#Hangar109 Episode 3

Bankstown Aerodrome welcomes Saturday with a chilly start, winter is almost here and the Red Baron crew can definitely feel the bite.

Swabbie Anthony makes sure that our Extra 330LX stunt plane and our Pitts Special Open-cockpit bi-plane are nice and shiny for the working day. We make sure our passengers get the true Red Baron experience by keeping our luxury aircraft in tip-top shape.

Our chilly morning begins with pilot JP fashioning his traditional pilot’s leather jacket, he’s got the moustache, the bi-plane, the flight suit, we’re just missing the goggles! We welcome passenger Paulie for the second time with Red Baron! Paulie is about to experience the best we can offer in our Pitts special, the Red Baron Harbour Scenic + Northern Beaches Experience with aerobatics over palm beach!

Chief pilot Amir explains how winter is the best time to fly. In winter, the cooler air is better for our aircraft performance! It is also a fact that passengers are less sick during winter and are less likely to experience motion sickness.

Meanwhile, the Red Baron flight lounge is getting a makeover! We’re preparing to take down the wall to expand our space so that you can bring all your friends and family with you to the airport on your flying day!

Our passengers today have travelled from all over the east coast of Australia! We have passenger Gary all the way from Tasmania, celebrating his birthday with his wife on a much needed holiday to Sydney. Gary is here for the Red Baron Extreme experience and he comes back an absolute champion as he smashes the 8G challenge. We can definitely say that he is made for aerobatics.

We’re also pleased to invite 2 Matt’s to the flight lounge today, we have Matthew from the South Coast who was brought here by his girlfriend as a surprise birthday gift! And we have another Matt down from Newcastle celebrating his 60th birthday with his family.

They had the best time and the family enjoyed watching their videos of their flights!

The day is brought to a close but not without a final sunset flight. Bankstown airport has blessed us with a stunning sunset and we can’t wait to treat our newest team member Alec to a special aerobatics flight. Alec is our editor, and he takes the footage that we record from the Go-Pro’s on the aircraft, and creates a fantastic video for you to share with your friends and family! Alec is also a student pilot, and definitely will be itching for a wing-over on his next straight and level flight.

The day has come to an end, and we celebrate Pilot Lucas with his official Red Baron Pilot’s badge.

Hangar 109 - Episode 2

It’s a beautiful Sunday and Red Baron take to the skies in celebration of the good weather.

The pilots and swabbies turn up for their usual pre-flight inspection and things don’t go as expected. There’s a missing bolt on the wheel spat of the Extra (the wheel spat is essentially a cover for the landing gear, reducing drag and protection from the elements). There’s no stress here though as Anthony doesn’t hesitate on the rescue mission, he takes off to good ol’ Bunnings to get some extra bolts for the wheel spats.

We’re ready for the first flight of the day, and passenger Chloe is taking on the Intense 60-minute experience in the Red Baron Bi-Plane. Luckily, on this morning, our Chief Pilot Amir was also heading out in the Extra for a spin, and decided to surprise Chloe with the incredible formation experience! It’s a beautiful sight to see the Extra and the Pitts, dancing in the sky on their way towards the Bankstown training area, where the real fun begins. Chloe sails through the barrel rolls, loops and spins and handles the 5G manoeuvre like a champ. It’s no wonder she decided to take on the 8G challenge in the Extra for her next birthday! Good Luck Chloe!

Sunday’s a family day for the Zoghi family, and this weekend holds no exception as we are graced with two little munhckins in the flight lounge! Mini Zoghi 1 and 2 have come to help Dad at work and earn some pocket money. They could use a little technique improvement, but I think we have some good window cleaners and floor sweepers in the making, and I’m sure they’ll work hard to earn that Nintendo Switch!

The day comes to a close with 2 back to back Top Gun Formation flights. The favourite among Red Baron Pilots. Passengers, Elaine and George celebrate their anniversary with a thrilling adventure as they attempt to shoot each other down in the sky, something they’ve been dreaming of doing for quite a while.

And that’s a wrap for #Hangar109 this weekend! We end the day with a beautiful sunset, cheering on pilot Lucas as he ticks off another milestone, Red Baron Formation!

Hangar 109 - Episode 1

It’s Saturday the 23rd April. Sydney has just experienced weeks of record rainfall and everyone is ready for some sunshine! It’s not a normal day at Hangar 109, we have team member Jas starting her first day as Hangar Assistant and pilot Lucas has been checked to line for his first passenger!

The hearts of every Red Baron team member is filled to the brim, after watching Lucas undergo months of extensive Red Baron training, he is checked to line for his first Red Baron Passenger! And what a great flight it was, his passenger Craig loved it so much that he has booked-in to do the Top Gun experience with his wife!

Jacki chose the ultimate birthday gift for her boyfriend Jarrad. South-Bound from Newcastle early in the morning, Jacki surprised Jarred with the best Red Baron has to offer. The VIP experience. They took to the skies together as ‘Red Baron Formation’ tracking East towards the most beautiful harbour in the world. They flew overhead Sydney Harbour Bridge, with smoke on, they drew a trail in the sky over Manly and the Northern Beaches so onlookers could follow them to Palm Beach, where they embraced their inner Top Gun Maverick for the famous dog fight. Highly skilled Red Baron pilots complete incredible aerobatic manoeuvres to avoid being locked by the other.

Deb travelled the furtherest today, all the way from Canada to visit friends and family. After being taken along to airshows with her father as a child, it was a life long dream of hers to fly in the Pitts Special, Bi-Plane over Sydney Harbour and the world famous Opera House! We are so thrilled that Deb experienced her favourite city in the open-cockpit, before jetting off to the airport back to home.

The extremely talented @kahunaduo Aisha and Moz joined us for the Top Gun experience and there was no stopping them on their way to victory! It was a high adrenaline, heart pumping battle in the skies between Moz in the Extra330LX stunt plane and Aisha in the world famous Red Baron Bi-Plane as they attempt to “shoot” each other down. Enemies in the sky but they land in formation, band mates again, they treat the red baron team to an exclusive performance at Hangar 109.

A very wholesome family reunited from Dubbo and the Central Coast of New South Wales. Leisa + Brett have waited a long time thanks to COVID-19 lockdowns to use their Gift Voucher for the ultimate TOP GUN experience. The stars aligned and today was meant to be, Leisa had recently finished radiation therapy and is about to start chemotherapy, but we know she’s going to beat cancer in the tail just like she won the mid-sky battle! The whole family came along and it spectacular day filled with coffee and laughter! Thanks for flying with us Brett + Leisa!

It was a long day for the Red Baron crew, we cheered to a glorious weekend and for many more sun filled weekends ahead.