CAC Plant Reports 1938, numbers 12 – 22

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1911 Captain Joseph Joel Hammond flew a Bristol Boxkite biplane over a site that today forms part of today's Sydney Airport on 18 April 1911. The flight lasted less than 10 minutes and reached a height of around 40 metres. Source: Sydney Morning Herald, 17 April 2011, 100 years of Sydney Airport flying by Isabel Hayes

1980 The inaugural Ansett Airlines Townsville-Singapore flight departed on 18th April 1980. This was one of the first international flights operated by Ansett. Boeing 727-277A VH-RMO was used for the flight. Source: Ansett Airlines Museum

1980 The inaugural Ansett Airlines Townsville-Singapore flight departed on 18 April 1980. This was one of the first international flights operated by Ansett. Boeing 727-277A VH-RMO was used for the flight. Source: Ansett Airlines Museum

1999 The RAAF F-111G (A8-291) of 6 Squadron crashed in to a small island near Malaysia with the loss of its two aircrew on the evening of 18 April 1999. SQNLDR Anthony ‘Shorty’ Short and SQNLDR Stephen ‘Nige’ Hobbs were the lead aircraft in a two-ship maritime strike mission in a Five Power Defence Agreement Integrated Air Defence Exercise in the South China Sea. Flying low level for a simulated maritime strike, the aircraft struck tall trees on a ridgeline and then crashed in jungle on Pulau Aur, a small island in the South China Sea, about 65 miles off the east coast of Johore, Malaysia. The two aircrew were experienced, with pilot SQNLDR Short having over 1,000hrs on F-111 and a graduate of the United States Navy Test Pilot School. SQNLDR Hobbs, the navigator, was the 6SQN Executive Officer and had over 1,000hrs on F-111 and Tornado aircraft, and had seen active service whilst on exchange with the RAF in operations over Iraq. Fifteen General Dynamics F-111Gs were acquired during the 1990s to extend the life of the F-111C fleet by saving flying hours on the F-111C. The F-111Gs were different to the F-111C and thus of more limited operational use but served a purpose in training and exercises. The F-111Gs were retired in 2007 with the F-111C retired by the end of 2010. Today, one F-111G (A8-272, known as the ‘boneyard wrangler’ due to the way it was revived from parts at a USAF storage facility) remains on display preserved for heritage purposes at the RAAF Museum. Of the 28 F-111Cs and 15 F-111Gs, the RAAF lost 7 F-111Cs and 1 F-111G in crashes with the loss of 10 aircrew. The crash on 18 April 1999 was the last RAAF F-111 crash. On 18 April 2019 a service was held at RAAF Base Amberley Memorial Gardens to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the F-111G crash and the loss of the two aircrew. Source: Air Force Association, SA Division