Why South Korea can't get enough of this Hunter stunt pilot

For about the 19th time, a Hunter aerobatic ace is heading back to South Korea, where he's become a drawcard for daily crowds of a million people.

Paul Bennet flies out on Monday for South Korea's biggest airshow, and he is not sure how many times he has made the trip.

"It's about our 18th to 19th time going to South Korea," the multiple Australian unlimited aerobatic champion said.

He will perform at the 2026 Sacheon Airshow, which runs from October 22 to 25 at Sacheon Air Base, about 300 kilometres south of Seoul.

The base is home to Korea Aerospace Industries, the company that builds the country's jets.

Organisers have named Mr Bennet's team alongside the Republic of Korea Air Force's Black Eagles as the key drawcards, and Korean media has reported the Black Eagles will fly in a joint performance with the Australian team.

So why do the Koreans keep asking him back?

Mr Bennet's answer is part reputation, part scarcity.

"They like what we do, so they keep inviting us back," he said.

"Once organisers know a pilot will do a good job and stick to the rules, he said, they tend to stay with them.

"They don't have a local guy that can do it.

"People around here get to see me practise all the time, but in South Korea it's something pretty different for them."

He said the crowds were enormous.

"Last time we did it, there was a million people a day."

He will fly a solo and a formation display in the morning and again in the afternoon, from Thursday to Sunday, in his Wolf Pitts biplane, with a Pitts S-1 also making the trip for the formation work.

Getting the aircraft there is its own operation.

He keeps a couple of 40-foot containers fitted out to carry aeroplanes and has spare aircraft, so one can be shipped ahead to whichever airshow in China, South Korea or the US is next on the calendar.

That also means he flies familiar, properly maintained equipment overseas, which he says is a big part of getting home safely.

On the risks of low-level aerobatics, he was blunt.

"Don't cut any corners.

"Make sure you make the speeds and gate heights that you need.

"There are no ifs, buts or maybes about it."

He got to Sacheon, and to other international shows, by way of the competition circuit.

After learning to fly, he took up aerobatics, worked through the grades at state and national level, and became an unlimited champion several times.

"Once you've done that, airshows is one of the spots you can end up," he said.

Mr Bennet said he had flown with the US Blue Angels and Thunderbirds and the UK's Red Arrows, but rated the Black Eagles, who fly Korean-built T-50 jets, as the best.

"They've probably got the best air force formation aerobatic team in the world," he said.

"They're amazing."

The trip comes with a family trade-off.

Mr Bennet's 21-year-old son, also an aerobatic pilot, will stay home to compete in the Australian Aerobatic Championships, which fall on the same dates.

That also means he will miss competing for the national title.

"Unfortunately, I can't win the Australian aerobatic championship this year because I want to be here," he said.

Mr Bennet returns to Sydney on Tuesday, October 27, after the final show on Sunday.