Air Force 100th Birthday flypast

[Seat0B]

A beautiful blue Canberra Day for the Air Force 100the birthday fly past. Here a a couple of shots of the Roulette flying display in the new PC-21 aircraft. Very impressive.

 

[Seat0B]

I was slightly disturbed to find that the aircraft from my period of service (1981-1994) were all in the historical aircraft category now - Caribou, Orion, Iroquois! And many from my era not flying today Mirage, Macchi, Winjeel, PC-9, C130 E models. I felt my age a bit!

 

[Hvr]

Think about how @straitman feels. The planes he flew were old when yours were new.

 

[straitman]

Think about how @straitman feels. The planes he flew were old when yours were new.

Every RAAF aircraft type that I flew or flew in have been in the museum for years now!

 

[jb747]

Not bad formation for 100 year old pilots.

 

[Matt_01]

@Seat0B I was ARA from you list of aircraft this was my experience

• Caribou and C130 E models - flown in and jumped from these.
• Orion - flown in, I cannot remember the reason why but I think it was an invitation from CO to CO to take a few officers on a flight.
• Iroquois - flown in and repelled from these, standing on the skids coming into the DZ was the best part.
• Macchi - back seat ride.
• PC-9 - back seat ride, FAC training.

I do not know if it true or not however we were once told that in the trainer aircraft the rear seat ejection system can override the front seat and if the rear was pulled both seats go. From what I understand this function was disabled when the ARA was in the back as the RAAF basically did not trust us. To this day I am not sure if this is real or just Mess discussion.

 

[Seat0B]

@Seat0B I was ARA from you list of aircraft this was my experience

• Caribou and C130 E models - flown in and jumped from these.
• Orion - flown in cannot remember the reason why but I think it was an invitation from CO to CO to take a few officers on a flight.
• Iroquois - flown in and repelled from these, standing on the skids coming into the DZ was the best part.
• Macchi - back seat ride,
• PC-9 - back seat ride, FAC training.

I do not know if it true or not however we were told that in the trainer aircraft the rear seat ejection system can override the front seat and if the rear was pulled both seats go. From what I understand this function was disabled when the ARA was in the back as the RAAF basically did not trust us.

Similar experience to mine:

• As RAAF Air Movo, loaded and weight and balanced Caribou, C130A and C130E, B707, HS748 and Chinook
• Flew as duty and opsat pax in B707, C130, Caribou, HS748, Orion (droning around for hours and hours - so very boring)
• Water jumped from Caribou, rapelled from Iroquois, tactical exercise insertion from Iroquios and Chinook
• Numerous back seat rides in Iroquois (SAR), Macchi, Winjeel (FAC), CT4, PC-9. It was a great time to be a female officer - so easy to get a back seat ride! Although I distinctly remember a QFI from 2OCU (RAAFWLM - you know who you are Rat!) telling me on about my third or fourth Macchi ride that he was going to keep pulling high G manoeuvres until I remembered to go cold mic EVERY time I puked! Never quite managed to get in a Mirage before they went out of service, more is the pity.

I loved my time in the service!

 

[NM]

Every RAAF aircraft type that I flew or flew in have been in the museum for years now!

Not all are in museums ... I am sure I saw a Tiger Moth operating at a local air field earlier in the year

 

[straitman]

Not all are in museums ... I am sure I saw a Tiger Moth operating at a local air field earlier in the year

I only flew (and instructed) on civilian Tiger Moths.

 

[Matt_01]

@Seat0B a couple of more aircraft B707, HS748 and Chinook that you mentioned that I had forgotten about

• B707 - have traveled on this bad boy back from the UK, BGN-BZZ-NKW-PER-XRH-SYD and then again XRH-BWH return.
• Chinook - Never been on a proper flight but have done an up and down. From memory these were mothballed some time in 1989, I was a cadet at that time. We arrived in TSV a Chinook was doing some checks seemly prior to been month balled. I recall the CI speaking with the pilots and not long after the entire class was rearranged into sorties to quickly get on, take off and land. I would have liked to been a chopper pilot but I have eye issues, my best mate went on to fly the Chinook in Afghanistan.

 

[jb747]

RAAF aircraft that I’ve had a ride in….CT4, Macchi, Caribou, UH-1, C-130, 707, Orion, Canberra. Oh, and I mustn’t forget the HS748…

Post automatically merged: Apr 2, 2021

Every RAAF aircraft type that I flew or flew in have been in the museum for years now!

We’re safe until they start stuffing pilots and displaying them alongside their aircraft.

 

[Ekka]

Similar experience to mine:

• As RAAF Air Movo, loaded and weight and balanced Caribou, C130A and C130E, B707, HS748 and Chinook
• Flew as duty and opsat pax in B707, C130, Caribou, HS748, Orion (droning around for hours and hours - so very boring)
• Water jumped from Caribou, rapelled from Iroquois, tactical exercise insertion from Iroquios and Chinook
• Numerous back seat rides in Iroquois (SAR), Macchi, Winjeel (FAC), CT4, PC-9. It was a great time to be a female officer - so easy to get a back seat ride! Although I distinctly remember a QFI from 2OCU (RAAFWLM - you know who you are Rat!) telling me on about my third or fourth Macchi ride that he was going to keep pulling high G manoeuvres until I remembered to go cold mic EVERY time I puked! Never quite managed to get in a Mirage before they went out of service, more is the pity.

I loved my time in the service!

I was at RAAF Amberley 23 SQN from May '79, nominally as an OPSO, but used frequently as an ATCO at Amberley Tower because of the fact that I was a tower controller in civilian life.

Highlights of my RAAF service were Kangaroo 79 in Rocky (perhaps I shouldn't mention that, but it's relevant: where I had been for Kangaroo 1 as a civvie ATC in '74), several flights in Sioux in 1967 with a pilot who had flown them in Vietnam,, landing on HMAS Melbourne in Shoalwater Bay in a Chinook in "79.

Many flights in Hercs, not forgetting the Caribou which took me from Ambon north of the equator and delivered me safely back at Ambon in the middle of a tropical storm in 1980.

Many other trips, in many types of aircraft, including a Canberra from AMB to CG and back.

I recall that the blokes who flew FIIIs didn't think much of those who flew fighters from WLM.

Those were the days.

By the way, did you mean "vomited"?

 

[Seat0B]

By the way, did you mean "vomited"?

Yep. I’m bilingual when it comes to throwing up under high G aeros!

 

[straitman]

RAAF aircraft that I’ve had a ride in….CT4, Macchi, Caribou, UH-1, C-130, 707, Orion, Canberra. Oh, and I mustn’t forget the HS748…

Post automatically merged: Apr 2, 2021

We’re safe until they start stuffing pilots and displaying them alongside their aircraft.

I resemble that remark!