Williamtown RAAF Base and Fighter World: the perfect mix of the past, present and future

And after a brief interaction of seeing an aircraft fly over, you'll go about your day.

But have you ever stopped to think more about why Williamtown, NSW was chosen as one of Australia's key Air Force bases and what it means to Port Stephens?

The Port Stephens Examiner visited the Fighter World aviation heritage centre, nestled right next to the base, and sat down with vice president and ex-pilot Dick Coleman, who took us for a fly down memory lane.

From the early days of the Air Force, to seeing the developments in just how far aircraft has come, Mr Coleman knows it all, so buckle up and get ready for take off.

Welcome aboard! You're sitting at a window seat and here's where you meet your pilot, Dick Coleman.

When Mr Coleman was asked why he joined the Air Force and what he loves about aeroplanes, he responded with what he described as the only appropriate answer: "What's not to love about aeroplanes?"

"Everybody loves aeroplanes, they are just fascinating. It's amazing we can get such big machines off the ground and into the air," he said.

"These days they're highly technical. The F-35A is Star Wars in an aeroplane."

Mr Coleman joined the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1977 and had a 13 year stint before joining the airlines.

"It was the best job I ever had."

His career varied with the RAAF, starting as a VIP Pilot in 34 Squadron.

"In Canberra I was flying prime ministers any visiting dignitaries basically. I've flown King Charles around a number of times. That's my claim to fame," he said.

He then came to Williamtown where he learnt to fly the Mirage.

"Then I went to Butterworth for two years flying the Mirage in Malaysia. From there, I did an exchange tour in the UK on an aircraft called the English Electric Lightning in the mid 80s," he said.

With 22,000 flying hours notched in his belt, Mr Coleman said soaring the skies felt nothing but natural.

"It feels quite normal to me because I've done it so many times. I was mainly nervous about the checklists the first time I flew one," he said.

"I don't think you can get terribly scared of aeroplanes. I just love them too much."

He said getting out of a daily car and climbing into a Formula 1 racing car was the equivalent of being in a high performance aircraft.

"There's more horsepower in one of those than in the entire Formula 1 starting grid," he said.

Mr Coleman said today's Air Force is very different to what it was back in his days.

"Today, we have a much more modern aeroplane and a much more complicated situation in the world," he said.

"When I was there, probably the only confrontations we had were Indonesia in the Konfrontasi. The Vietnam War was over so it was a relatively quiet time.

"Whereas now it's very unstable around the world you never know what is going to happen. It's quite a different era."

How are you doing? Are you still with us? Pay attention because this is where you find out why Williamtown is so important.

The Air Force wasn't born until 1921. Prior to that, it was part of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF).

The Williamtown base was born out of World War II and was originally going to be developed as a civil airfield, Mr Coleman said.

"Broadmeadow was the airfield where the Hunter Stadium is - that was actually an airport at one stage but it's surrounded by canals so the runways were limited in length," he said.

When aeroplanes got to the size of the Douglas DC-3, Mr Coleman said they were "getting too big to land on that piece of strip".

The RAAF searched for another site, looking to house a civil airfield at Tomago and Hexham, but eventually settled in Williamtown on February 15, 1941.

"Around the same time the second world war was starting up and the minister for Defence took over all the airfields in Australia, and determined Williamtown was going to be a Defence airfield," Mr Coleman said.

Today the RAAF Base Williamtown situated on 739 acres, is Australia's main fighter pilot training base and houses most of Australia's fleet of F-35A Joint Strike Fighters.

RAAF Base Williamtown is also responsible for the Salt Ash Air Weapons Range which is located approximately 6km to the north-east of the base. Due to its location it's ideal for air-to-ground attack training of pilots.

"Squadrons from other areas like Bankstown, Richmond will come and use these ranges because they're the only ones available they can train," Mr Coleman said.

We're taking a detour now and heading down memory lane.

Given the Williamtown base's major influence, there was a need for somewhere to house proud history displays of fighter aircraft operations in the RAAF, including parts and equipment, uniforms, photographs and memorabilia.

Located just a 20 minute drive north of Newcastle and 30 minutes south of Nelson Bay, the aviation heritage centre is conveniently located near the entrance of the RAAF Base Williamtown and Newcastle Airport.

Today, it's a popular tourist attraction where many visitors come to have their 'Top Gun' moment.

Across two hangars, visitors can walk around, touch and look into the cockpits of famous aircraft like the Mirage III, the Avon Sabre, the Gloster Meteor, the first Vampire jet built in Australia and the mighty F-111.

