Alfred may have been an ex-tropical cyclone when it made landfall on the Gold Coast in March, but it still had enough power to remove six million cubic metres of sand from the beaches.
That sand has hosted the Pacific Airshow Gold Coast (PAGC) for the past two years, and the changes to the beach and waterline gave the organisers reason to ponder their future.
However, with the Gold Coast City Council getting their shovels out and embarking on an extensive program to repair the beach, PAGC is still on track for its August dates.
Event CEO Kevin Elliott jetted into Brisbane this week as the first tickets went on sale, outlining the plans for the third installment of PAGC.
PAGC is unique in Australia in that the show is not held at an airport, but rather the beachfront at Surfers Paradise, with the display held over the water using aircraft staging from nearby airports, mostly Gold Coast International. It also includes stalls and activities in the show precinct between The Esplanade and the shoreline.
"In our first year,2023, our goal was to make sure everybody who left the air show became a brand ambassador and said, 'Wow, this is a very different type of experience for Australia.' We wanted them to tell 10 friends," he told Australian Flying yesterday.
"In the second year it was about expanding the footprint and continuing to enhance. This year we're revamping things in terms of the on-ground experience.
"We're bringing in all new STEM activities, a new kid's zone, adding some additional ticket types, namely the Garden Bar, which is our entry-level hospitality experience.
"All the while we're continuing to enhance what is in the air as well. All in all we're trying to create a stepped-up experience for everybody."
Unlike most air show organisers that trumpet the display line-up as early as possible to generate excitement and promote ticket sales, Elliott couldn't be drawn on what might be on show at PAGC. However, he did hint at some very special flying entertainment.
"At Pacific Airshows we do it a bit differently in respect of how we announce performers; we don't announce performers until later in the game," he said. "Some of that is because a lot of things are in flux; military participation is always on availability. Also we want to have the best line-up possible before we release the performers.
"I can tell you that this line-up will be the most performers we've ever had at PAGC. It's an incredible line-up for Australia. When we looked at what was available domestically and what we could get internationally, I'm really encouraged by what I see for the third year.
"We're going to have some new things that will come from the US that have never been seen in Australia before.
"We're really excited and we're just getting started. We haven't peaked; we've got a lot of plans for encouraging more and international participants.
"We have military performers, but we'll also have so much more; it's just a whole new experience. More importantly, we'll have all these folks from around the world: Jeff Boerboon, Greg Colyer, Aarron Deliu. You bring all that to the beach and you have a completely different recipe for an air show."
Elliott admits that ticket sales have been delayed because of the condition of the beach post-Alfred, but believes the work done by the council has put the show back on solid foundations.
"The cyclone came in and took a considerable amount of the beach and therefore the area we use for the event," he explains. "So we decided to take an extra two or three weeks to work with Gold Coast City Council to ensure that we had a plan of how the areas we were going to use were going to be replenished and we could be confident in our ability to deliver the event.
"From Day One after the cyclone when our staff didn't have power, we were already talking about the beach and the air show because the city recognises the importance of the event. For everything we've presented in our site plan, we're 100% confident in that.
"If the city is able to continue remediation, then we'll be able to enhance the event accordingly.
"On top of that, the city is doing a trial closure of The Esplanade, which has nothing to do with the air show other than their test coincides with the start of the air show. That may give us the flexibility to move some items onto The Esplanade, which may help to ease any kind of pressure on the sand area."
And it looks like the public has responded, with the pre-sale tickets heralding an exponential increase in patronage for the show, one which Elliott expects to continue as the general sale also opens today.
But at the moment, preparations for PAGC go on under a shadow. Elliott was present at Avalon this year when pilot Glenn Collins crashed his Pitts, and as a board member of the International Council of Airshows, was also close to legendary pilot Rob Holland, who died in a crash this month whilst practising for a display.
Elliott says these incidents gave him reasons to sympathise with the organisers of these shows, but is confident the standards at PAGC result in the highest possible levels of safety.
"Back in the day, about 20 air performers would die every year because of a lack of safety standards," he says. "The industry has come so far in terms of safety. The safety standards we use at PAGC are the highest, not only in terms of how we construct the box, but also the crash rescue and the mental alertness of everyone who participates in the show.
"We have a really good focus on safety, with the guys who have more experience pairing-up with those that have less experience to make sure that a rising tide lifts all boats.
"These pilots know that it's not without a certain amount of risk, like driving a SuperCar or a Formula One car. But if we see something that is potentially unsafe, the airboss will be calling knock-it-off."
With the air show team working feverishly in the background to bring it all together on the day, and the ground seemingly able to cope with the demand, Elliott is able to maintain his growing excitement about PAGC 2025.
"We're really excited to be back bigger, faster and louder in 2025. It's our third year, but we've got even bigger things in store for next year and the year after.
"This is a long term escalation of how we envisage it will come to life over the first five years, and ultimately stay as an iconic event."
Pacific Airshow Gold Coast is scheduled for the beachfront at Surfers Paradise 15-17 August this year. Ticketing and further information is on the PAGC website.