Neilster
Posts: 2890
Joined: 10/27/2003
From: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: RangerJoe
quote:
ORIGINAL: Neilster
If anyone's interested, the photo of me above was taken at RAAF Base Williamtown, which is about 200 km North of Sydney, before I went in the backseat of that Hawk 127 on a simulated strike mission through the Great Dividing Range. I got to fly some of the mission, chucking the jet around the sky and pulled a sustained 7G (which, even with a G-suit on is getting fairly heavy). The attack part of the mission (on an old sawmill with imaginary bombs) was all at low level, hammering through steep sided valleys with heaps of hard manoeuvring. It's a strange feeling looking up and seeing trees race past, not very far away, at about 500 knots.
You're not just a passenger either. I spotted the fire tower that was our attack Initial Point and some high voltage power lines that caused the pilot to put the jet into an incredibly hard climb while radioing the two jets just behind us to warn them. He was very appreciative.
Here's a short video about RAAF Williamtown. The base is just North of Newcastle, which at the mouth of the Hunter River. The Australian Air Force is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHeNr2fzqKE&ab_channel=RoyalAustralianAirForce
A nice video, thank you.
Yes, I guess that pilot was thankful about those power lines. I guess that he did not want to knock them down and start a fire . . . 
Something like that could have ruined your whole day.
But I am somewhat surprised that those power lines would not have been marked on a map and the flight briefing should have covered them.
I thought they would be too but the pilot said they often aren't, especially in remote areas. That area is almost unpopulated and and is basically a series of rugged valleys and ravines. At first I thought it was a formation of large birds (another hazard) but then I realised it was those large white balls they put on high voltage power lines to make them more visible. Another thing I was watching for was ultralight aircraft that may be cruising around at about 50 knots.
With regard to birds, one of our jets hit a pelican once and the damage to the wing was incredible. What was left of the bird was shoved into a big hole in the leading edge. I also saw a seagull that was basically atomised on the front of a canopy. All that was left was an opaque smear of blood and guts with a few feathers in it. The pilot had to land on instruments and another jet talking him down because he couldn't see where he was going.
A split second after I forcefully said "power lines" the pilot put the jet into the climb. The overwhelming impression of fighter pilots for me is quick reactions and the ability to multitask. They're flying, observing, navigating, planning, calculating and communicating; often all at the same time.
I used to socialise with the younger ones and the women involved were often stunners. Having said that, a lot of the local girls had been burned by these hotshots before and could be a bit wary. Also, many people don't believe you when you say you're a fighter pilot. As a result, they'd often say they were firemen or "marital aid" designers or something 
At squadron dining-in nights, the pilots would turn up with swimsuit models and the like and even the senior officers had milfy wives  Mind you, we did alright too 
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Cheers, Neilster
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