FRIDAY morning saw the flying in of F/A-18 Classic Hornets into the Williamtown RAAF Base.

Returning from the Northern Territory-based Exercise Diamond Storm, the jets conducted a ‘Dawn Strike’ on the RAAF base and provided quite the show for locals keen to do a bit of jet-watching.

For locals brave enough to face the frosty morning, a delight of the senses was to be had with RAAF Fighter Jets maneuvers.

For locals who prefer the warmth of their beds or a leisurely coffee in the morning, the sound of the jets served as an alarm clock for the day, with the roar of the engines hitting areas in and around Medowie just after 7am.

Dawn Strike represents the culmination of six months of hard work and intense study for students on the inaugural Air Warfare Instructor Course (AWIC).

Readers of News Of The Area sent in their photographs of what they snapped during the morning.

Aviation photographer, Mr Glen Greathead, took some stunning shots of the Classic Hornets as they flew overhead.

Peter Peck took his young son to see the jets and told News Of The Area, “Declan loved watching them even when covering his ears.”

“It was well worth the early morning cold.”

Kelly Oldham-Smith was able to catch shots of the fast moving jets with the morning sun blazing behind.

Richard Genge went with his wife and daughters to see the jets, with his wife saying, “We got up at 5am this morning to watch 35 jets fly over.”

“The girls loved it!”

Shirley Benn was enthusiastic about her experiences watching the jets, telling News Of The Area, “It was a brilliant experience being there.”

“We were there at 5am even though we knew the first ones would be leaving around 6am.”

“We watched about 20 take off in the dark then they all came back around 7am.”

“The sound, the speed, the smell, the thrill of it all is what motivated us to get up early and go there in the cold.”

 

By Heather SHARP