Love Rons proud story telling , especially the 40 second surfing thing, 😅👌👏👏. I'm always amazed by mid air refuelling 😳👌. When Ron says quite exciting, does he actually mean quite nerve wracking? 🤔😅
I recall reading an article about RAAF training in F/A-18s and how they bested the US Navy in mock dogfights, principally because they practiced it a lot.
Absolutely fantastic video, its been over 5 years since I last visited Fighter World, when I lived on the Central Coast, now after seeing the added planes and facility I will be making a special trip next time I am down from Hervey bay, once again thank you for a top video
2:49 The bloodhound missile in the background used to be at the RAAF Williamtown front gate, it was removed in 1980 for refurbishment and found to still have all the avionics fitted. That avionics is on display as a separate display at Fighterworld. 11:20 I worked on A8 -148, and 16:09 I worked on A21-23, and also on the PC-9 there not shown in this video
The Flying Bricks 110 They Sucked Big time the service docs were in Frenglish & nothing most of the engine hatches didn't line up also you got a kero shower when serviceing under in during a AF .. God I miss those Kero baths while pumping oil into these French Ladies...
@@peterdabrera3857This is probably the same with all types. Some people loved working on the 111, not my cup of tea though. Some people hated the Hornet, I loved it.
With all due respect to Ron, he did get a few things wrong on the armament side of things for the F/A-18. The 20mm M61A1 gun didn't shoot at 4000 rounds per minute to "save ammo". The rate of fire was selected depending on whether you were shooting in air to air or air to ground mode. In air-to-air mode, the rate of fire was 6000 rounds per minute or 100 rounds per second. The reason being is that you want to saturate the air with large lumps of metal to increase your probability of hit. In air to ground mode the rate of fire was 4000 rounds per minute. Presumably so as to limit ricochets and likely because the target wasn't moving all that fast in comparison and you could potentially come back around for another go. The BRU-33 (and later BRU-55) Vertical Ejector Rack (VER) he talked about (for the RAAF) mainly carried 500lb Mk82 slicks and snake eyes (high drag). At least up until the late 90's when I left the RAAF. They were indeed capable of carrying 1000lb Mk83 series bombs though although we didn't have any in the first decade and a half of the aircrafts service. The two bombs that Ron points to sitting under the VER on the right wing appear to be Laser JDAMs (joint direct attack munitions) with the laser seeker under the black cover (not a fuze). These came in after my time in service so I'm happy to be corrected if wrong. A 500lb GP bombs that Ron alludes to is an unguided bomb that once dropped, follows a ballistic path to the target and cannot be steered once dropped. For the uninitiated though they would look similar. The JDAM steers by means of the rear fins that receive steering signals from the seeker on the nose. Lastly, in Rons days (perhaps on the mirage) he may have dropped only HES (high explosive substitute) bombs ("not war stock") for training but on the F/A-18 we never dropped high explosive substitute (HES) bombs ever. I was a RAAF Armourer on the F/A-18 from 1985 to 1997 and we only ever dropped HE (high explosive) bombs. For training, we dropped the BDU-33 Low Drag and High Drag bombs that can be seen on the white SUU-20B/A bomb and rocket dispenser next to Ron (the little blue bombs). These bombs ballistically matched a 500lb GP bomb and were much cheaper. The F/A-18 could carry up to 18 in one sortie but typically carried either 6 on the centerline pylon or 12 (6 under each outboard wing pylon, with typically a mix of high drag on one wing and low drag on the other). This gave the aircrew between 6-18 passes at a target rather than 4-6 at most for a load of 500lb HES bombs, increasing the training value and decreasing the number of sorties needed for that training. Incidentally, the F/A-18F Super Hornet doesn't use these at all as it is all simulated electronically in the cockpit. All in all, a very good look at fighter world at Williamtown and I enjoyed it very much. I must get back down there one day and have another look. FYI I was based there between 1986 and 1988 (3 Sqn), Tindal 1988-1994 (75 Sqn), and back to Williamtown 1994-1997 (77 Sqn)
on ya Marty, I knew that a gunnie would pick those little errors up ;) and yes they are JDAM configured Mk82s, BTW, I could have sworn we dropped some Mk83s at Delamare in 1990?
@@davidewhite69 Haha thanks mate. No, I never saw a Mk83 in my time at all. I left Tindal in Dec 93 and we'd never dropped Mk83's up until that point and we didn't drop any when I was at 77 Sqn following that either. They may have used them on the Mirage, but I went straight to Hornets and never had much to do with the Delta winged dealer of destruction.
@@marty1468 rattling the old brain cells I figured when and where i saw Mk83s on RAAF Hornets, it was when I was at 2OCU in 98 when we went to Townsville
Great museum. Visit the USAF museum in Dayton, Ohio sometime. They have four display buildings crammed with pre-WWI aircraft to the latest aircraft and rockets available. When we visited it took us most of a day just to walk through.❤
I think they do, outside, but not with RAAF or RNZAF markings - we really didn't have a good look at the aircraft parked outside and it may have been a privately owned aircraft (not part of the collection).
@@raafdocumentaries Hmmm thanks. I’m trying to get in contact with anyone who owns a CT/A as I’m making one for a flight simulator and need as much detail as I can get.
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What a great interview thank you 👏
Love Rons proud story telling , especially the 40 second surfing thing, 😅👌👏👏. I'm always amazed by mid air refuelling 😳👌. When Ron says quite exciting, does he actually mean quite nerve wracking? 🤔😅
I recall reading an article about RAAF training in F/A-18s and how they bested the US Navy in mock dogfights, principally because they practiced it a lot.
