By FLTLT Christine Bradley
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Two
F-111s carve blazing scars in the night sky over Brisbane
as they perform spectacular dump and burns during the Riverfire
festival. It was a sensational return to the popular event
for the F-111s after they were unavailable last year because
of commitments with Exercise Red Flag in the US. Photo by
LAC Andrew Eddie
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Three
of the four aircrew who lit up the sky: Squadron Leader
Phil Parsons, Flight Lieutenant Adam Lovatt and Squadron
Leader Ted Schneider. Absent is Flight Lieutenant Luke Warner.
Photo by LAC Greg Pierce
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BRISBANE
skies were ablaze as F-111s from No. 82 Wing made a sensational
return to the Riverfire fireworks spectacular.
Anticipation of the dump and burn built in the city in the lead-up
to the event on August 30, especially as the F-111s had not been
involved in the festival last year owing to operational commitments
with Exercise Red Flag in the US.
More than 250,000 people gathered at vantage points in the Brisbane
CBD, Kangaroo Point, Riverside and Southbank to watch the spectacular.
It is estimated that between the people who attended the festival
and those who watched at home on television, there were up to
900,000 spectators for the flypast.
They were treated to the awesome sight of not one, but two F-111s
launching the display with a pass about 400 feet over the river
before climbing vertically and releasing a volley of flares.
Music pumped from stereos and choreographed explosions of colour
showered around the city as pyrotechnics were fired from inner
city high rises, bridges, river barges and CityCats.
The final sequence had the crowd on its feet as the pair of jets
scorched overhead with a double dump and burn.
A pilot of one of the F-111s for Riverfire, Squadron Leader Phil
Parsons, described his mission as one of his major accomplishments.
“It’s probably one of the biggest buzzes I’ve had flying the jet
apart from a Red Flag mission.
It’s not very often that you get to fly this close over a major
city,” SQNLDR Parsons said. “It took a lot of coordination with
Brisbane Air Traffic as well as effort from the people who launched
and recovered the jets at Amberley and didn’t get to see the event
live.
But it was definitely all worth it. It was a huge rush although
a bit of a blur because I was concentrating so hard on what was
going on in the jet.” The pilots also made a big impression on
the masses below.
One observer was overheard to say the following day: “I think
the whole of Brisbane wants to be an F-111 pilot or navigator
now.”
