Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Watch an Australian C-17 weave between skyscrapers in ‘insane’ video
Task&Purpose ^ | 23 Sept 2021 | DAVID ROZA

Posted on 09/25/2021 6:25:57 AM PDT by DUMBGRUNT

An RAAF C-17 Globemaster III rehearses a flyby through the skyline of Brisbane Australia on Sept. 23, 2021 in preparation for a demonstration in the Sunsuper Riverfire festival.

In a video posted to the unofficial U.S. Air Force subreddit on Thursday, you can watch as an RAAF C-17 zooms between skyscrapers in Brisbane, Australia, while some enthusiastic onlookers drop some very colorful commentary behind the camera. The fly-by, which happens regularly as part of the annual Sunsuper Riverfire festival, was a practice run ahead of the formal event scheduled to take place on Saturday, according to a RAAF press release.

For that reason, U.S. C-17 pilots must fly 1,000 feet above structures in populated areas, he explained. There is a special approval process for doing flyovers for sporting events, but even then, they cannot fly below the tops of buildings.

“Those Brisbane videos are insane,” the pilot said. “We could never do something like that in the USAF. If we did, we would lose our wings immediately — never fly again.”

American C-17 pilots do practice low-level flights in canyons at 300 feet above ground level, but canyons are not filled with people the way skyscrapers are. Still, the pilot could not help but acknowledge that the Australian stunt, as insane as it is, is also a little “badass” too.

(Excerpt) Read more at taskandpurpose.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Military/Veterans; Travel
KEYWORDS: aviation; balls
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-30 next last
"If the pilot's good, see, I mean if he's reeeally sharp, he can barrel that baby in so low... oh you oughta see it sometime. It's a sight. A big plane like a '52... varrrooom! Its jet exhaust... frying chickens in the barnyard!"
1 posted on 09/25/2021 6:25:57 AM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: DUMBGRUNT

Getting ready to mow down those protesters...with rubber bullets of course.


2 posted on 09/25/2021 6:32:38 AM PDT by frogjerk (I will not do business with fascists)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DUMBGRUNT
Direct Link To Video
3 posted on 09/25/2021 6:39:02 AM PDT by Robert DeLong
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DUMBGRUNT

This was all over Twitter the Australian Air Force confirmed this is camera tricks the C17 is practising for an annual airshow it is flying low over the river that runs through Brisbane and they have done this show for years now. The camera perspective give the impression it’s over the city but it’s safely over the water. The American pilot “off the record” is hyperventilating over a nothing burger.


4 posted on 09/25/2021 6:40:03 AM PDT by JD_UTDallas ("Veni Vidi Vici" )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DUMBGRUNT

Ah. Buck Turgidson.


5 posted on 09/25/2021 6:40:57 AM PDT by Vaquero (Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: frogjerk

—”Getting ready to mow down those protesters...with rubber bullets of course”

And rubber bombs for the antivaxers holed up in their home.


6 posted on 09/25/2021 6:42:24 AM PDT by DUMBGRUNT (("The enemy has overrun us. We are blowing up everything. Vive la France!"Dien Bien Phu last message)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Vaquero

—”Buck Turgidson.”

The General knew and loved his fleet.


7 posted on 09/25/2021 6:44:15 AM PDT by DUMBGRUNT (("The enemy has overrun us. We are blowing up everything. Vive la France!"Dien Bien Phu last message)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: DUMBGRUNT
"What's your problem, peasants? We'll decide what's safe for you.
Why don't you just shut up and get back in your house, before we have to rough you up.
We own the sky above your head, just like we own the streets now.
What are you gonna do about it, shoot us down?

8 posted on 09/25/2021 6:44:54 AM PDT by ZOOKER (Until further notice the /s is implied...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Vaquero
"...Oh my G-d.

He just might make it."

9 posted on 09/25/2021 6:45:39 AM PDT by OKSooner (Always say, "After the fair trial".)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: DUMBGRUNT

I recall the American Lt Col B 52 pilot that flew hot shot crazy and crashed his jet killing everyone on board. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-S_NM—evM


10 posted on 09/25/2021 6:51:33 AM PDT by Midwesterner53
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: JD_UTDallas

Long lens aka telephoto will compress distance making objects appear much closer to each other than they are.
News outlets do this all the time to make crowds look large when they are actually spread out and small.

