Image Gallery: March 2005
Year of the Hornet
15 March 2005
In
October 1981, Australia signed a contract for
the provision of 75 F/A-18 Hornet aircraft,
of which 18 were two-seat aircraft configuration.
The first two aircraft were produced in the
United States, with the remainder being assembled
by the Government Aircraft Factories (GAF) in
Victoria, Australia.
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) received
it's first Hornet at RAAF Base Williamtown's
No. 2 Operational Conversion Unit (2OCU) in
May 1985.
2OCU commenced Hornet Pilot Training shortly
after in August 1985. As such, this year the
RAAF will celebrate 20 years of successful F/A-18
Hornet Operations.
F/A-18 Hornet A21-26, a single seat RAAF Hornet
aircraft has been painted in a celebratory '
Year of the Hornet ' anniversary paint scheme.
The commemorative design was decided by holding
a Hornet SQN/Unit design competition. The winning
design was submitted by Sergeant David Turnbull,
a current member of No. 3 Squadron located at
RAAF Base Williamtown.
Painting of the aircraft was undertaken in the
Aerospace Coatings facility at the Boeing Aerospace
Support Centre (BASC) - RAAF Base Amberley in
February 2005.
Now completed, the aircraft will return to RAAF
Base Williamtown on Tuesday 01 March 2005 before
being officially launched at the Avalon Air
Show in Victoria on 15 March 2005 by the Chief
of Air Force, Air Marshal Angus G. Houston AO,AFC.
| 000174846_0009 A single seat RAAF F/A-18 Hornet aircraft has been painted in a celebratory 'Year of the Hornet' anniversary paint scheme. (Date taken: unknown) Low-res | High-res |
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| 000174846_0046 A single seat RAAF F/A-18 Hornet aircraft has been painted in a celebratory 'Year of the Hornet' anniversary paint scheme. (Date taken: unknown) Low-res | High-res |
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| 000174846_0075 A single seat RAAF F/A-18 Hornet aircraft has been painted in a celebratory 'Year of the Hornet' anniversary paint scheme. (Date taken: unknown) Low-res | High-res |
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| 000174846_0138 A single seat RAAF F/A-18 Hornet aircraft has been painted in a celebratory 'Year of the Hornet' anniversary paint scheme. (Date taken: unknown) Low-res | High-res |
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| 000174846_1815 A single seat RAAF F/A-18 Hornet aircraft has been painted in a celebratory 'Year of the Hornet' anniversary paint scheme. (Date taken: unknown) Low-res | High-res |
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| 000-174-934_0004 The F/A-18 Hornet displaying the 20th anniversary paint scheme of aircraft A21-26 displays the Hornet 20 year logo and the squadrons that fly the F/A-18 Hornet. (Date taken: unknown) Low-res | High-res |
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| 000-174-934_0014 Air Commodore Mark Binskin, Commander Air Combat Group (ACG), receives order of aircraft A21-26 from Mr. Bruce Hart, Business Development Manager, Military Aerospace Support (Williamtown) at RAAF Williamtown. (Date taken: unknown) Low-res | High-res |
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| 000-174-934_0114 An F/A-18 Hornet displays the 20th anniversary paint scheme of aircraft A21-26 whilst preforming an aerobatic display over Tomaree Heads, NSW. (Date taken: unknown) Low-res | High-res |
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| 000-174-934_0136 An F/A-18 Hornet displays the 20th anniversary paint scheme of aircraft A21-26 whilst preforming an aerobatic display over Tomaree Heads, NSW. (Date taken: unknown) Low-res | High-res |
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| 000-175-133_0001 Air to air photography of Year of the Hornet F/A-18 A21-26 flown by SQNLDR Paul Simmons. (Date taken: unknown) Low-res | High-res |
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| 000-175-133_0015 Air to air photography of Year of the Hornet F/A-18 A21-26 flown by SQNLDR Paul Simmons. (Date taken: unknown) Low-res | High-res |
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