Blessed from above
Hornet crews from No. 77 Squadron managed to break the Temora Aviation Museum’s attendance record and a four-year drought when they flew into town for the local air show.

PTE John Wellfare reports

Avionics Technician LAC Les Isaac clears the flightline after preparing a 77SQN Hornet for a high-speed taxiing demonstration.

XO 77SQN SQNLDR Philip Eldridge taxis past spectators at the Temora flying weekend.

OC 81WG GPCAPT Bill Henman.

Flying weekend visitor Simon Matthews with his sons Lucas (left), six, and Oliver, 10.

77SQN Aircraft Technician SGT Doug Cook.

Spectators at the Temora flying weekend brave the wet to watch a Hornet ground display.

XO 77SQN SQNLDR Philip Eldridge builds up speed on the Temora runway. No display flying could be performed on the weekend due to the wet weather.

Photos by PTE John Wellfare

WHEN OC No. 81 Wing Group Captain Bill Henman touched down in his home town of Temora for the local aviation museum’s flying weekend, he brought with him two F/A-18s and the region’s first substantial downpour in four years.

The heavy rain lasted the entire weekend and was welcome relief for locals in the drought-stricken region of central western NSW, but kept the flying weekend grounded due to low visibility.

It didn’t bother most visitors – the Temora Aviation Museum recorded its highest-ever attendance rate for the flying weekend, with about 2300 people coming through the gates to see the collection of vintage aircraft alongside the Air Force’s fast jets.

Getting the Hornets to the show for the first time ever had been a cooperative effort between 81WG and the Temora Aviation Museum.

In the end, hard work by both organisations, an extension to Temora’s runway and high-level support within Defence came together to get two F/A-18s from No. 77 Squadron along for the regional event.

For GPCAPT Henman, the chance to fly a Hornet into the town in which he grew up was like an impossible childhood fantasy come true.

“It’s obviously very exciting to get that opportunity, but I knew that a few moons would have to line up to make it happen,” he says.

“They had extended the runway, there was a lot of [ADF] support for the event and the Meteor was flying – which is an attachment to 77SQN – so I was hopeful. Once it went from possible to probable I made sure I was at the front of the line to get in.”

As the OC of 81WG, one of the few positions in the Air Force that allow a group captain to fly an F/A-18, GPCAPT Henman couldn’t resist jumping into the pilot’s seat for the event.

“You’ve got to be careful [as a group captain], you don’t need to be hogging the limelight,” he says. “When we have our aircraft go away to the Grand Prix or the AFL Grand Final for example, they’re the events that I let the young blokes go and do to get the experience with that kind of thing.

“Having had that kind of approach, I don’t feel too guilty taking this opportunity now and, if I don’t take this one, it probably won’t happen for me again, because my next job probably won’t be a flying job.”

No. 10 Flying Training School was based at Temora to train new pilots on Tiger Moths during World War II, and the town still bears some reminders of the military link in its street names and the museum, which focuses on Australian military aviation.

The museum’s marketing manager, Lisa Love, says the flying weekend had been especially exciting for the people of Temora, and nobody seemed to mind that the planned aerial display couldn’t go ahead.

“They’re excited to see the F/A-18s, but I think a lot of them are pretty excited that it’s raining too, so they’re not going to complain too much,” she says.

“We’ve had the Roulettes two or three times now and we had the Navy Skyhawks before they were decommissioned, so we’ve had support from the Services before, but it’s a first for the F/A-18s.”

According to CO 77SQN Wing Commander Alan Clements, the unit’s participation in the flying weekend had been a great recruiting opportunity, despite the weather.

“The recruiting people said they had a great day in terms of what they felt were genuine applications,” he says.

“[The museum staff] were ecstatic about us being there, but it’s a great opportunity for us to go and see the vintage aeroplanes – the Meteor, the Mustang, the Spitfire, the Boomerang and everything else there – the museum is world-class in terms of what they’ve got and how they maintain it.”

Both the museum staff and the Air Force personnel are keen to get the Hornets back to Temora next year. In the meantime, everyone’s hoping the rain will stick around for a little longer.

 

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