There is a Hawker Hunter, WWII Spitfire replica, a Messerschmitt replica and much more.

Mr Coleman said there was also an opportunity to sit in the cockpit of a Mirage interceptor and Macchi jet trainer and experience first-hand what it's like to be one of Australia's 'Top Gun' pilots in today's hi-tech world.

But it's been a long trip to get where it is today.

Fighter World's origins extend back to 1983 when the history of fighter operations were situated in an old, run down building and according to Mr Coleman - not large enough to house aircraft.

"The deterioration of historic aircraft left on open display at the main gate was of great concern, there were no other buildings on the base that could be used so a long term plan was developed," he said.

In 1988 Fighter World qualified for a grant under the Federal Government's Steel Regions Program in which $500,000 was provided for the construction of the main hangar.

It was fortunate timing with the original museum building declared a structural and fire hazard in 1989.

In 1991 the new display centre was opened with its distinctive arched hangar as the centrepiece.

Mr Coleman said the decision to advance beyond the idea of a simple museum was based on tourist appeal and a desire to avoid confliction with the aims of the RAAF museum at Point Cook.

"Today the display at Fighter World is fundamental to the telling of the Air Combat Group story and the Defence of Australia."

Now here's the cool stuff. Consider it the added extras of your flight where you get to take an in depth look at some seriously cool air craft.

Mr Coleman reckons planes are "pretty cool" and he knows all about the famous aircraft exhibited across two hangars at Fighter World.

Supermarine Spitfire MK VIII

Starting at World War II in one hangar, there are two Supermarine Spitfire MK VIII replicas.

The propeller driven aeroplanes were formed in Britain in 1941 and over 1200 Spitfires were delivered to RAAF squadrons between April 1941 and October 1945.

"They were actually defending the north of Australia and were part of No 4 squadron which exists today," Mr Coleman said.

A fun fact about these aeroplanes is the covering on the wings which are made out of Irish linen.

"The wings are covered with a paint called dope and when dried, it tensions the wings which gave them strength," Mr Coleman said.

A79-1 single seat Vampire

The A79-1 single seat Vampire came about in 1945 at the end of the second world war and is a plane of significance according to Mr Coleman.

"It was the first jet engine aeroplane ever constructed in Australia, it was a changeover from the old wooden aeroplanes with piston driven engines into a jet engine," he said.

He said the uniqueness about this aircraft was its metal wings and wooden fuselage.

"For the first time they could actually make alloys strong enough and light enough to use on an aeroplane up until then they had to use wood, they didn't have a choice," he said.

"This aeroplane was the start of a whole new era."

Gloster Meteor

In 1951 The Gloster Meteor made its mark in RAAF history going into action with No 77 Squadron in Korea.

"77 squadron was based here at Williamtown and at the end of the second world war was sent to Japan to be part of the British Commonwealth Occupational Forces," Mr Coleman said.

"So they were in Japan for quite some time until the Korean War started. They went to the Korean War with Mustang aeroplanes (propellor driven aeroplanes) and they were outperformed by the latest Soviet Mig fighter that the Chinese were using at the time."

Mr Coleman said Australia desperately needed something "a little bit faster and more potent" and the only aeroplane available was the Meteor.

"They purchased meteors from the UK which went straight to Korea, they didn't come to Australia first," he said.

Due to its straight wings, the RAAF found it was slower than the Mig and unable to be used for air defence.

"Instead they used it in ground attack where it was very successful doing that," he said.

The Gloster Meteor was delivered to the RAAF on May 11, 1953.

Sabre

The Sabre is an American design, built by the Australian Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC).

"It's been heavily modified to take a Rolls Royce Avon engine which had a lot more power than the US Air Force engine," Mr Coleman said.

The first Australian built Avon Sabre flew on August 3, 1953 and during its test flight it became the first aircraft in the country to break the sound barrier.

Later they were modified to carry Sidewinder heat seeking air-to-air missiles.

"No longer did you have to be very close to the aeroplane you were fighting against, you could be further back and fire a missile at it," Mr Coleman said.

He said the CAC Sabre performed much better than the USAF Sabre.

"They were quite envious of our production aircraft."

P.S we can't forget this icon...

The Raymond Terrace Sabre

The Raymond Terrace sabre is an aircraft dear to the hearts of many locals.

For 31 years it stood at Bettles Park before it was moved to Williamtown in 2013 where it was carefully restored to its former glory by museum volunteers and support funds from Raymond Terrace Lions Club and Port Stephens Council.

