By Mackenzie Holland
Thousands of people will be treated to some spectacular sights on Saturday, 26th October as opens its gates for a Community Open day _ the first since 2016.
It took just a few hours for enthusiasts to snap up the 13,000 free tickets initially released. A smaller batch of 3,000 tickets released on Tuesday (15th October) were snapped up within 30 minutes.
For those who are unable to get on the base on the day there will still be some spectacular movement in the skies over Richmond with flaypasts by a C-130J Hercules, C-27J Spartan and a Hawk 127 Lead-in Fighter.
There will be a 9am-12pm session and a 12pm-3pm session. A Defence media spokesman the flypasts would be during the morning session and the afternoon session subject to weather conditions.
“We are also hoping to have a handling display by an F-35A Lightning II fighter during each session,” he said.
“The Hawkesbury community has been supporting operations at RAAF Base Richmond for nearly a century and the open day will be a great opportunity for Australian Defence Force personnel from the base to meet with the local community”, he said.
Attendees will get to experience getting up close to ADF aircrafts such as air combat, air mobility and surveillance aircrafts as well as a whole range of military vehicles.
There is also the opportunity to meet and talk with people in all different areas of the Defence Force. The RAAF base will also be home to a range of locally sourced food vendors for the day.
Live displays on the day, permitting good weather, will give patrons the opportunity to experience static displays, flypasts, and watching their Military Working Dogs in action. The ADF recommends that due to the low-level flypasts that are planned, attendees bring their own hearing protection, especially for children.
RAAF Base Richmond was activated as a RAAF station on the 30 th of June 1925, when No. 3 (Composite) Squadron’s first 3 aircraft arrived there as part of the relocation of the unit from Point Cook in Victoria.
RAAF Base Richmond is now home to Number 37 Squadron and is best known for being home to the C-130J Hercules medium transport aircraft.
The base has always been a big part of the Hawkesbury community. The spokesman said: “We were expecting there would be some pentup demand from Hawkesbury residents and Sydneysiders more broadly, given it’s been a long time since an open day was held at the base.”
The last time the RAAF base was open to the public in a similar capacity was a Charity Open Day in which they hosted the NSW Kids in Need Fundraiser/Open House in May of 2016.
