In the wake of last year’s fly-in success, new asphalt and lighting will be added to the airfield off Grayland Road in March as part of $200,000 in funding announced recently by Minister for Aviation Gordon Rich-Phillips. 

Club members are excited about the upgrade and believe it will be of great benefit to the area.

“This will open up doors to international tourists wanting to land at the closest runway to the Great Ocean Road,” Cobden Aero Club president Warren Ponting said.

“It’s a win-win for the whole community.”

This weekend’s event will be influenced by the weather, but with a reasonable forecast it should at least match last year’s successful fly-in, when audiences were thrilled by close to 30  aircraft, both antique and new,  small and large.

Featured were restored warbirds, including a Spitfire, plus a helicopter, a bomber and multiple types of light aircraft. The main event will be held today from 10am to 3pm, with a barbecue lunch in between. 

Aside from close up inspections of the variety of planes as they are parked on the runway, there are also safety competitions scheduled in which planes will attempt to land closest to the cone.

For further details consult the Cobden Aero Club facebook page.