I attended the 2010 Williamtown airshow a couple of weeks ago. I have never been to an airshow so I was quite excited. It is a 2.5 hours driver by card near Newcastle. We left Sydney at 6:30 and got there about 9.00 am. It was rather cold and windy and there was a massive queue already waiting to get in.
RAAF F-111 Strike Aircraft
The Royal Australian Air Force F-111 is a supersonic long-range strike aircraft. It is operated by No 1 Squadron and No 6 Squadron of the Air Force's Air Combat Group from RAAF Base Amberley, near Brisbane.
RAAF F-111 Dump and Burn
This was the last time that anyone in the world will witness the F-111 performing its signature "dump and burn" manoeuvre at an airshow.
RAAF Roulettes - Pilatus PC-9/A
The PC-9/A is best known to the public as the aircraft flown by the Air Force Roulettes in aerobatic displays at major events throughout Australia.
Central Flying School pilots fly six aircraft that comprise the team as a secondary role to their instructional tasks. Central Flying School trains Navy and Air Force pilots to become flying instructors.
The RAAF F/A-18 Hornet
The F/A-18 Hornet is a multi-role fighter designed for both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. It is capable of air interception, air combat, close air support of ground troops and interdiction of enemy supply lines including shipping.
RAAF /A-18E/F Super Hornet
The Super Hornet is a combat-proven strike fighter with built-in versatility. The Super Hornet's suite of integrated and networked systems provides enhanced interoperability, total force support for the combatant commander and for the troops on the ground.
RAAF AP-3C Orion
An extremely versatile aircraft capable of maritime surveillance, anti-submarine, anti-ship warfare, naval fleet support and search and survivor supply.
Other RAAF Aircrafts
RAAF F/A-18 Hornet, RAAF F-111 strike aircraft, Gloster Meteor F.8, Lockheed Hudson
RAAF CA-27 Sabre, RAAF Hawk 127 fighter trainer, RAAF F/A-18 Hornet fighter
RAAF CA-27 Sabre, CA-13 Boomerang, Mustang, Supermarine Spitfire Mk VIII
Conclusion
It was harder than I thought, definitely wasn’t easy shooting fast moving jets. It took a quite a few of blurred shots before I managed to get the settings on my D700 right. I also managed to test out my recently acquired Sigma 1.4x TC, from a friend, on my Sigma 70-200mm. All the shots here were taken with it. I think you need at least a 400mm lens for shooting airshows but overall, I am happy with the results.
It was a long day and when we wanted to leave we discovered that the runway was closed due to the airshow. The only way across was by a shuttle bus but the queue was about a kilometre long. We waited for about another hour before they opened the runway so that we could get back to our car. It took us another hour to get out of the car park. I am not really sure if I would come to another airshow.
Williamtown, NSW, Australia
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