Farewell to a Classic
 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-...nets/100658448

I remember the RAAF put on a display for the pollies when Beazley was Defense Minister to show off what was then the brand new toy. The F18 was in front of the Mirage and within two and a half turns was behind it all within the boundary of Canberra Airport. I also remember watching an F14 going through its paces over Canberra when the competition to replace the Mirage was in full swing.

Hear hear, Lookleft, a fantastic career. What a machine.

Have the 75 Sqn classic Hornets at Tindal been retired as well, or is this just the ones at Williamtown?

That could be Amberly and/or Tindal. My understanding of the article was that it was the last Classic Hornet flight in Australia.

Rumour on the F18 FB page is that 8 jets are flying Tindal-Willy tomorrow.

It’s worth pointing out that only four of these jets were ever lost, with the last crash happening nearly 30 years ago. A pretty remarkable record, all things considered.

That was a 75 Sqn aircraft being flown by Group Captain Easthope in that farewell demo; A21-2, second oldest aircraft in the fleet.

Easty also did the farewell display of the A4 when they were withdrawn from service in the RNZAF.

You surprised the **** out of me Bloggsy. I so expected "that's not a classic, the mirage is a classic." You've let me down

Slow, pathetic range, meagre weapons load compared to just about anything (F-15, F-14 and certainly F-111).

It was very much a 'toy' and the -18F has the similar pathetic range, slightly larger load but similarly slow as a wet week compared with say, the F-15SE. But I understand why we bought them as a gap-filler (they were never even close to an F-111 replacement, nothing came close, except maybe the 15SE) and we already had an installed base of the earlier model.

Trevor, Classic verses Vintage now! :p Bit like how I feel!

AP, wot are you on about? Are you seriously comparing the A-D with the F14 and Pig??

Speed is life, you reckon? :rolleyes:

My old man was in the RAAF at the time they were looking for a mirage replacement, and I believe that the F-14 had even lesser range than the F/A-18. The F-15 I don’t know about.

Plus, wasn’t the F-14 already an old aeroplane by the time we received our F/A-18’s? What would be the point in buying an old aeroplane from the outset?

All that aside, it’s just completed it’s life in the RAAF successfully, so it can’t have been that bad. Or do you have something else against it too?

What a magnificent aeroplane, they’ll be missed, and I’m glad I got to see one up close recently before they all disappeared.

The F18 was a highly successful RAAF aircraft for its time. There was no other realistic option other than the F16. The F15A option, required Australia to pay for its air-ground development. The Strike Eagle was a decade away and an unknown option to the RAAF. The initial F15E development was privately funded by McDonnel Douglas eventually overcoming the Pentagon's F15 mantra of not a pound for air to ground!

The almost weird Aussie F111 ethos left the aircraft in service way too long. Perhaps your F15E the better option to see the F111 out of service a lot earlier. This may have happened if somebody forecast the rise of a belligerent China. However, the RAAF does seem well placed for any regional contingencies with the Growler, SH and F35 for the next few years ( if fuel supplies secure ). Beyond that it's frightening.

12 x B21s would do the trick.......