Post by corsair67 on Sept 26, 2006 13:03:31 GMT 12
A wanky piece from The Australian today about the Treasurer's spin in a Hornet.
I think it's great that he did it, as a flight like that is pretty hard on someone who hasn't done this kind of thing before.
Anyway, he's a lucky bugger: I wish it'd been me given a ride in that Hornet!
Mission improbable: Costello's fighter flight
Samantha Maiden, Political correspondent
September 26, 2006.
PETER Costello emerged pale-faced and bleeding from the ears yesterday after nearing the sound barrier in an FA/A-18 Hornet fighter test flight he described as "the ride of a lifetime".
Travelling at speeds of more than 850km/h over Williamtown in NSW, the Treasurer was strapped into an anti-gravity suit to protect against potential flight side effects such as blackouts during turns and manoeuvres.
It was a case of, "Does my bomb look big in this?" as Mr Costello expressed pre-flight jitters that he was too fat to fit into a cockpit that had been personalised by painting his squadron-assigned nickname "Treas" on its side.
"I don't think I've got the right physique ... for the RAAF. But that's not the story - the story is how brave I was to try," he laughed. "I'm putting my life in your hands."
After the warning, "Everyone vomits and everyone shits themselves", the deputy Liberal leader downed an omelette and sandwiches before rigging himself up for a flight in which his body would withstand six times the force of gravity.
His Top Gun adventure began with an invitation from defence force chief Angus Houston to take a test ride in the $25million fighter and see where $3billion of taxpayers' money was spent upgrading the 71-strong Hornet fleet between 1995 and 2009.
A wobbly legged Treasurer emerged from the dogfight exercise ashen-faced but happy.
"That's the ride of a lifetime. You're just going straight up and straight down and taking out targets in the middle," he said. "I wouldn't do it for fun. We apparently hit six Gs during one of the combat parts. I tell you, you can feel it.
"The good news is we took out all the enemy aircraft, we hit our two targets and we won the dogfight on the way back."
Still, it wasn't an experience he was keen to repeat. "Oh, you've got to have a strong stomach for that," he moaned. "A strong stomach and strong ears."
Commanding officer Joe "Vinnie" Iervasi said Mr Costello's ear injuries were caused by his helmet. "I think he scratched his ear just putting it on," he said. "I didn't hold back on what we were doing out there. He held on pretty well. We got up to 540 knots - that's about 850 kilometres an hour."
Mission accomplished, the Treasurer wasn't keen to climb into the cockpit again. "I think I'll leave it a couple of days before my next Hornet flight, if that's all right," he said.
The joyride didn't come cheap, using 4500 litres of fuel at a cost of about $6000. But Mr Costello insists he hitched a lift in normal operations and didn't put an extra burden on the RAAF budget.
I think it's great that he did it, as a flight like that is pretty hard on someone who hasn't done this kind of thing before.
Anyway, he's a lucky bugger: I wish it'd been me given a ride in that Hornet!
Mission improbable: Costello's fighter flight
Samantha Maiden, Political correspondent
September 26, 2006.
PETER Costello emerged pale-faced and bleeding from the ears yesterday after nearing the sound barrier in an FA/A-18 Hornet fighter test flight he described as "the ride of a lifetime".
Travelling at speeds of more than 850km/h over Williamtown in NSW, the Treasurer was strapped into an anti-gravity suit to protect against potential flight side effects such as blackouts during turns and manoeuvres.
It was a case of, "Does my bomb look big in this?" as Mr Costello expressed pre-flight jitters that he was too fat to fit into a cockpit that had been personalised by painting his squadron-assigned nickname "Treas" on its side.
"I don't think I've got the right physique ... for the RAAF. But that's not the story - the story is how brave I was to try," he laughed. "I'm putting my life in your hands."
After the warning, "Everyone vomits and everyone shits themselves", the deputy Liberal leader downed an omelette and sandwiches before rigging himself up for a flight in which his body would withstand six times the force of gravity.
His Top Gun adventure began with an invitation from defence force chief Angus Houston to take a test ride in the $25million fighter and see where $3billion of taxpayers' money was spent upgrading the 71-strong Hornet fleet between 1995 and 2009.
A wobbly legged Treasurer emerged from the dogfight exercise ashen-faced but happy.
"That's the ride of a lifetime. You're just going straight up and straight down and taking out targets in the middle," he said. "I wouldn't do it for fun. We apparently hit six Gs during one of the combat parts. I tell you, you can feel it.
"The good news is we took out all the enemy aircraft, we hit our two targets and we won the dogfight on the way back."
Still, it wasn't an experience he was keen to repeat. "Oh, you've got to have a strong stomach for that," he moaned. "A strong stomach and strong ears."
Commanding officer Joe "Vinnie" Iervasi said Mr Costello's ear injuries were caused by his helmet. "I think he scratched his ear just putting it on," he said. "I didn't hold back on what we were doing out there. He held on pretty well. We got up to 540 knots - that's about 850 kilometres an hour."
Mission accomplished, the Treasurer wasn't keen to climb into the cockpit again. "I think I'll leave it a couple of days before my next Hornet flight, if that's all right," he said.
The joyride didn't come cheap, using 4500 litres of fuel at a cost of about $6000. But Mr Costello insists he hitched a lift in normal operations and didn't put an extra burden on the RAAF budget.
I can not stand that snearing smiling 
prick 
, he will become blood and bone fertilizer for the soil ;D.
