The Australian Defence Force (ADF) Air Show of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was held this year at the largest RAAF base Amberely, located 40kms south-west of Brisbane and on the outskirts of Ipswich. The date at the beginning of October was chosen to fit nicely in the (southern hemisphere) spring and warm temperatures, reching up to 34°C that weekend. And of course another reason to make this round-the-world-trip to Amberley worthwhile is the fact, that it is the worldwide only remaining base with F-111 Aardvarks.
Defence Force Air Show 2008 RAAF Base Amberley 04-05/10/2008
Let's start with this aiorshow report from Down Under, featuring many aircraft that will most probably never be seen around Europe, but an ambiance that is on par with the one that you might know from a show under a sunny sunny sky, with lots of jet noise and good food! So let's start with the aircraft, that was the main reason to travel to Amberley, the F-111.
In the timeframe from 2010-2015 the "Pig" is going to be replaced by a force of 24 Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets, so this year's airshow was most probably the last chance to see a high number of F-111s at their homebase. This relatively low number of replacement jets is regarded by the RAAF as a transition step until a sufficiently high number of F-35 JSFs is becoming available to the Air Force. During the airshow the loved "Pig" naturally also presented its famous dump-and-burn manoeuvre, during which fuel is dumped and ignited by the afterburner, resulting in a flame behind the jet the is easily as long as the aircraft itself. This was also employed during the fly-by to open the military part of the airshow.
The rest of the display included lots of fast and noisy passes with full afterburner and tight turns as well as the presentation of the swing wings, and many possibilities were given to 'get up close and personal' with the F-111 on the ground. More photos of the "Pig" can be found at the end of this report.
Radom Airshow 2018 had the Polish Air Force’s 100th anniversary as a main theme. Concluding from past events the expectations were very high, and the event attracted highlights such as the Ukrainian Suchoi Su-27 Flanker…Read More
Though the airshow season is not over yet, the event at La Ferté-Alais can surely be rated amongst the top shows of the year. This is not only due to perfect weather, but also due…Read More
Reims, the capital of the Campagne, France's finest wine region, is also home of the French Air Forces (FAF) Base aérienne 112 (Air Base 112) "Commandant Marin-La-Meslée" which host three fighter wings equipped with Mirage…Read More
After my visit to Duxford in July I still wanted to see a bit more this year. The choice was not difficult, because if you are a warbird enthusiast and you have already been to…Read More