Personally I would have gone with AC/DC It’s a Long Way to the Top, with couple of F111’s down low level, followed by a dump and burn over Bullsh@t Castle. Then bring in the choppers, with the Redgum song I was only 19.

If the point of the exercise was to celebrate 100 years of the RAAF surely a more symbolic flypast would have been over the AWM towards Parliament House along ANZAC Parade.

So many armchair warriors talking about how it should have been this or that - it was a great flypast of all our service types (minus the hawk for a specific reason) and some fantastic warbirds along the Canberra foreshore so people could gather along the the lake and watch.

As for the parade, I doubt many here have had to plan an event during COVID... The fact that people were able to gather is a relief let alone planning a parade that could be cancelled at any moment.

The event was marked on the RAAF birthday date, at the house of the Queen's representative in Australia for the presentation of her new colour during a global pandemic, with 150 odd members on parade. I think all things considered it was a successful day.

The Australian was supposed to have a 64 page RAAF 100 supplement on wednesday.
Not in FNQ there wasnt
Anyone get one... was it worth the pick up?

Best bit:

32:58 Guests are reminded that a flypast will occur for the minister’s arrival.

33:37. Minister arrives. Galah flies squawking overhead. https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/e...2/16/1f603.png

That timing was PERFECT.

Why was it necessary or required to tell people when to salute or remove headwear? Did the organisers believe that those present were bogans or ockers? Embarrassing!

Lower flypasts would have fixed that! Like in the good ole days.

That's one thing I would agree on, the "flypasts" looked like high-altitude reconnaissance flights!

When the RAAF celebrated Battle of Britain day in the 70’s, Canberra’s would be sent out to do flyover of war memorials and enroute aerodromes. As a five year old, I was standing with a group of people beside a country aerodrome runway when a silver Canberra arrived at low level and high speed and proceeded to give the place a beat up.
On the third pass the aircraft disappeared behind the clubhouse and the bellman hangar, before reappearing at low level down the taxiway!

The RAAF used to crash a lot of aeroplanes back then too.

We had the supplement here in Brisvegas...Quite nice too!

Not a bogan or an ocker but I do appreciate guidance on what is expected at formal occasions. Whenever they announce the National Anthem at sporting events I always wonder if it would hurt to add "Gentlemen please remove your hats". There's a whole generation that don't know this is the correct thing to do (unless in uniform).

Well here's a quote from that generation from another thread.

This generation won't be told what to do, just like the generations before it.

PS Surely it should be "ladies and gentlemen, please remove headwear"?

I heard there was going to be a flypast of 60 aircraft on the day and got excited. Instead it was four aircraft every 5 or 10 minutes, with a confusing parade, on lawn, with a talkover by some gobby, unbriefed bimbo. All at altitudes at which those on the ground normally don't even bother looking up. Very dissatisfying.

You'd think they could at least have wound it up with all the jets and turboprops of any type, maybe even the Roulettes, all in one formation. That'd be around 30 or more and would've been something to remember. It looks like we got the social-distancing, politically-correct, inoffensive and completely forgettable version.

Well ladies don't remove their hats in church. I'm not sure that would extend to baseball caps though!

Like this? Canberra, 1977.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....1da28ce3d2.jpg

Do you mean those that have a) never flown b) never flown in a major flypast or c) not been on a major ceremonial parade as armchair warriors?

If you have been there done that I think you have some justification in making comments, whether positive or not so.

Fair enough, point taken. I was referencing people not involved in the planning of this particular event.

The criticism seems directed at the lack of a large scale parade and more complex flypast. My frustration at those comments is aimed at the lack of consideration of covid being a huge factor in determining the scale of the event.

I also agree with the previous comment that yes, the RAAF used to fly fast and loose displays but we lost a lot of good aircrew along the way. Maybe that's a good thing it's in the past.

So I take it that there will be further celebrations and displays around the country? Or is one over Canberra it? I guess they've forgotten what the 1st A stands for.

I take your point but like most things COVID related, with numbers, does seem to be nonsensical when we see the numbers at sporting events etc. In respect to the flypast another some what non event. Appreciate that the Parliamentarian food and beverage incidentals have to be maintained and therefore there is little funds for an aircraft fly-past. But than either make it a) a display (with more than the Roulettes) or b) a decent fly-past. I doubt we will ever see the size of the bi-centennial fly-past again (prob a good thing as our neighbors might get upset with the Pilatus porter being nuclear powered) and understand again if it’s not about the pollies the funds will not be available. However surely a decent parade on a parade ground is not reaching too far.

But how much time will be wasted in the practice for such a parade?

