Don't know if you'd ever get sick of flying the F-111 or F/A-18, though I'd like to have the opportunity to find out. I've seen some pretty impressive radar returns from said aircraft (480kts gs at 100' comes to mind as a good one). I just hope the people who sign up based on this show don't get stuck flying Hercs, A330's, P3s etc. Could be very wrong but they do look like a yawn a lot of the time. Probably good if you want to move to the airlines though.

Herc and P3 a yawn? Nothing has as a diverse a role as these two types within the ADF. Nothing is more operational than these two types. No other types spend as much time deployed either in the MEAO or doing some DACC like flood, earthquake relief or helping to save some yachties life. Sure there are some boring strat legs flying from A-B but there is nothing boring about doing TAC on NVGs in a Herc, Operating in the sand and getting spiked by SAMs. If you think that flying something big and (comparitively) slow in the ADF is boring, you are misinformed.

FTDK,

I imagine your parent/child scenario could be changed slightly, to be four kids at school:

Child 1: What does your dad do? Mine flies big planes with hundreds of people on them, for 14 hours at a time.

Child 2: Mine's a proctologist, he spends his day looking at dates. Or at least that's what he says.

Child 3: Mine's a lawyer, he keeps people out of jail.

Child 4: Mine flies F111s, he blasts around hands-off at night at 500 kts at 250' AGL; sometimes he flies over big sporting events and the sun really does shine out of his ar5e for a short while. Other times he departs Amberley and goes through 10,000' before crossing the end of the runway.

I think I know which sounds like the fun job!

Well said TD67

It's only just another job you know....

I dunno...from what I remember a lot of 36/37 TAC Cse Herc sorties went a bit like.....
Load, Doors, Engine start,
droan, droan droan droan (engines running, sitting on the Tarmac, in parking bay)
droan droan droan droan
"load can you check..." lots of running around inside A/C with a torch,
droan droan droan droan
Engines stop, Doors/Ramp open, crew get off, maintenence crew come aboard.
After 3-4 hours of waiting around at the Sqn " ...sorry guys not gonna happen today...":ugh:

"Tik" could probably do with sometime in GA, that way he probably learn not to whinge so much when he flies a serviceable FA-18.
Perhaps he could do a week with Skyport on the centre run carrying the newspaper in a lovely one owner C210.

Stationair8,

I assume you're referring to some of the more minor snags on his aircraft shown in the first episode. If you were a military aviator then you would understand that the military definition of an aircraft being "unserviceable", and therefore unfit to be released by the maintainers for flight duties, is somewhat more stringent than that which I am sure is applied to some areas of GA. Most of the time, a minor snag will ground an aircraft that will still fly well and not endanger any lives. So what is wrong with demanding that our aircrew have the best and most reliable machines in the sky? Surely as a taxpayer you don't have a problem with this.......

....... and of course, in the end, it really didn't matter whether or not "Tik" got to fly that day anyway?

For the RAAF maybe (hence not leaving the gnd in the Herc), but not necessarily elsewhere in the ADF flying community....

You're obviously only talking about fixed-wing with those comments.

Have a look at what ADF (Army and Navy) helos have been doing since 99. Certainly diverse and very operaional, long before P3's got switched from maritime duties.

That said, a big hats off to those Herc crew.

S64

Very True Super 64. I was simply replying to the comment that specifically referred to P3s, Hercs and A330. My apologies for not including Wokkas in that mix.

No dramas at all Oz.

I am constantly amazed why young blokes think FJ are the be all, and end all, of military aviation. I know it looks very glamorous, and is probably a hell of a lot of fun. But for the hours they do, and lack of operational flying, I know if I was a young bloke where I'd be putting my hand up for, and it's not FJ.

Cheers

S64

Apart from the 1 in 300 years "Vamei", you don't get Typhoons in Singapore.

K

FTDK
 

Mate ,

I reckon 5 minutes in a fast jet would be worth more than 10 years in any Bonanza... what ya reckon.. ??

REAL TOP GUNS is a good showing of the activities of the AVERAGE highly trained RAAF fighter pilots. They would be hard to beat.

Too bad that the title reduces the kudos to which a REAL Top Gun aspires. It goes with the gradual erosion of Air Force traditions previously forged by the gallantry and sacrifices of many predecessors.

The Missing Man Formation used to be specifically for your mate who failed to return from combat. Now it is being used for almost any Tom, Dick or Harry but Dick Cresswell did deserve his.

So it seems that Top Gun is being reduced to a common denominator..

I once revelled in the satisfaction of being a TOP GUN for a year having worked my butt off to achieve that exalted title. One reaches a pinnacle of performance as judged by one's peers.

Who are the current RAF, USAF and RAAF Top Guns?

Can someone pre 80's vintage plese enlighten me on what our FJ fratenity were called prior to the release of that Tom Cruise schlock fest that now adorns every mention of anything to do with the fighter world. "Oh we have some footage of a hornet. lets crank up Danger Zone one more time"

The most polite response I can offer is "knuckleheads". I am sure there are a few more colourful descriptions of "the best of the best":}

forever "Knucks"

p.s The SBS website has a competition running until mid Jan offering a jolly in either a Hornet or a Hawk (depending how much of a fat c**t you are). FTDK??

"FTDK??"

Hempy, are you looking for some sort of indication as to how much of a fat c**t I am?

Dr :8