Soaring through the skies with synchronised aerobatic movements is all part of the job for the Russian Roolettes.
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The formation aerobatics airshow team recently performed a six ship formation over Sydney Harbour for Australia Day - the Russian Roolettes are the only six ship civilian formation team in Australia.
Their next show will be at the Gunnedah Airshow on March 15 and in 2017 they will perform at Avalon Airshow, the biggest international airshow in the Southern Hemisphere, for the first time.
The team is made up of six pilots who fly four Yak 52s and two Nanchangs and a seventh reserve that does commentary and administration.
Two of the pilots are Southern Highlanders - Joadja resident Egon Mahr and Mittagong resident Mark Willard.
Egon has been a pilot for 39 years. He learnt to fly at 16 then joined the Airforce. He has been a Qantas pilot for the past 26 years.
Mark met Egon when he moved to the Highlands 25 years ago and has been a civilian private pilot ever since, joining the Roolettes in 2012.
Mark has owned a few Cessnas and as he advanced his skills he began restoring an ex Russian Airplane. After three and a half years it was complete in 2007.
When he's not restoring aircraft or flying with the roulettes, he manages Repco in Mittagong.
Both Mark and Egon are passionate about Russian and Chinese aircraft.
"They're rugged and durable and extremely high performance for the price," Egon said.
Mark agreed, "there's a charisma that you don't see in the western types - a mystique."
The other Roolettes are Niall Higgins and ex-airforce pilots Jim Eaglen, Sean Trestrail and Tim Windsor. Greg Hewson is a reserve pilot and team manager.
Egon joined the Russian Roolettes in 2002 after the team's founder, Lindsay Sinclair, rebuilt Egon's airplane and invited him to join.
"He founded the group in the 90s when he was at the Mareeba Airshow where the RAAF Roulettes were supposed to show up but they didn't," Egon said.
"They asked him if his team could do a show and it went down well. The manager asked what they called themselves and he said the Russian Roolettes and the team has been performing ever since."
In the beginning the air displays were formations and colourful mock ground attacks with pyrotechnics.
Egon took over leadership of the team in 2006 and in the past five years the pilots have increased their capabilities, progressing from formation to aerobatics to formation aerobatics.
"We've developed our skills over the last few years and our air displays are quite complex. It generates a lot more interest from airshow organisers," Egon said.
He said formation aerobatics was a lot of fun but there was no point doing what they do unless they're showing off.
"We run a new display every season.This year is quite different to last and we practice a lot. We try to bring something new to repeat customers," Egon said.
"Jim and I put our heads together to come up with new and interesting manoeuvres and consider what we've got in terms of aircraft capabilities."
He said he enjoyed the challenge of getting something right.
"It's great as a team when we get close to everything being right. When all six of us master it, it's excellent."
The Russian Roulettes undergo a training camp before a show and practice for a few weeks.
The team deploy a day or two before an airshow to go over the geographic features and the runway layout.
"We fly quite low and we have to ensure that we exercise safety with the rehearsals and choreography," Egon said.
With four Qantas pilots in the team, it can be difficult to co-ordinate times for the crew to get together.
"We do about five or six shows a year, it dropped off during the GFC but in 2013 we did four in four months - it can get quite hectic."
It's an expensive hobby, but Egon and Mark said it was worth every cent.
"It's a great deal of commitment financially but we do it for the love of it," Mark said.
For Egon, flying internationally each week is like a road trip, but with unbeatable scenery.
"I'm off to Singapore tomorrow and I love my job, but this is where my heart lies."
SOURCE: Southern Highland News