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Looking
at life in the fast lane
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Leading
Aircraftman Aaron Pyle with Ford 00 workshop coordinator
Matthew House and Craig Lowndes' V8 Supercar. Photo by AC
Steve Hobbs
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An F-111
avionics technician who recently spent time with the 00 Motorsport
V8 Supercar team likened the team's operation to that of No. 1 Squadron
at RAAF Base Amberley.
Leading Aircraftman Aaron Pyle, who worked with the team at the
2002 Indy 300 on the Gold Coast, said racing car mechanics and fast-jet
technicians had a lot in common.
"I reckon he who works for one would be in awe of the other,"
he said.
No. 82 Wing and Air Combat Group have forged a relationship with
the team, home to drivers Craig Lowndes and Neil Crompton, in the
past 12 months. This came about after an Air Force technician, at
Indy last year with Recruiting, fixed the team's broken generator.
Since then, team representatives have visited RAAF Base Amberley
and invited some 82WG personnel to join them in their workshop over
the weekend.
LAC Pyle explained that 1SQN deployments were similar to the motorsport
team's trips to V8 Supercar rounds.
"We do things the same way they do, with everyone having specific
areas of responsibility, only on a bigger scale," he said.
"In terms of the amount of equipment they take away per car,
ours is the same per jet, except they take three cars and we take
lots of jets.
"Their team numbers about 30 people for racing rounds and ours
tends to be about 100 to 150 for deployments."
He said 1SQN deployments were less frequent than the Ford team's
trips, but longer in duration.
"The easiest example was Red Flag (the recent exercise at Nellis
Air Base near Las Vegas) when we were away for nearly a month in
the US," he said. "The team spirit is the same though
- when the work's done we all go out together."
LAC Pyle identified with the relationship the racing team had with
their drivers.
"Driver to team is like pilot to techo," he said. "They've
got good communication and a positive relationship between the team
and the drivers, and that's just as important between the aircrew
and troops at 1SQN."
The 00 Motorsport team travels in a roadshow of two trucks for their
three cars for Lowndes and Crompton. The team has about 30 travelling
members who go from the Melbourne base to the 13 rounds and 10 test
days all over Australia and to New Zealand each year.
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