You've seen the massive parades in China and North Korea, where they have a section of the army, 100,000 people whose job it is to march in such parades. We don't have those numbers. And what a huge waste of time, money and people, so that their leaders can pat themselves on the back.

Our parade was OK, the flypast was modest, but the Jockettes can't be called that any more due to the number of women flying now. And please use something a bit more impressive than the Pilatus machines. Get some jets in there and make noise that rattles your intestines. The Deltas in Mirages used to do a good job, but their turning circle hindered the display a bit.

Yes you are correct but contradictory.



We are not China where undoubtedly the second time you are out of step you lose your one bowl of rice for the week and the third time you are target practice. Yes it does take time and money to practice for anything. But if you are going to go down that path let’s do away with all parades or contract them out as we have done for so much, fly-past included.



Your contradictory comment on time and money for parades, but then towel the Roulettes for being a bee swarm in noise and want jets, time and money?



I guess saying if you are going to do it, do it right or not at all is probably highlighting the way we are heading. Once again we cannot cut back on pollies salaries, incidental’s super, and red wine (or helo rides) or only having events were they are center stage (imagine a numpty in the fly past or leading a parade)

More's the pity.:*

Well of course it is and I don’t think anyone is suggesting a flypast should be so unsafe as to seriously risk losing aircrew. We’ve being doing flypasts for a long time now and it is likely CASA, if any authority, that is dictating the height, size and speed of any flypast over the capital of Australia. I don’t think a little lower, a little faster and tighter is too much to ask, it’s a once in a hundred year event! Otherwise, just have the parade at Richmond while some aircraft take off and land in the background. We can risk manage the crap out of lifting a box, surely the same attention can be turned to a flypast. Having said that, perhaps the limiting factor is aircrew, you don’t just launch a four ship or a dissimilar aircraft formation at a whim to do a beat up. It takes some practice and that costs hours and money - so there’s another probable reason for the “dissatisfying” flypast.

Admittedly there was practice for the Bi century fly-past but that was just the similar types. The actual fly-past of dissimilar types was not practiced.

Yes, like that, although you'd like to think the F111s would've swept the wings back and wound up the speed.
This Canberra show could've fit in the P8s, E7As, C17s and even the C130s with the fighters for even just a straight and level flypast of a couple of dozen aircraft, all capable of a stable 300kts airspeed. It would've impressed everyone but instead we got Flypast Lite. Diet Flypast. Sensitive New Age Flypast with minimal noise and no impression of the capability for applying "Force." People fell asleep between demos. You're not even allowed to get drunk in the mess anymore. Did I mention the airhead commentator?

There's another word for that flypast but you're not supposed to use it anymore.

Apparently the latest directive out of the the Ivory Tower is that ‘Airmen/Airwoman’ are from now on going to be referred to as ‘Aviators’. You couldn’t make this up!

The "Bi - Century" Flypast....???? (#63)

I would REALLY like to see that !!

A carbon neutral flypast?

Bloggsie and Eclan.
How did 4 x F-111’s, 5 x Sabres and 4 x Mirages manage to fly together in 1977?
Assuming RAAF.
I am puzzled?
JO.

Maybe
5 x F111s
4 x A4s
5 x MIRIII0 (photo fom back of a dual MIRIIIO)

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/fede...08-p57hmk.html

finger on the pulse

Aha! The stealth A-4!
Thanks Ramble on.
JO.

There may even have been some Canberras in that formation just out of the photo frame as they were still around a few more years and, who knows, maybe even some fanta cans. Men were men back then, not whatever else they wanted to be, and the combined roar of all those engines would've had the same effect on them as viagra does on the sensitive types getting around today.

“Look up, ladies and gentlemen, and witness the F-35 doing it’s best min drag flypast. Yes, magnificent! Now cast your eyes downward to witness the airmen, sorry, the aviators busily planting trees to offset the carbon emissions...”

We’d better never go to war, imagine all the trees we’d need to plant. :p

The feminine form of 'Aviator' is 'Aviatrix'. I am now convinced we have the wrong people running the Australian Defence Force.

But you can't use a term that defines whether a person has a d!ck or not. I recall a Dining-in Night, just after women were allowed to attend, and Mr Vice stood up and opened his speech with:
"Gentlemen,...and gentlemen without d!cks..."

He could have said

Had a laugh when the gentleman doing the commentating with Lisa Millar, mentioned that the Beech Kingairs are flown by professional pilots in the RAAF!

Are the RAAF going to hold an airshow to celebrate the 100 years, or is that deemed not PC these days?

Perhaps nothing to do with being 'PC' perhaps more to do with the ongoing uncertainty imposed by COVID.