Thousands flocked to Canberra Airport's first open day in four years

His dream job was at a much higher altitude.

"We were working on some wiring inside the roof cavity and it was stinking hot; the sweat was just pouring off me," he recalled.

"I was in there with another bloke who was about twice my age and he was doing it tougher than me.

"I was exhausted and went home and talked it over with my Dad and that's when he suggested I should try to train as a pilot, which was always my dream job since I was a young feller."

And chase not just any old pilot's job, but one of the plum public relations, watch-my-next-trick jobs with the RAAF: the Roulettes aerobatic team.

"I'm not up there with the team yet but I'm giving it a really good crack; I'm well into my flying instructor's course and when a position comes up, I'll be ready," he said.

Meanwhile, he's the pilot-in-waiting, otherwise known as Roulette 7, enviously doing the commentary from on the ground, working out the logistics in getting the team from show to show, and helping shuffle the Pilatus PC-21 aircraft from their base in Sale, Victoria, to major events around the country such as Sunday's Open Day at Canberra Airport.

At 27 years old and a qualified electrician, Flight Lieutenant Price was a mature age recruit to the RAAF at a time when combat trained pilots in Hornet fighters were barely in their 20s.

"The cut-off age for pilot training at the time was 27 and a half, and I just squeaked in," he said.

"But really I'm glad I did [enlisted]; you have to follow your dreams don't you?"

The spectacular Roulettes and other barn-storming aerobatics were among the many attractions on Sunday at Canberra Airport's first open day in four years.

It's the aviation industry's version of a car show, and from the strong response - with people queuing up to walk through a type of aircraft which shuttles in and out of the airport every day - it seems that the lengthy break as a result of the pandemic has only serve to whet the public's appetite.

Thousands of people, many of them families with young children, lined up to do cabin walk-throughs and get up close to various aircraft, from helicopters to seaplanes and a Qantas commercial 737 painted up in the carrier's classic livery.

Sadly, much loved "Connie", the Qantas Lockheed Super Constellation which set Australia's carrier on its path to commercial success, couldn't make the event because Saturday's poor weather and low cloud hampered its intended delivery into Canberra.

Visitors to the open day began to queue well before the gates opened at 9am and crowds flocked the runways for much of the day.

Flight Lieutenant Price said that it was a visit to the Avalon Air Show in Victoria as a boy that first lit his burning desire to fly so it was little surprise that Defence Force recruiting members were out in number to seed those flying dream inside many a young child's head.

Just over a month ago, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a huge recruitment drive to Australian boost Defence Force numbers.

The intention is to grow Australia's military by a third to almost 80,000 uniformed personnel by 2040.

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