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 The Sydney 2000 Olympic Games closed in a blaze of glory in October when two F-111 strike aircraft from RAAF Air Base Amberley in Queensland, Australia, executed spectacular fire displays over the crowd in Olympic Stadium. The first jet, piloted by Wing Commander Dave Steele from Murwillumbah and navigated by Squadron Leader Geoff Harland from Adelaide, performed the popular “dump and burn” sequence in which jet fuel is released from a vent between the engine exhaust cones and ignited by the heat from the massive twin engine afterburners. The sequence is performed exclusively by the Australian F-111s. An hour later, a second jet, piloted by Flight Lieutenant Andrew Buttsworth from Nambucca Heads and navigated by Flying Officer Brad Machan from Cairns, soared over the Sydney Harbour Bridge trailing a 200-meter-long flaming tail to signal the start of a massive fireworks display. In addition to honoring the close of the Olympic 2000 Games, the F-111 performance also honored the F-111 crew killed in Malaysia in April last year, Squadron Leaders Stephen Hobbs and Anthony Short. |
