Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Air Commodore, Head of Air Shows Micka Gray has all the details on the Mindil Beach flypast as part of Defence Exercise Pitch Black

Transcript

Air Commodore, Head of Air Shows Micka Gray has all the details on the Mindil Beach flypast as part of Defence Exercise Pitch Black · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now I think that we all know Exercise Pitch Black
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: is well and truly underway. It's an exciting time to
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: be in the top end and an exciting time to
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: see all the various different aircraft flying around and some
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: of the you know, I think the first time that
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: I sort of moved here, when I saw some of
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: the different aircraft, I was thinking what is going on?
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: But as part of that as well, there's some wonderful
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: community events. Now joining me in the studio to tell
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: us a little bit more about what we can expect
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: is air Commodore Mecca Gray from the Royal Australian air
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: from the Royal Australian Air Force.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Meka.
• 0:33
  Speaker 3: Good morning Katie. Thanks for having me on your progrem.
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: Lovely to have you here.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Now.
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  Speaker 2: I know that you are also the head of air
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: Shows with the Air Force.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: If that's not the coolest title and possibly the coolest
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: job going, I don't know what is.
• 0:45
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's pretty good air picture.
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  Speaker 1: Now. I know you've been involved in a lot of
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: different exercises, I mean over thirty six years of experience
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: on fighter bomber aircraft. Tell me about some of the
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: aircraft that you've piloted.
• 0:59
  Speaker 4: So I spent many years on the Fine eleven, which
• 1:02
  Speaker 4: we retired back in twenty ten. But many of your
• 1:04
  Speaker 4: listeners would remember those. The great fighter Bomber is to
• 1:06
  Speaker 4: do the Duffin Burn and then Super Honnets after that.
• 1:10
  Speaker 4: So it's just but the Superhanet is just one of
• 1:12
  Speaker 4: the multiple aircraft we have here for pitch black, which
• 1:15
  Speaker 4: your listeners would probably hear is underway starting this morning.
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah, what's it like flying those aircrafts?
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: Oh, it's great, best offers in the world.
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: I bet it would be. I said to you when
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: you came in.
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  Speaker 1: You obviously don't suffer from motion sickness in any way,
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: shape or form to be flying planes like that.
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: Are out.
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: No, it's too busy doing a real job though.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: That's good now I know that there is so much happening.
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: There is so many different countries here for exercise pitch black.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: Now you're in charge of the shows this time around.
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  Speaker 1: But how many of these exercise pitch blacks have you
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: been involved in?
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  Speaker 4: I probably done over six or so over the years.
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  Speaker 4: The exercise started back in nine to eighty one Australian
• 1:48
  Speaker 4: exercise and then we had the Americans singa friends, we're
• 1:51
  Speaker 4: here and we goes and over the years it's just
• 1:53
  Speaker 4: grown to fourteen our seventeen countries because we've got some
• 1:56
  Speaker 4: of the best flying airspace.
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  Speaker 3: It's huge.
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  Speaker 4: It's the size of a European countries. That's why it
• 2:01
  Speaker 4: attracts so much international engagement countries.
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  Speaker 1: And is it because of the dry weather and that
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: kind of thing that makes it good at this time
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: of the year as well?
• 2:08
  Speaker 4: It is, Yeah, so we deliberately do it in the
• 2:11
  Speaker 4: dry so we don't have to worry about the thunderstorms
• 2:13
  Speaker 4: and recovery. The program next week and the week after
• 2:16
  Speaker 4: will we be a day and then night flying which
• 2:20
  Speaker 4: exercises different challenges in that Mikka.
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: For some of those countries that are here sort of
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: for the first time, what do they say when they
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: get here and they experience, you know, what it's like
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: to be in the Northern Territory in the airspace that
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: they're flying in.
• 2:31
  Speaker 4: Well, the best thing is and they come to darl
• 2:33
  Speaker 4: and it's like nowhere else in Australia, right, So we
• 2:34
  Speaker 4: push that and they really enjoy seeing dar and know
• 2:38
  Speaker 4: what it is. The flying, as I said, is magnificent.
• 2:40
  Speaker 4: So what we as part of the the exercise which
• 2:43
  Speaker 4: is three weeks, but we really are The thing that
• 2:46
  Speaker 4: I'm involved in is the community engage event. So people
• 2:48
  Speaker 4: see these aircraft taking off, wonder what we do making
• 2:50
  Speaker 4: lots of noise, interrupting kids and families, which we understand
• 2:53
  Speaker 4: it's necessary training. But so this Thursday should be where
• 2:56
  Speaker 4: Mindle Beach markets. We're doing over an hour of flyinging,
• 3:00
  Speaker 4: fly past and flying displays over the beach, so anywhere
• 3:04
  Speaker 4: from East Point Long Fanny Bay, but predominantly at Mindle Beach.
• 3:08
  Speaker 4: Get down there by five o'clock and an hour flying.
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: What exactly are people going to say?
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  Speaker 4: So we'll start off with some of the fighter aircraft
• 3:16
  Speaker 4: coming through, and then we've also got the air refueling
• 3:19
  Speaker 4: tanker aircraft which are an Airbus A three thirty. Effectively
• 3:22
  Speaker 4: there's multiple thing, so some of those will be coming
• 3:25
  Speaker 4: past with their fighter aircraft behind them simulating air refueling.
