot at the Avalon Airshow. She wears that badge with honour, proudly representing a demographic that is not as common within the industry.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m certainly very proud and privileged to be here. To be invited to perform at Avalon is really quite special,\u201d McDonald says.<\/p>\n Paul Bennet during the air display at Avalon Airshow.<\/span>Credit:<\/span>Luis Enrique Ascui<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cBeing a female pilot, there\u2019s certainly not many of us. There\u2019s more coming onboard, which is great to see, so I\u2019m here to try to encourage more women to join.\u201d<\/p>\n Over the week, about 248,000 people flocked to the Avalon Airshow to watch jaw-dropping aerial stunts \u2013 more than 76,000 more than the total attendance at the last airshow, held in 2019.<\/p>\n At 11am on Sunday, more than 32,000 people had already arrived at the show.<\/p>\n This is the first year the airshow has offered free entry for those under 15 during the days it\u2019s open to the public (Monday through to Thursday are for those within the industry). This is part of an effort to encourage more young people to consider a career in aviation.<\/p>\n Aerobatics pilot Paul Bennet.<\/span>Credit:<\/span>Luis Enrique Ascui<\/cite><\/p>\n Seeing so many kids is heartening for Paul Bennet, an aerobatic champion in both the advanced and unlimited categories.<\/p>\n \u201cHeaps of kids have come to me, tapped me on the leg and said, \u2018I want to be just like you when I get older\u2019,\u201d Bennet says with a smile. \u201cI say, \u2018Anyone can do it, mate\u2019 … We\u2019re not any kind of genius.\u201d<\/p>\n All it takes is training, fitness and passion, he says.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, it has cost us all a lot of money to get to where we\u2019ve got to. But if you\u2019re determined to do something, you can do anything you want.\u201d<\/p>\n Bennet admits he still feels some nerves before each flight, but the meticulous planning and training before each show put his mind at ease.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything\u2019s well rehearsed. We don\u2019t just come out here and start flopping around,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a pretty complex display, there\u2019s a fair bit going on, but there\u2019s a lot of pre-work before we get here.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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