Raglan, Queensland is a very small, seldom noticed village in north central Queensland. It is about 35 or 40 miles from where we live and a ways off the main road into the hills west of the coast.
Nancy and I noticed advertisements for the Raglan Air Show and decided we would give it a go .. se what it was all about. When we mentioned to our friends that we were going they all were quite enthusiastic and said they had been a number of times. Some were even going again this year. Several of them went early and camped at the Raglan airpark campground where they could stay free if they helped with the airshow.
So, come Saturday morning, the 24th of May, we went. First of all it was really out in the boonies. We left the main road and followed the side road till it turned to one lane, then to gravel. As we popped up over a hill, there it was . Masses of cars parked, caravans (campers) trucks, all kinds of transportation, all parked. We parked and walked close to a mile to get from where we parked to the entrance. Ninety bucks for admission and we were in!
All we knew about the show was what we found on line and what our friends told us about. Neither was very inclusive so we just had some ideas where to go. I wanted to see the Tractor Pull. They advertised they would have all sorts of tractors, and having been raised on one, I had an interest. Nancy went cuz she likes to watch airplanes.
The tractor pull, located another mile on the other side of the field (you had to walk around the end of the runway) had a number of tractors but they were all about the same size with different modifications to make them more competitive. It was obvious this was some what of a tractor pull circuit. We watched for a while, walked around looking at the various tractors, and decided to go back to the main side of the field and wait for the airshow.
When we were walking in we past a bif collection of old Semi tractors that moved Australia from coast to coast along the road. These old trucks looked bigger than the ones we have in the states. They were big, old, and well presented. There was also a number of older cars, some customized and some restored to their original state. Not to be outdone, the motorcycle crowd had a big display of motorcycles, old, new, hot, casual, customized. Lastly, there was a bunch of airplanes. Old, new, every kind you can imagine. Several old War Planes offering rides, many helicopters offering rides, and many, many, small aircraft, parked all over the field, with tents by them. People fly in for the airshow (a three day event), set up a tend next to their plane, and party for three days while looking at every one else’s airplane. Quite the airshow for such a small town. It is estimated that 11,000 people attended and there was over 250 aircraft on display.
The airshow was good, basic aerial stunt flying by a number of different aircraft. It was an interesting day. Here are some random pictures of the event:
We had a good time. It was quite warm so we stayed in the shade, enjoyed the show, and came home. Another Aussie adventure. We will probably do it again.
