It was an amazing day last Saturday at the Selangor Aviation Show at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (IATA: SZB - ICAO: WMSA). Aero-News Journal has been covering the show for the past two years, but this year, the show has become a real attraction for exhibitors and the public.
This aviation show started with a single hangar two years ago, but this year, it extended to two hangars, a premium lounge, a flea market, and small halls for seminars. For the past two years, the show was just a static show of the aircraft, but this year there was an aerobatics show that drew the attention of the visitors. Both kids and adults were amazed by the stunning aerobatics show that Capt. John "Scratchman" performed with a GB1 Gamebird.
From early morning, families and aviation geeks were at the parking lot of Shah Alam Stadium, where buses would take them to Subang Skypark, Near SZB runway 33. This year witnessed the presence of several big names in the industry including Gulfstream, Cessna, Beechcraft, Dassault, and Cirrus. Many local aviation academies were present as well from many Malaysian states attempting to attract young people to join those academies. They had this brilliant idea to attract visitors to their booths by offering to try flight simulators.
In fact, not only aviation academies brought their flight simulators. There was a long queue for the fighter jet cockpit simulator brought by the Royal Malaysian Air Force, where visitors, mostly kids, get to try how it feels like to be in a fighter jet cockpit. The fighter jet simulator was not the only thing that The Royal Malaysian Airforce brought to the show. Outside, the crowd was gathered to watch a Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules being towed to be parked in its designated space. Overall, this year's Selangor Aviation Show was totally different from the past two years. It became more attractive to exhibitors and visitors, that two car dealers brought their cars to exhibit in an 'aviation show'.