As the F-35A made its first pass over Nobbys, its wingmate was one of the Air Force's treasured heritage aircraft: the CA-18 Mustang.
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The first Mustangs saw combat in Italy in 1944 during the Second World War with the No. 3 Squadron, part of the 239th Fighter Bomber Wing. Over the ensuing 20 years, they would appear in service in the Pacific, Japan, and Korea before their last flight in June 1960.
It was a symbolic moment as flight lieutenant Ross 'Bunga' Bowman, at the stick of the Joint Strike Fighter, came into formation with Wing Commander Jason Easthope in his historic plane to career across the skyline.
Moments later, Flight Lieutenant Bowman would turn the sky over the water from the Fort Scratchley hill to Nobbys Head into a vortex of physics-defying flying - from ripping across the beach to slinking acrobatic manoeuvres to show off the plane's reputation as the pinnacle of close air combat.
"When you think that 100 years ago, we were flying wooden aircraft with fabric wings, and now we are just into incredible capabilities; there probably isn't any other industry that has advanced that quickly," Air Commodore Micka Gray, who heads the Air Show, said, before understatingly adding that the men and women who operate and maintain these aircraft have "a certain skill set. "
"It's much more about aptitude and attitude," he said, "When I joined the Air Force, I had people from all walks of life. It's not some stereotypical Top Gun-type thing. It's an incredible workforce of incredible people.
"The aircraft are cool and great to fly, but it's being in that environment with like-minded people."
Thousands of spectators lined the sand from the headland to the beach, spilling back into Foreshore Park and as far as Honeysuckle on Saturday, November 18, to see 100 years of aviation technology on display.
As the planes peeled off over the Nobbys Surf Club, young Lenny Ravenscroft, sitting on his dad's shoulders on Nobbys, looked to the sky.
Lenny is two years old and came with his family from Charlestown to see the show. He loves planes, and as the first aircraft circled the fort across the pristine sand where sunbathers, swimmers, surfers, and lifeguards crowded to see the display, he had his eye on the horizon.
Lenny's dad, Nathan, is a keen skydiver and had brought his family in for the day to see the show. He helped Lenny adjust his ear muffs over his bucket hat and sunglasses as his mum, Jacqui, scanned for the planes.
From the tiny CT4 to the legendary Spitfire and into the modern age of airborne defence, the skies over Nobbys on a bright 22-degrees-and-sunny day were split.
Cameras lined the foreshore, their lenses pointed to the sky, as the pinnacle of the Air Force's fleet - the Joint Strike Fighter - tore through the air. At one point, it passed the length of the beach fully inverted, spitting a trio of flares before rolling effortlessly back into alignment and reeling off into the sun.
At times, it felt as if the planes were mere metres above the heads of the spectators who had crowded onto the sand for the best vantage point.
"Where else can you go surfing and watch an air show? Nowhere!" Minister for the Hunter, Yasmin Catley, said, "It's so Newy, isn't it?"
Ms Catley said the state government contributed around $150,000 toward staging the show and worked with the local council to boost public transport to and from the beaches by nearly $1 million.
The City of Newcastle billed the RAAF's display as the largest single-day event in the region's history, with preparations for as many as 100,000 spectators to see the two aviation displays on Saturday, preceding a ticketed open day at RAAF Base Williamtown on Sunday, November 19.
The displays featured aeronautical acrobatics from the Air Force's Roulettes - a six-aircraft, seven-member display team flying the RAAF's Pilatus planes in formation - the historic Wirraway, as well as appearances by larger aircraft like the Spartan and the maritime patrol plane P-8A Poseidon.
Air combat jets - the F-35A, Super Hornet, and the menacing Growler - stole the show with gravity-defying aeronautical manoeuvres.
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said vantage points at Nobbys and Stockton had been an "18-month process, working with the RAAF and state government" to realise the show.
"Having the air show for the first time over the city, the beaches and the harbour is really novel," she said, "This is the only air show with the RAAF bases where you can be at the beach on a beautiful day, go for a swim, and watch the planes."
"I'm calling it the best air show in Australia, and it hasn't even started yet," Paterson MP Meryl Swanson said moments before the first planes were heard on the air, "I think this is really important because it's our Defence Force. And I'm hoping that there'll be children here today who will be participating in something like this one day. They'll be inspired."
Simon McCarthy
Simon McCarthy is a journalist working at the Newcastle Herald in NSW. He writes news and features, and produces video and multimedia, for the Herald and Herald Weekender magazine. He contributes regularly to the Newcastle Herald’s daily Topics column, and is the co-creator and producer of the Toohey’s News podcast. McCarthy has worked as a journalist in regional NSW since 2013. He joined the newsroom of the Newcastle Herald in 2017 from the Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he worked from 2015 to 2016.
Simon McCarthy is a journalist working at the Newcastle Herald in NSW. He writes news and features, and produces video and multimedia, for the Herald and Herald Weekender magazine. He contributes regularly to the Newcastle Herald’s daily Topics column, and is the co-creator and producer of the Toohey’s News podcast. McCarthy has worked as a journalist in regional NSW since 2013. He joined the newsroom of the Newcastle Herald in 2017 from the Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he worked from 2015 to 2016.
