Airshows Downunder Shellharbour Continues a Proud Airshow History
Airshows Downunder Shellharbour, previously known as Wings Over Illawarra, is a major airshow, the largest event held in the Illawarra and NSW south coast and the only airshow experience within easy reach of metropolitan Sydney.
The event’s diverse program includes ground displays and flying demonstrations of historic, military, modern and aerobatic aircraft as well as vintage car and motorbike displays, children’s rides and other aviation and technology related exhibitions.
Wings over Illawarra
For its first seven years, Wings Over Illawarra was a successful community event, managed by a committee supported by Shellharbour City Council, local service clubs and community volunteers.
After the successful 2013 event, it became clear that Wings Over Illawarra had outgrown local community resources and needed dedicated commercial management to prepare for future growth.
Bright Events
In November 2013 ownership and management of Wings Over Illawarra was transferred to Bright Events Pty Ltd.
Bright Events ably managed and developed the airshow through challenges of growth and weather, expanding to a two-day event in 2015. In 2016 the event drew a crowd of more than 22,000 people, rising to 33,000 in 2017.
They were drawn by the great variety of performers, the carnival family atmosphere of the event and a series of “firsts”, including the debut of Australia’s only flying World War II era German Focke Wulf FW190, and performances by Australian aerobatics legend Matt Hall.
They were in good company, flying alongside the Royal Australian Air Force Roulettes aerobatic team, F/A-18 Hornet jets and a World War I Fokker DR1.
2018 saw the event expand to include more military aircraft on display in the air and on the ground, plus a huge sideshow carnival with spectacular rides for visitors of all ages and world class freestyle motorcross motorcycle displays.
AMDA Foundation
In March 2023 Australian not-for-profit corporation AMDA Foundation Limited became the new operator of Wings Over Illawarra.
AMDA Foundation was established to promote the development of aviation and Australia’s industrial, manufacturing and information/communications technology resources in the fields of aviation, aerospace, maritime, defence and security.
It achieves these goals by delivering Australia’s most prominent and respected world-class biennial aviation and industry events as platforms for interaction between industry, defence, government, academia and the Australian public. These include the Australian International Airshow & Aerospace and Defence Exposition at Avalon Airport and the RotorTech Helicopter and Uncrewed Flight Exposition, on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
Under the stewardship of AMDA Foundation, the renamed Airshows Downunder Shellharbour Airshow will continue to grow and develop.