Dragon 22

[blacktown]

Just arrived in Port Macquarie this arvo about 2.30pm (0430UTC) and noticed that the RAAF were carrying out in-air refueling exercises overhead at high altitude, going around in "laps" for at least an hour.

I recognised the A330 military tanker straightaway, followed closely by a tiny Super Hornet jet fighter but unfortunately i wasnt able to get a photo.
I guessed about 20,000ft. Turns out on Flightradar24.com, they were at 23,000ft ... callsign "Dragon 22" - Airbus KC-30A A330-203MRTT serial no 39/002 doing laps between Taree and Port Macquarie.

About 3.30pm (0530UTC) Dragon 22 returned to Amberley and I figure the Hornet went back to Williamtown.


Blacktown

[SteveO]

That would have been awesome to see. Do you have CC? You might get lucky. I have heard aircraft but don't know if it would work if they were really high?

[blacktown]

Following on from yesterday I was waiting at 2.30pm and like clockwork they turned up (it appears that they were in the area doing "laps" a little earlier). Managed to get some good pics with the video camera. I could have sworn i saw four super hornets FA18 with the eye but could only see three following in the pictures i took - maybe one had peeled away. They came out pretty good consider they were almost 8km above me. Unfortunately i left my usb cable in Sydney, so I cant upload until Friday night. I didnt bother with scanning military UHF this arvo but I will try to next time (possibly as early as tonight given the information on flightradar24.com suggests day and night training this week)

Blacktown

PS Only Super Hornets can refuel in mid-air. The original hornets cant

[blacktown]

Dragon 22 has just taken off from RAAF Amberley about 6.25pm tonight (0825UTC), so it looks like they are coming back for night training.

Hearing them on 301.5Mhz about 7pm onwards overhead Port Macquarie. Dragon and Colt callsigns.

East Coast Air Defence Exercise (ECADEX 13)
http://www.airservicesaustralia.com/aip ... 13-h77.pdf
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/ ... 9883_o.jpg
http://www.macleayargus.com.au/story/17 ... n-kempsey/

[blacktown]

There was four hornets when I had a look at the pictures i took

Blacktown

[railsquad77]

Dragon 16 airbus A330 flying over kingaroy Qld at 33000 feet 550kms now

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[Pumper_50]

PS Only Super Hornets can refuel in mid-air. The original hornets cant

Given this thread was highlighted in another thread I just thought I'd add that the RAAF Classic Hornets (F/A-18A & B models) have always been able to carryout mid-air refuelling.

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[blacktown]

Cant find the original source where i got that information from
I do recall reading that there were refueling issues during acceptance testing with one of the australian mrtt being flown by a french airbus crew .... maybe it was just relating to that problem
It was serious enough to delay handover

[Pumper_50]

A boom fell off the tail end during a test flight.

http://australianaviation.com.au/2011/0 ... oses-boom/

Our new tankers can refuel via boom or hose/drogue depending on aircraft type.

Also don't forget our old 707's used to refuel our classic Hornets via hose/drogue configuration.

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