Warbirds Downunder 2026 is canceled — Temora Aviation Museum shifts to two showcase days.
Temora Aviation Museum has canceled its flagship Warbirds Downunder airshow for 2026, citing rising costs, safety and volunteer constraints, and shrinking margins from keeping tickets family-affordable.
Warbirds Downunder, the Temora Aviation Museum’s (TAM) long-running biennial airshow, will not run in 2026. TAM says the decision reflects a combination of rising costs, safety considerations, and the operational burden of staging a large-scale event.
Why it matters
Warbirds Downunder has been one of the marquee events on Australia’s aviation calendar and a meaningful revenue and visibility engine for TAM and the region. The stated drivers are the ones that keep showing up across aviation events globally:
- Event economics are getting harsher equipment hire and general event costs are up, but the biggest pressure point is rapidly rising cancellation insurance premiums
- Safety and compliance load is compounding large airshows concentrate risk and require deep volunteer staffing and experienced operational leadership
- Ticket pricing has a ceiling TAM has tried to keep pricing family-accessible, which compresses margins and reduces buffer against shocks
What replaces it
TAM will shift to two showcase days in 2026:
- May 2, 2026
- September 19, 2026
These are expected to feature serviceable aircraft from the RAAF 100 Squadron Historic Flight Collection based at Temora, including Spitfires and other heritage types. The museum says the events will lean into interactive experiences:
- pilot interviews
- aircraft history and technical demonstrations
- static displays
- simulators
What to watch
- Whether showcase days become a durable “new default,” or a bridge back to a full airshow once the risk and insurance math changes
- Whether other Australian aviation events follow the same path: fewer large-scale shows, more controlled showcase formats
Source
Warbirds Downunder 2026 cancelled as Temora Aviation Museum shifts to showcase days