Example Biden events


11 posted on 09/25/2021 7:04:37 AM PDT by Bell Bouy II
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: DUMBGRUNT

They’re having a festival? I thought I kept reading around here about how locked down they are.


12 posted on 09/25/2021 7:12:59 AM PDT by KrisKrinkle (Blessed be those who know the depth and breadth of ignorance. Cursed be those who don't.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DUMBGRUNT

They’re having a festival? I thought I kept reading around here about how locked down they are.


13 posted on 09/25/2021 7:13:09 AM PDT by KrisKrinkle (Blessed be those who know the depth and breadth of ignorance. Cursed be those who don't.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Midwesterner53

I saw a similar situation as I was approaching the airport where we were hangaring our airplane only on a much smaller scale. I saw a large single engine general aviation aircraft departing the airport at a high angle of attack, it then made a steeply banked turn just off the end of the runway. It’s nose dropped and the plane went straight into the ground. I drove directly to the still burning wreckage directly and assisted the lone firefighter/maintenance man with the foam truck.

The plane had been filled with 7 skydivers and the pilot. The pilot was a young guy who was showing off. Everyone we saw in the wreckage was of course dead and burned beyond recognition. Plane crashes can often be very ugly business.

The families of the dead skydivers sued the engine manufacturer claiming that it had malfunctioned, causing the crash. As an eye witness I was deposed by a group of attorneys. What a spectacle that was! Every attorney present knew that the lawsuit was a farce but the attorneys looking for the big payoff went after me with a vengeance. But I was told afterwards that it was all for show. Despite the bent up prop indicating that the engine was producing full power on impact, the engine company still paid to keep the suit out of court.


14 posted on 09/25/2021 7:26:15 AM PDT by fireman15
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: JD_UTDallas
Here’s a link to another video from inside a skyscraper showing it flying along the river. But, at the end, it IS mighty close to the buildings. The people in the building are rather astonished.

Australian Air Force Globemaster cruises low through Brisbane, startling onlookers

15 posted on 09/25/2021 7:28:00 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom ("If I’m going to get my political views from those who chase balls, I’ll ask my dog.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: frogjerk

A ‘Spooky’ Herc works WAY better! (And I’m sure the RAAF has been practicing.


16 posted on 09/25/2021 7:33:23 AM PDT by A Formerly Proud Canadian (Ceterum autem censeo Justinius True-dope-us esse delendam)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: JD_UTDallas

I used to know a guy who was a crew chief on a C-17. He said they referred to the C-17 as “a fighter jet on steroids” due to its maneuverability.


17 posted on 09/25/2021 7:37:52 AM PDT by hoagy62 (DTCM&OTTH)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: DUMBGRUNT

Negative, Ghost rider! the pattern is full! Mav snickers about here. Woulda lost my wings upon exiting aircraft.


18 posted on 09/25/2021 7:48:37 AM PDT by halfright (His will be done, not mine. But HAMMER THE HELL OUT OF VOTER ID...mention it everywhere!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: hoagy62

They sure beat being cargo in a C130 man was not ment to fly.on lawn furniture. For being such a large jet it has impressive short field performance. Not as good as a 130 but not the pavement queen the C5 is.


19 posted on 09/25/2021 8:28:02 AM PDT by JD_UTDallas ("Veni Vidi Vici" )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: DUMBGRUNT
The old Kai Tak (Hong Kong) airport had an instrument approach to runway 13 that turned 47° at the middle marker to maintain clearance with buildings and hills. The approach course was 88° to the MM, then turned right to 136°. Plus you couldn't follow the glide slope after the MM because it didn't guarantee terrain clearance. You had to have VMC by the MM and continue visually or break off the approach ...

FREE photo hosting by Host Pic.Org - Free Image Picture Photo Hosting

... which resulted in a lot of this ...

FREE photo hosting by Host Pic.Org - Free Image Picture Photo Hosting

And this wasn't a once-in-a-while thing, this was all day, every day. For a time Kai Tak's rwy 13/31 was the busiest in the world, up to 36 landings and departures an hour. Plus it's a major international destination so it was mostly "big iron."

There's a decent write-up on it at the Atlas Obscura.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/kai-tak-hong-kong-airport-scary-landing

20 posted on 09/25/2021 8:29:57 AM PDT by Paal Gulli
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-30 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson