The mighty F/A-18 Hornets returned for a second display of precision formation flying. And they certainly were making plenty of noise! Flying more modern jets has added a new element to the show which originally concentrated on older planes. The F-111 was another impressive visitor from Australia which appeared in the previous two air shows.
In 1981 the Royal Australian Air Force selected the F/A-18 in preference to the F-16 and they were first operational in 1985. Its a very flexible aircraft and is capable of air interception, air combat, air suport of ground troops, and interdiction of supply lines.
The final run was really impressive. The four Hornets flew over unexpectedly, low and fast (1000 km/h according to the commentary) and the sound was awesome (in the true sense of the word).
Use the controller to watch a movie of the F/A-18 Hornets flying in formation over the stands.
Make sure you have the sound on too so you can experience the awesome sound! This movie requires a modern browser supporting HTML5 and is fairly large (about 800K).
Sources: Wikipedia, Warbirds Over Wanaka 2010 Programme.
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