Bendigo Senior Secondary School students have come as close as possible to flying one of the nation’s front line fighters in the lead up to next month’s Australian International Airshow 2017.
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The RAAF is part way through a tour of regional Victoria, giving students the chance to fly a F/A-18F super hornet simulator.
The tour has given students in years 11 and 12 the chance to get up and personal with planes the RAAF used for air interception, air combat, close air support of ground troops and interdiction of enemy supply lines including shipping.
Bendigo Senior Secondary College students had their turn on Tuesday.
After being briefed on cockpit controls and how to read the head up display students headed to the simulator.
RAAF flying officer Daniel Fisher said teams of four students carried out a battlefield simulation, with two piloting a plane and two coordinating using radar and other combat tracking equipment.
“The whole point is for us to go to schools, engage with the youth and have a bit of fun. We want to give them an experience to learn about something they might not have had an opportunity to do before,” he said.
Student Jake Singleton was one of the students who touched down after a session in the custom-built simulator.
“I’d like to be part of the RAAF as a pilot. I like the idea of flying fast planes and looking cool while doing it,” he said.
Jake said he was attracted to flying because of the freedom it promised.
“Just being up in the sky and looking down on the world, it’s like nothing can bring you down. You are by yourself without anyone over your shoulder,” he said.
RAAF officer cadet Ellie Gray said the visit would give students a taste of careers available to school leavers.
“Mainly students want to be pilots. A lot of them don’t know about other roles they could pursue, such as becoming an air combat officer,” she said.
Officer cadet Gray said these officers worked with pilots, operating with sophisticated electronic systems and making mission-critical command decisions.
She also talked to students about other critical roles including those performed by flight controllers.
“Hopefully (it will) motivate them to work hard in their final school years in order to be competitive for these exciting careers,” she said.
The simulator will head to Ballarat, Shepparton and Melbourne in time for the airshow at Avalon Airport, Geelong.
The Australian International Airshow 2017 takes place from Friday 3 March to Sunday 5 March 2017. To find out more click here.