Well done Ron. 👏👏
Absolutely fantastic video, its been over 5 years since I last visited Fighter World, when I lived on the Central Coast, now after seeing the added planes and facility I will be making a special trip next time I am down from Hervey bay, once again thank you for a top video
Excellent video, and talk by Ron. Well done.
2:49 The bloodhound missile in the background used to be at the RAAF Williamtown front gate, it was removed in 1980 for refurbishment and found to still have all the avionics fitted. That avionics is on display as a separate display at Fighterworld. 11:20 I worked on A8 -148, and 16:09 I worked on A21-23, and also on the PC-9 there not shown in this video
Mirage111O retired in 1989. Loved working on it!
The Flying Bricks 110 They Sucked Big time the service docs were in Frenglish & nothing most of the engine hatches didn't line up also you got a kero shower when serviceing under in during a AF .. God I miss those Kero baths while pumping oil into these French Ladies...
@@peterdabrera3857This is probably the same with all types. Some people loved working on the 111, not my cup of tea though. Some people hated the Hornet, I loved it.
With all due respect to Ron, he did get a few things wrong on the armament side of things for the F/A-18. The 20mm M61A1 gun didn't shoot at 4000 rounds per minute to "save ammo". The rate of fire was selected depending on whether you were shooting in air to air or air to ground mode. In air-to-air mode, the rate of fire was 6000 rounds per minute or 100 rounds per second. The reason being is that you want to saturate the air with large lumps of metal to increase your probability of hit. In air to ground mode the rate of fire was 4000 rounds per minute. Presumably so as to limit ricochets and likely because the target wasn't moving all that fast in comparison and you could potentially come back around for another go.
The BRU-33 (and later BRU-55) Vertical Ejector Rack (VER) he talked about (for the RAAF) mainly carried 500lb Mk82 slicks and snake eyes (high drag). At least up until the late 90's when I left the RAAF. They were indeed capable of carrying 1000lb Mk83 series bombs though although we didn't have any in the first decade and a half of the aircrafts service.
The two bombs that Ron points to sitting under the VER on the right wing appear to be Laser JDAMs (joint direct attack munitions) with the laser seeker under the black cover (not a fuze). These came in after my time in service so I'm happy to be corrected if wrong. A 500lb GP bombs that Ron alludes to is an unguided bomb that once dropped, follows a ballistic path to the target and cannot be steered once dropped. For the uninitiated though they would look similar. The JDAM steers by means of the rear fins that receive steering signals from the seeker on the nose.
Lastly, in Rons days (perhaps on the mirage) he may have dropped only HES (high explosive substitute) bombs ("not war stock") for training but on the F/A-18 we never dropped high explosive substitute (HES) bombs ever. I was a RAAF Armourer on the F/A-18 from 1985 to 1997 and we only ever dropped HE (high explosive) bombs. For training, we dropped the BDU-33 Low Drag and High Drag bombs that can be seen on the white SUU-20B/A bomb and rocket dispenser next to Ron (the little blue bombs). These bombs ballistically matched a 500lb GP bomb and were much cheaper. The F/A-18 could carry up to 18 in one sortie but typically carried either 6 on the centerline pylon or 12 (6 under each outboard wing pylon, with typically a mix of high drag on one wing and low drag on the other). This gave the aircrew between 6-18 passes at a target rather than 4-6 at most for a load of 500lb HES bombs, increasing the training value and decreasing the number of sorties needed for that training.
Incidentally, the F/A-18F Super Hornet doesn't use these at all as it is all simulated electronically in the cockpit.
All in all, a very good look at fighter world at Williamtown and I enjoyed it very much. I must get back down there one day and have another look. FYI I was based there between 1986 and 1988 (3 Sqn), Tindal 1988-1994 (75 Sqn), and back to Williamtown 1994-1997 (77 Sqn)
Thanks for your detailed comment Marty - much appreciated.
@@raafdocumentariesRon also mentions the Mirage was in service until 1979. The Mirage ended service in 1988, just a slip of the tongue I’m sure.
on ya Marty, I knew that a gunnie would pick those little errors up ;) and yes they are JDAM configured Mk82s, BTW, I could have sworn we dropped some Mk83s at Delamare in 1990?
@@davidewhite69 Haha thanks mate. No, I never saw a Mk83 in my time at all. I left Tindal in Dec 93 and we'd never dropped Mk83's up until that point and we didn't drop any when I was at 77 Sqn following that either. They may have used them on the Mirage, but I went straight to Hornets and never had much to do with the Delta winged dealer of destruction.
@@marty1468 rattling the old brain cells I figured when and where i saw Mk83s on RAAF Hornets, it was when I was at 2OCU in 98 when we went to Townsville
Great museum. Visit the USAF museum in Dayton, Ohio sometime. They have four display buildings crammed with pre-WWI aircraft to the latest aircraft and rockets available. When we visited it took us most of a day just to walk through.❤
Great video with fantastic commentary!
Thanks for this. I’ve walked around Fighter World before but this really brought it to life.
Cheers 😊
An excellent video, and very informative. Thanks very much to all involved.
Awesome vid n awesome display👍👍I wouldn’t mind having go simulator of F18.
I miss the sandwiches most of all, the B-53 was epic.
Do you know if there is a CT/4A there? I tried contacting the museum about it but had no luck getting through to them
I think they do, outside, but not with RAAF or RNZAF markings - we really didn't have a good look at the aircraft parked outside and it may have been a privately owned aircraft (not part of the collection).
@@raafdocumentaries Hmmm thanks. I’m trying to get in contact with anyone who owns a CT/A as I’m making one for a flight simulator and need as much detail as I can get.
there was a CT-4 there last year
@@davidewhite69 Ah nice
frist