Sydney Olympics 2000
F-111 Aardvaark at the Sydney Olympics 2000
After getting special permission from a nervous civil aviation authority an RAAF F-111 was granted permission to fly at under 500 feet altitude - practically IN the stadium during the closing ceremony. As it passed over the flame the pilot engaged afterburner and then dumped fuel, resulting in the trademark 100 foot plus trail of fire - as if a chariot of the gods had picked up the flame on the way to Greece.
![Video © 2006 - MiGMan's Flight Sim Museum - - - - - - - - - - www.migman.com - - - - - - - - - - - The video will play automatically when it has loaded.]()
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Small video - 2.19 MB
As it flew 14 kilometres towards the Sydney Harbour Bridge it was accompanied by a sea of flame as the Parramatta River seemed to explode - with fireworks every 500 metres.
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AUSSIE HUMOUR...
Sydney Olympics 2000 -
Most news reports at the time attributed the flame to the F-111 "afterburner". However I found one reporter who had dug a bit deeper and got an explanation of how 'dump and burn' works. After a few paragraphs the reporter got carried away and, probably encouraged by the (RAAF ?) wag supplying the info, concluded with the statement :
"The F-111 is the only aircraft flying with "dump and burn technology"
Picture: David Grey/Reuters.
The real story -
The F-111 streaks seaward trailing a fiery tail of a fuel dump occuring while the afterburner (reheat) is engaged. This was probably done the first time as a result of pilot error. When the aircraft didn't explode, and after reports from ground observers or another pilot, the technique was worked into RAAF air displays.
Over the years people have suggested it was a method of decoying Infra Red guided AA Missiles - but as an F-111
navigator put to me - "The last thing you want when evading a missile is 100 feet of flame coming out your rear!"
>>> movie of the F-111 dump and burn
>>> F-111 Aardvark
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