Sky high thrills and skills as Festival of Flight wows crowds

Crowds of all ages were treated to gravity-defying stunts by Hunter Valley aviation stunt professional Paul Bennet, who cut the official opening ribbon with no less than the blades of his plane propellers.

Upper Shire Council Tourism and Event Coordinator Bek Durietz was tasked as creative producer for the Festival of Flight event, a government-funded initiative to attract tourism to the regions and bring people back together safety.

"When planning Festival of Flight, it was only natural for me to ask the legend that is Paul Bennet if we could incorporate planes into the ribbon cutting," Ms Durietz said. "Without hesitation, he suggested he could and came up with the idea you see in the photograph (on page one)."

"There are no shortcuts to skill here. Pushing the boundaries to cut the ribbon with the turning propeller of Paul Bennet Airshows world class Wolf Pitts Pro, while flying three, maybe four feet above the ground for our first Festival of Flight, well, we couldn't think of a better way to celebrate," Ms Durietz said.

MP Barnaby Joyce, MP Dave Layzell and Upper Hunter Shire Council Mayor Maurice Collison held up the ribbon poles as Bennet flew past at speed to cut through.

The day marked the official opening of Hunter Warbirds and the recent airport upgrade at Scone Memorial Airport, which Ms Durietz described as a "jewel in the crown of the Upper Hunter" and a facility the region can be proud of.

Aviation enthusiasts came from as far afield as Queensland to join visitors from around NSW and Upper Hunter locals in marvelling at displays, stunts and watch as some of the vintage collection housed at Hunter Warbirds took to the skies.

You might also like:

There are currently 22 aircraft presently on display in Hunter Warbirds immersive aviation attraction located at Scone Memorial Airport. The collection includes historic aircraft, trainers and fighters.

Ms Durietz commended the volunteers behind the Hunter Fighter Collection, a community based not for profit organisation.

"We have 25 volunteers sourced from former RAAF and civil aviation and mechanical backgrounds who have helped us to put together this exhibition, working two to three days a week and travelling from all over NSW to work on restoring aircraft to museum quality exhibits as well as a range of aviation artifacts," Ms Durietz said.

Typically, a restoration takes 90 to 120 person days to restore and involves a complete restoration of the aircraft from the ground up.

New aircraft are being added to the collection all the time and the group welcomess"guest " aircraft to supplement the fleet.

All the aircraft are based on a theme of Australian Fighter and trainer aircraft of the AFC and RAAF as well as the aircraft of adversaries, Ms Durietz said.

"Hunter Warbirds is a living exhibition, fluid and constantly evolving. The collection and exhibition elements can and will vary over time ensuring a fresh experience for the returning visitor."

Upper Hunter Shire Council Mayor Maurice Collison said since its soft opening last year at the Warbirds over Scone event, Hunter Warbirds has attracted visitors from around Australia and overseas.

"I had a look at the compliments book in the foyer and it is filled with experiences from happy visitors."

He also made special mention to the families of Neville Partridge and Col Pay, whose influence on aviation in the Upper Hunter region paved the way for events like this, which was also heavily supported by airport businesses from area, with many taking to the sky for joy flights throughout the day.