With very few exceptions, air shows in Australia come and go with time. They flourish for short periods, then disappear as the momentum slows. Avalon is one of those exceptions, and another that has defied the trend is the Tyabb Airshow in Victoria.
Held relatively consistently since 1960, the air show has become a staple not only of the aviation community, but also of the wider Mornington Peninsula public.
The 2026 edition is scheduled for Sunday 1 March this year and is once again expected to deliver for both communities.
Stephen Braim, president of the organising Peninsula Aero Club (PAC), attributes the show’s longevity to the club’s enduring tradition of volunteering.
“We’ve still got a handful of members who were around when Tyabb was established, and they’re still very active,” Braim told Australian Flying. “The club has been very good at attracting new members, and we have a very strong ethos of volunteering. And we’ve always had a focus on community engagement.
“We’ve been very good at getting volunteers around the air show, but it’s getting harder. All clubs are having problems getting in volunteers and the social side, but we’ve managed to maintain that.”
Even with a strong, experienced air show committee helming Tyabb 2026, the club still found it beneficial to recruit the Paul Bennet Airshows (PBA) team to add strength to the event. Combined with assets from outside the PBA stable, the parade of aircraft on the flying schedule is one of the best you’ll find in Australia. Among the aircraft on the program are:
- several Mustangs
- Corsair
- CAC Avon Sabre
- P-40 Kittyhawk
- TBM Avenger
- Curtis Robin
- Wolf Pitts
- Sea Fury
- Edge 540
- RAAF Roulettes.
Although Tyabb’s home-based antiques, aerobats and warbirds could put on a respectable display themselves, PAC taps into PBA to add some serious icing to the cake.
“Paul Bennet gives us access to aircraft and PBA handles all the regulations around getting approvals, which seem to be getting more complex all the time,” Braim says. “Our arrangement with him takes a lot of pressure off our organising committee, because he has the capability within his organisation to get it done.
“We’re discovering that the days of us sending 10-15 aircraft to an air show and they then reciprocate are gone. PBA is very good at either bringing his aircraft or becomes the centre of gravity around getting other people to send their aircraft. He adds a lot of value in that sense.”
Like many small air shows in Australia, Tyabb Airshow’s reason for existing is to funnel money to various charities. Over the past 20 years, over $600,000 has been donated to charities, with each of the 2024 beneficiaries each receiving more than $43,000 each.
This year, the nominated charities are It’s Okay to Be Not Okay, Kindred Club House, Tyabb CFA and Hastings SES. With this sort of return, it’s not really surprising that Tyabb Airshow won the 2025 Mornington Peninsula Council Australia Day Community Event of the Year award for the show the previous year.
It also reflects the community embrace in which the air show sits.
“The council and community are very appreciative of the air show and other functions such as open days, the Toy Run and FunFlight that happen throughout the year,” Braim explains. “We’re very keen on involving the community, but as you know you’ll never please everyone in the community.
“However, the majority of the community of the Mornington Peninsula are right behind the air show.”
Braim and the PAC committee are hoping the general aviation community will match the support that comes from the public, citing the need to keep energy in GA as a motivating factor.
“Large, viable airfields like Tyabb are getting harder to sustain,” Braim muses. “We’ve taken over training at Barwon Heads, Warrnambool and Latrobe Valley, and there are three others that are distressed that we will try to help.
“With these places struggling, having one large air show like Tyabb helps keep the oxygen in the room for the GA community. We also find it’s a great way to get younger folk interested in GA. We’ll run membership drives through the air show and schools programs in the lead-up. Tyabb Airshow drives interest in GA.”
As anyone who’s been on the inside of an air show knows, the best laid plans can have only a modicum of certainty, with weather and aircraft availability never guaranteed to work in your favour. But in the end, success is so often measured against the most modest targets.
“We’re hoping for a fun and safe day,” Braim says. “We always want to make sure that whatever we do, no-one gets hurt, either flying or in the crowd.
“I’m also hoping for 23°C with a light northerly wind and no cloud!”
Tyabb Airshow 2026 is on Sunday 1 March. For more details including fly-in information see https://tyabbairshow.com/
- Steve Hitchen