Mirage Tullamarine Knees Up, Any Idea For, date please?

[Luig]

No date for wheelsup at Tullamarine. Any clues for date please? Tah:

"A3-16 Mirage IIIO(F) Delivered 18/06/65. Served with 75 Sqn Williamtown NSW. Served with 76 Sqn Williamtown NSW. Served with ARDU. Served with 77 Sqn Williamtown NSW. Damaged on wheels up landing at Tullamarine VIC. Written Off. Pilot; Nick Ford a FLTLT or SQNLDR at the time with ARDU. Under restoration at Classic Fighter Jets Museum, Parafield SA."

GOT IT AT:
http://www.classicjets.com/c_Mirage.html

"A3-16 landed wheels up at Tullamarine Airport, Victoria, in Oct 1974 and was converted to components for disposal in 1986. The Mirage airframe has survived scrapping over the years and was finally acquired by CJFM in 1992. It was brought to the CJFM hangar in 1996. Despite enormous difficulties in finding Mirage airframe parts, sufficient components were gathered to ensure the restoration of this beautiful aircraft.

A3-16 saw service with the Aircraft Research and Development Unit and is now painted in original RAAF Aircraft Research and Development Unit colours and markings."

This post has been edited by Luig on Feb 11 2008, 05:56 PM

[Matt Woody Wood]

Hi Luig. The date was the 24th of October, the pilot was flgoff/fltlt? Nick Ford. My Father actually had to guard the Aircraft that night.

This post has been edited by Matt Woody Wood on Feb 11 2008, 08:04 PM

[Luig]

Woody, Thanks. Now next question. Does anyone know the circumstances? Was it a deliberate wheelsup? I guess from subsequent 'BEEPER' retrofit that it was not but I'm guessing here.

[Matt Woody Wood]

I heard that he simply forgot to put the wheels down. One big oops!

This post has been edited by Matt Woody Wood on Feb 11 2008, 11:28 PM

[Martin Edwards]

Forgive me if the facts are not 100% but I seem to recall RAAF aircraft used to regularly perform touch and goes at civilian airports as a flag waving/PR gesture. Then one day the RAAF starting recieving landing charges from the airports and the practice stopped. I think this was the case with A3-16 but it turned into a touch and no go. Didn't it land on its drop tanks? Fact or fiction?

[Dave Masterson]

Martin..yes it did land on its drop tanks. I've got a photo or newspaper article about it here somewhere. Misjudged the approach I guess.

[Matt Woody Wood]

Apparently on this day there was a trainee Air Traffic Controller on duty and he didn't tell the pilot to check that he had three green lights(landing gear down). My Father was talking to the fireies later that day an they said that the pilot was sitting on the wing tip before the aircraft had even stopped, and when it slowed down enough he jumped and ran. One of the fire trucks had to chase after him . He was the only pilot in the world to survive a Mirage belly landing, as when any of our Mirages had undercarriage problems the pilots bailed out.

[Luig]

Woody,
That is a great detail. With high landing speed I wonder if this Mirage had tanks? They would have been empty I guess. Belly landing would not have been nice at that high landing speed of a Mirage.

Can understand hurry to get out. I had a deliberate night droptank arrested landing when the small amount of fuel vapor in the drop tanks ignited with a big flash that I could see in the mirrors and of course all around and I was out of the A4G so quick people could not tell that I had run to the edge of the runway to turn around to see what happened. It was nice to get out straight onto the runway without needing the precarious Skyhawk ladder.

The PDF here has the story: (7Mb?)
http://www.adf-serials.com/research/ramp-strike.pdf

This post has been edited by Luig on Feb 17 2008, 09:58 PM

[Matt Woody Wood]

Wow, don't blame you. This Mirage did land on it's tanks, it was fitted with the 110 Gal Supersonic tanks. I have a picture of the jet on the ground after the landing that I got out of a magazine, I'll get a mate of mine to scan it and I'll post it up.

[Luig]

Thanks. Good to know. Empty tanks on Mirage probably helped it survive.

[Matt Woody Wood]

Here's the picture.
[IMG]http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb222/woodziee/CCF02182008_00000.jpg[/IMG]

[Luig]

Woodsy thanks for dramatic photo. I have taken the liberty to upload it here again.

Attached Image

[gordon]

Empty fuel tanks can still cause a fire, as there is a tendancy for some reminent fuel vapour in them which of course can ignite if the tank(s) are ruptured.

PS I'd be running too.... :o

Gordon

[Martin Edwards]

...didn't know the RAAF Antarctic Flight had ski equipped Miracles!!!!!! :D

[Luig]

Here is an account of a FHantom touch and go OUCH:

http://www.angelfire.com/extreme/raafphantoms/RAAFF4E.htm

"Another incident involved a wheels-up touch and go, which was more embarrassing for the crew as the damage was minimal. The aircraft touched down on the 374 gallon tanks and went around after the horrible noise. The crew then lowered the gear and landed normally. The damage was limited to a new set of tanks and inboard flaps, which were replaced the next day and after a few ground checks, the aircraft was back in the air three days later. The F-4E was built like a truck."

This post has been edited by Luig on Feb 24 2008, 05:05 PM

[swilsmac]

Piloted by (then) Flying Officer Peter Condon (don't know who the nav was).

This post has been edited by swilsmac on Feb 28 2008, 11:50 AM

[Luig]

Thanks. Any idea out of curiosity what happened to this pilot subsequently? Probably he went on to be CAF? :blink: :D

[mark]

Phil,
Are you wondering what became of the Mirage A3-16 pilot at Tullamarine or about the F-4E pilot Pete Condon....if you go to

http://www.angelfire.com/extreme/raafphantoms/RAAFF4E.htm

and go to Phantom Phlyers Page 1 it states Pete Condon also flew RAAF Mirages,
served as Forward Air Controller during the Vietnam War and was later WGCDR Pete Condon. I do'nt know about the Mirage pilot.

Regards Mark

This post has been edited by mark on Feb 29 2008, 01:57 PM

[Luig]

Thanks again Mark. Just curiosity more than anything else. Good to know about the arrestor gear details. I did not know the current Amberley gear is recessed? I guess that is only for the short field gear? OR long field gear also? Having the long field gear UP means that it is there for emergency stops for aborted takeoffs and no need for tower to be super reactive. Short field gear would usually have some notice before it was going to be used.

See discussion here: (Amberley arrestor gear history)
http://www.adf-serials.com/invboard/index.php?showtopic=931

This post has been edited by Luig on Feb 29 2008, 03:04 PM

[Demon50]

The pilot of the Mirage was Nick Ford.

Don't know his rank or how his career progressed (finished ?) after this incident.

[Matt Woody Wood]

I read an article dated 1998 and Nick Ford was still in the RAAF and at the rank of Air Commodore.

[Luig]

Thanks all.