Mirage

The first Mirage III prototype flew in 1956. A3-3 (IIIO) was a single seat fighter and the first Mirage assembled in Australia and delivered on March 13, 1964.

The aircraft served with the Aircraft Research and Development Unit at RAAF Edinburgh in South Australia before being transferred to RAAF Williamtown where it was operated by 76 squadron, 2 OCU and 77 squadron before being withdrawn from service on March 31, 1987.

The two seat version (IIID) A3-102 was delivered in November 1966 and served at 2OCU and 77 Squadron at RAAF Williamtown.

The Mirage 3-0 is what Mr Coleman used to fly when he was in the Air Force.

"It was armed with guns and we could also put bombs and missiles underneath the aeroplane as well. I flew the Mirage to New Zealand so that's even more special," he said.

CAC Winjeel

The Winjeel was made by the CAC and it was the forerunner to the Pilatus PC-9/A (F).

"It was a basic trainer as well then got a bit of engineering done to it at Williamtown," Mr Coleman said.

"It was a very slow aeroplane and only did about 120 knots but did go a long way. We used to go from here [Williamtown] quite often to Rockhampton and Townsville and occasionally to the NT."

Here's where we shift into the modern era of aircraft in the other hangar:

Pilatus PC-9/A(F)

While the Pilatus PC-9/A (F) was used as a basic trainer in the Air Force, it was converted at Williamtown.

"It was converted into an aeroplane that we could use to teach the Hornet drivers how to do forward air control and close air support positions," Mr Coleman said.

He said the Pilatus was used to assist radio communications between the Army and Air Force.

"We needed somebody that could do both sides and that's what we did in this aeroplane. The Army would give us targeting information and we'd convey that into something the F-18 Hornet drivers could use.

In November 2019 the aircraft ceased operations and was transferred to Fighter World for display on March 17, 2020.

The F/A-18A Hornet

"This was a magic aeroplane," Mr Coleman said.

The F/A-18A is a US Navy aeroplane and was flown to Australia, landing at RAAF Williamtown May 17, 1985.

"It still has a launch bar on the front wheel they used to use as carriers. The beauty of it for us was, that it's a fighterground attack aeroplane, it was very good at shooting down other aeroplanes and just as good as dropping bombs on targets," Mr Coleman said.

Mr Coleman said technology has dramatically changed aeroplanes making them simpler to fly.

"Even though it's a bigger, fast, complicated aeroplane, it is much easier to fly than the Mirage was for example, I've flown quite a few times in the Hornet," he said.

Its single seat design also allowed the pilot to concentrate on the weapons system radar, trying to find the enemy, Mr Coleman said.

"The pilot doesn't have to worry about flying the actual aeroplane."

The aircraft flew a total of 5663 hours, rotating through all the current fighter squadrons (No 3, 75 and 77), before being retired in December 2020 at RAAF Base Williamtown.

Your almost at your destination, for now ... welcome to the future.

"I grew up in the era of aluminum, alloy, screws and rivets, small jet engines, missiles that were good ... but nowhere near where they are nowadays," Mr Coleman said.

He says it's "just magic" in today's hi-tech world when it comes to the standard of aircraft.

"Even from the world war two plane to the F-18's which have only just retired - we've gone from wooden bracing wire and fabric covered wings to an aeroplane that's basically made out of carbon fire," he said.

"We've gone from speeds of 200 kilometres per hour to speeds of around 1600 kilometres per hour."

The F-35/A Joint Strike Fighter replaced the F/A-18A Hornet aircraft with a fifth-generation fighter aircraft designed to meet Australia's future air combat needs.

"The F-35 today has a huge 40,000 pound thrust engine and that's way bigger than any aeroplane or fighter type aeroplane engine we've had in the past," Mr Coleman said.

With seven million lines of code that drive the aeroplane, he said it was capable of some amazing things.

"It's very quick, but its beauty is the electronics. That is by far the greatest number of code out of any fighter anywhere in the world," Mr Coleman said.

"They're all linked so they can talk to each other electronically, they share information to each other, they track things with each other and you can shoot a missile from another aeroplane nearby."

You've reached your destination, we hope you've enjoyed the fly down memory lane.

So the next time you're driving past the RAAF Base Williamtown, take in the views and the adrenaline.

"Everybody loves aeroplanes they're just fascinating, it's amazing that we can get such big machines off the ground and into the air," Mr Coleman said.

"The F-35 is Star Wars in an aeroplane."

The Williamtown RAAF Base and Fighter World are the perfect mix of the past, the present and the future.

Fighter World is open from 10am-4pm every day, except for Christmas Day.

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