in an Airbus Beluga, which was an attraction in itself. A Chinese military delegation was given a tour of the air show. The 2003 edition took place in the lead-up to the Iraq War which began the following month and appearances by a number of American aircraft scheduled to join in the show such as the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk were cancelled, due to possible anti-war protests. There was a model of an F-35 Lightning II, made of wood and fibreglass. An anti-war protest did take place outside, and Gavan O'Connor, the local parliament member boycotted the airshow. 2005 The theme of the 2005 show, held from 15 to 20 March, was "The Shape of Things to Come". This edition experienced increased business activity, as there were more than 500 exhibitors from 22 countries and 11 major conferences. The air show increased Geelong's economy by $15.6 million. It featured many planes ranging from ultralights to large military aircraft, such as the F/A-18 Hornet, F-15 Eagle, B-52 Stratofortress (a surprise flyover), F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark, P-51 Mustang, C-130J, Seahawk, Caribou, Orion and CAC Boomerang. A specially painted RAAF F/A-18 Hornet was present was the show, commemorating 20 years of service with Australia 2007 The theme of the 2007 air show, held between 20 and 25 March, was "Breaking the Barriers", as it was the 60th anniversary of the breaking of the sound barrier by Charles "Chuck" Yeager; Yeager himself was the guest of honour at the show, and a full-scale mockup of the Bell X-1 was specially constructed. During the show, 611 companies from 20 countries exhibited their products. The total for featured aircraft during the show was 457, during which 182,769 visitors attended. This edition injected A$120 million into the Victorian economy, creating 1,800 jobs. It was also the 60th year of the United States Air Force, which once again featured prominently at the event, sending the F-15 Eagles, F-16 Fighting Falcons, E-3 Sentry and a C-17 Globemaster III. The F/A-18F Super Hornet display was made possible by United States Navy aircraft from VFA-102 off of the USS Kitty Hawk. Besides those from the USAF, other military aircraft featured included the F/A-18 Hornet, General Dynamics F-111, F/A-18F Super Hornet, BAe Hawk 127, C-27J Spartan and C-130 Hercules, along with military helicopters including the S-70 Black Hawk and Eurocopter Tiger. The RAAF's first C-17 Globemaster III transport