On the Saturday, we went & caught up with a mate (who I won't name because all my other mates may well get their noses out of joint because we slipped in & out of town without visiting) for lunch. Next time clan. I promise. That night was a family and family friends seafood feast at mum & dad's. Enjoyable & delicious at the very least.
Just before dinner, Kerri & I wandered up the road to the Toowong Cemetery for a nice outlook over the city for the fire works spectacular to come. We weren't alone. There were at least 50 living people (and the usual residents) with the same idea just in the small area we were.
Back in the day..... there used to be a fireworks show every year that included fireworks set off from barges on the Coronation Drive reaches of the river and culminated in an F-111 flying low along the river & performing a dump & burn on the way out. Back then it was called the FM104 Sky Show.
The current era version involves fireworks being fired from barges & buildings from the Storey Bridge to the Regatta, but still involves the F-111 dump & burn. The current version is called the "River Fire". We were lucky enough to be in Brisbane on the weekend when the River Fire was on.
The F-111 Dump & Burn is unique to this particular aircraft. For those not in the know, the F-111 has the ability to do an emergency dump of fuel from its tail that is then ignited by the exhaust of the aircraft. When they do it at night its quite the sight. The last one I saw was at RAAF Pearce near Perth, but it was a day time affair. This year there were two & they lit up in clear view of us despite being some kilometres away from us. It was no less spectacular.
This year was the last time the F-111s will close the show because the government/RAAF are retiring these old war birds that first saw service in the Vietnam war. They were a key instrument in the gulf wars but are now a maintenance nightmare & will be replaced in the next few months with Super Hornets.
After briefly buzzing the city they headed straight toward us & over our heads & into the stratosphere. As we were walking back to the house, we could smell the burnt Jet A1 in the air. All very exciting & not just for me. It was one of a few unexpected bonuses from the trip.