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and then then we'll do.
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  Speaker 4: Lots of orbits and a bit of maneuvering, and then
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  Speaker 4: the F thirty five, our latest Air Force fighter, we'll
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  Speaker 4: do a fifteen minute display to finish off the event
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  Speaker 4: just before sunset.
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  Speaker 2: Are you going to be flying? Not, it's just going
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: to be directing everyone.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, how cool is it for the community and how
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: important is it do you think for the community to
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: actually get to see this up close and personal.
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  Speaker 4: I think it's really important for the community because we've
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  Speaker 4: got an international community at Raft based Darwin in the moment,
• 3:57
  Speaker 4: seventeen countries more around the world now Asia and Europe
• 4:00
  Speaker 4: and Darwin, you know, being so multicultural and visitors. So
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  Speaker 4: the second event we're doing on Saturday this Saturday out
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  Speaker 4: at the Wrath Base at Darwin is an open day,
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  Speaker 4: so effectively an air show, not flying, but all the
• 4:11
  Speaker 4: aircraft and all the participants will be there in.
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  Speaker 3: Front of their aircraft.
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  Speaker 4: So people about engaged with not only Australian Air Force
• 4:17
  Speaker 4: but Air Force people from around the world.
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  Speaker 1: So is it a highlight for you guys as well
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  Speaker 1: for the community to sort of to be able to
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: come up and have a chat to you and to
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: learn a little bit more about what you do.
• 4:29
  Speaker 4: Yeah, it really is, because you know, you operate from
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  Speaker 4: a base and people forget they're actually part of the community.
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  Speaker 4: So people come up and ask it all sorts of
• 4:35
  Speaker 4: questions and they talk about their father, their mother that
• 4:38
  Speaker 4: was in the Air Force.
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  Speaker 3: You know, what do we do?
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  Speaker 4: You know, and it's interesting just trying to explain what
• 4:44
  Speaker 4: we do answering their questions and then to see them
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  Speaker 4: engaging with our partners, our international partners, is just really good.
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's such a wonderful thing.
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  Speaker 1: And you know it's something that I've never experienced living
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: in any other part of Australia, but here in the
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: Northern Territory in Darwin. You know, that relationship with Defense
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: and with the other countries is just phenomenal.
• 5:00
  Speaker 4: Yeah, and you know we acknowledge it's a big impact
• 5:02
  Speaker 4: on Darwin. And you know there's only a major exercise
• 5:04
  Speaker 4: training size up here on a couple of months ago,
• 5:06
  Speaker 4: so yeah, you know we're not immune to that.
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: We understand.
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  Speaker 4: As I said, there's noise and impacts on it, but
• 5:11
  Speaker 4: it's essential training. It's really good training, and you know,
• 5:15
  Speaker 4: we want to engage the community. So I've come down
• 5:17
  Speaker 4: to middle on the Thursday, then come out to the
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: Air Force base on the Sunday.
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: It sounds like it's going to be fantastic.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: So so Thursday obviously is the fly pass so people
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: will be able to see. Oh, it sounds like it's
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: going to be a lot of fun and a lot
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: of different things to say yeah, and then obviously on.
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: Saturday, did you say yeah? Saturday?
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: So they can get it up close and personal, have
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: a will they be able to have a look inside
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: those aircraft.
• 5:40
  Speaker 4: Some of the bigger ones, some of the bigger ones
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  Speaker 4: to cargo aircraft will have the rear ramp doors open
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  Speaker 4: and can walk through the fire aircraft.
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: They'll get close enough to do warry.
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: I'm not going to ask if I can fly the aircraft.
• 5:52
  Speaker 4: So for the for the open day or this Saturday,
• 5:55
  Speaker 4: just want to talk to your listeners. Park They need
• 5:57
  Speaker 4: to park at the showgrounds and they'll be free shuttle
• 6:00
  Speaker 4: busses from there, so they won't be able to drive
• 6:02
  Speaker 4: into the Air Force bace. But we've got all the
• 6:04
  Speaker 4: parking down there at the front of the showgrounds and
• 6:06
  Speaker 4: we'll bust people back and forward. It's open all day
• 6:08
  Speaker 4: nine to four. People can come for as long as
• 6:10
  Speaker 4: they wish a couple of hours and wander around talk
• 6:12
  Speaker 4: to people. Not only the aircraft, we'll have military working
• 6:15
  Speaker 4: dog displays and the whole range of other ground stuff
• 6:17
  Speaker 4: as well.
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: Oh, how cool. Sounds like it's going to be a
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: fantastic event. Will Mica Gray, it is lovely to speak
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: to you this morning. I really appreciate your time and
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: you're taking you taking your time to come in and
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: have a chat to us and a chat to our
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: listeners about how they can get involved in exercise pitch
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: black because I think that the you know, the community
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: all understand that the exercise is underway, but being able
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: to sort of be part of it, you know, see
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: a little bit more up close and personal about what
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: you guys do, I think is a wonderful thing.
• 6:43
  Speaker 3: Thanks Coatie Man. Look for to seeing as many of
• 6:45
  Speaker 3: your listeners there on Thursday night, and I reckon.
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: It is going to be packed. I think you're going
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: to get a great turnout. So yeah, wonderful stuff. Good
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: on you, Mika, Thank you