V8 Supercar drivers Todd and Rick Kelly recently had a date with two F/A-18 Hornets at RAAF Williamtown.
In preparation for the recent Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 V8 Supercar race, Jack Daniel’s Racing drivers Todd and Rick Kelly flew up to the Royal Australian Air Force Williamtown base, near Newcastle in NSW, for a flight in a pair of F/A-18 Hornets.
The brothers Kelly are both avid aviators themselves – Todd holds a CPL and owns a Piper Chieftain that he flies to V8 Supercar races, while Rick holds a rotary wing licence. But they both went above and beyond any of their previous aviation accomplishments when they clambered into the F/A-18 Hornets with members of Number 2 Operational Conversion Unit, the RAAF’s Fighter Combat Instructor unit.
“I don't know whether to laugh or cry to be honest, it's like nothing else,” Rick said after the flight. “It's out of this world. I've always wanted to go in a fighter jet and it's completely different to what you expect. My body can't handle that sort of stuff. I'm not used to it and you start to feel queasy pretty quickly.
“It was everything I expected and more. I might fly a bit but I wouldn’t call myself a pilot after witnessing that. Some of the maneuvers we pulled were just so impressive. The acceleration that the thing has got is quite incredible. We went over the speed of sound, which is something I've always wanted to do so for me it was quite exciting.”
Todd expressed similar sentiments after pulling 6.5G while completing air combat maneuvering and low altitude passes.
“I don't even know what to say, I'm still wobbling around,” Todd enthused. “Just to feel how sharp it is and how smooth it is when it goes through clouds. Even when you are going extremely fast you can hardly even hear the engines. It’s an amazing bit of equipment.
“It’s unbelievable how the thing turns and just goes ‘bang’ and pushes you into the seat. Everything starts to go a little bit black towards the end of a turn. It's just insane what these things can do. I expected it to be pretty special but it just blew me away. You get out of a V8 Supercar half-buggered after a race, but I'm more worn out just being a passenger in that thing with the G loading.”
Machine Vs Machine – specs comparison
Jack Daniel’s Holden Commodore VE II V8 Supercar
Engine: 5.0-litre Holden Motorsport fuel-injected V8
Power: 635 horsepower to maximum 7500rpm
Dimensions: 4.9 metres length, 1.2m height, 1.8m width
Weight: 1355kg (without driver)
Top Speed: 301km/h
Range: 150km (without pit stop)
Ceiling: nil
Weapons: Front bumper bar, four doors
Electronics:
- MoTeC engine management system
- MoTeC LCD data display
RAAF F/A-18 Hornet
Engine: Two low-bypass F404-GE-400 turbofans
Power: 7258kg thrust per engine (14,516kg total)
Dimensions: 17.1metres length, 4.7m height, 12.4m wingspan
Weight: 10,660kg basic, 20,412kg maximum load
Top Speed: Mach 1.8 (2200 km/h)
Range: 2700 km (without mid-air refueling)
Ceiling: 45,000 feet
Weapons:
- AIM-120 AMRAAM active radar guided missiles
- AIM-132 ASRAAM
- Harpoon anti-ship missiles
- conventional and laser-guided bombs
- M61 20mm nose-mounted cannon
Avionics:
- Hughes APG73 multi-mode radar
- GPS
- inertial navigation system
- VHF omni-directional range/instrument landing system
- two mission computers
- head-up cockpit display
- multi-functional LCD displays