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Speaker 1: We know that the Royal Australian Air Force fly over

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Speaker 1: at Mindle Beach this evening. It's happening, and we've also

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Speaker 1: got the open day on Saturday. But look, it's not

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Speaker 1: just a flyover. I think you'd have to say this evening,

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Speaker 1: it is going to be pretty spectacular. More than forty

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Speaker 1: five military aircraft from Australia and other nations are going

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Speaker 1: to take to the skies putting on a show for

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Speaker 1: market goers. It'll kick off, as I understand it, from

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Speaker 1: five o'clock this afternoon. Now joining me in the studio

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Speaker 1: to tell us more is the head of Air Force

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Speaker 1: Air Shows air Commodore Mika Gray. Good morning to you, Mica.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie. Morning listen. It's great to hear again.

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Speaker 1: Great have you in this studio. It sounds like it's

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Speaker 1: going to be incredible. It's going to be a massive

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Speaker 1: show tonight, is Nash.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. We put a lot of effort in this and

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Speaker 2: the best part is that every international country that's here

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Speaker 2: pitch black is flying in this display. So an hour

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Speaker 2: and a half, twenty one different acts as we call it,

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Speaker 2: forty five aircraft so starting off for the OSPRE doing

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Speaker 2: a hovering display of the tilt raider aircraft, and then

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Speaker 2: the list goes down through every country and finishing at

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Speaker 2: six point thirty where a super hornt full aerobatic display

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Speaker 2: just on sunset.

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Speaker 1: Do you reckon? People will have seen anything like this

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Speaker 1: before in the skies.

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Speaker 2: It's similar to twenty twenty two, but there's more aircraft

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Speaker 2: and a longer period. So no, not for the Dame,

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Speaker 2: because there's countries here that haven't even been to black before,

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Speaker 2: p ANDNG, Spain, Philippines with aircraft. Italy of course, Italy

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Speaker 2: is had in carriers here as well, and they're one

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Speaker 2: of the headline acts in the middle of the show

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Speaker 2: with their harriers and their F thirty five is doing

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Speaker 2: hovering displays.

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Speaker 1: How cool? I mean, what do you think is going

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Speaker 1: to be the highlight? It's probably hard for you to

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Speaker 1: pick out a favorite.

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Speaker 2: Is it. Yeah, there's something for everyone. So we'll start

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Speaker 2: off with the hovering. Then a lot of the big

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Speaker 2: airy fueling and other special purpose aircraft will come through

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Speaker 2: and they'll do basically just a fly past, and then

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Speaker 2: some of them have got their fighter aircraft will do

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Speaker 2: an orbit and then some of the ones will do

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Speaker 2: more displays. So yeah, it's going to be great.

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Speaker 1: Now you may have already said this, so apologies if

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Speaker 1: you have already said it, But so how many aircraft

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Speaker 1: is it going to be? Exactly just over forty five?

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Speaker 1: Just over forty five? How difficult is it to sort

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Speaker 1: of manage that?

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Speaker 2: It's what we do, is what air forces do, and

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Speaker 2: the whole thing with pitch Black. It's a complex exercise,

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Speaker 2: you know, bringing together so the missions that we do

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Speaker 2: for the real training down off over the top end,

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Speaker 2: you know, they're quite complicated. This is relatively simple. This

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Speaker 2: is just a demonstration of core skills for all the

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Speaker 2: all the pilots and AIRCREA participating.

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Speaker 1: And you mentioned then like the hovering and some of

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Speaker 1: the different things that they're going to do. Is there

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Speaker 1: going to be sort of air to air refueling and acrobatics?

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Speaker 1: I don't know what the right words are here.

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Speaker 2: The first so the British air refueling aircraft, the big

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Speaker 2: airbus A three thirty effectively will have two fighter aircraft

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Speaker 2: behind it. They won't be connected to the hoses, but

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Speaker 2: it will be simulating that and then the airy fueler

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Speaker 2: will keep going and the fighters will do an all

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Speaker 2: that and come back around again. So to get an

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Speaker 2: impression on what that looks.

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Speaker 1: Like and how far like, how far and wide are

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Speaker 1: people going to be able to catch a glimpse of

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Speaker 1: the show.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, So the aircraft will come in from the north

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Speaker 2: over the water just near east Point Hug the coast

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Speaker 2: around Fanny Bay, so those cliffs area there will be

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Speaker 2: good viewing and then Mindle Beach itself is the main

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Speaker 2: center of the show. And then they'll keep going to

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Speaker 2: Cullen Bay and then they'll come back to the airport.

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Speaker 2: So East Point, Fanny Bay, Middle Beach and Cullum Bay

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Speaker 2: are all good doing.

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Speaker 1: Spots and Mindle Beach is going to be busy, so

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Speaker 1: I would suspect I'm guessing people really need to try

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Speaker 1: and get there quite early.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, we expect that car park will fill up by

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Speaker 2: three thirty ish and it'll be closed. There's active traffic management,

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Speaker 2: so look for the signs both the people that are

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Speaker 2: going to the show and also for commuters coming home.

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Speaker 2: There'll be active traffic on Tiger Brennan and the Stuart Highway.

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Speaker 2: That whole Stuart Highway out of town will be busy,

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Speaker 2: so Tiger Brennan and even going the long way around

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Speaker 2: to the lorldon Suburbs might be good, Amy Johnson and

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Speaker 2: then back around to the north. So the traffic controllers,

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Speaker 2: parking attendants, signs look for all that and if I

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Speaker 2: can say, ABC Radio will provide the updates for the traffic.

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Speaker 1: Okay, now tell me in terms of people not being

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Speaker 1: able to attend, will it be live streamed as well?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so the Air Force Military Broadcast team will be

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Speaker 2: down on the beach during a live stream on a

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Speaker 2: Royal Australian air Force YouTube channel Reason to find So yeah,

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Speaker 2: for those if people can't get there, you'll see video

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Speaker 2: and audio from the beach.

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Speaker 1: And if they're not able to get there tonight, tell

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Speaker 1: us what's happening on Saturday in terms of the open

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Speaker 1: day and what people can expect there.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so out at the Air Force basis Saturday, non flying,

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Speaker 2: but an open day with all the aircraft, about thirty

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Speaker 2: aircraft types on display and a range of other military equipment.

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Speaker 2: We've got a huge, big circus tent out there. It's

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Speaker 2: got simulators, virtual reality, various displays, food hall, we've got

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Speaker 2: working dog displays, raft bands and bomb demolition protection. The arrangement. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: and partners from the community as well. We've got the

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Speaker 2: police out there and Border Force another asset now.

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Speaker 1: And it is a bit different logistically in terms of

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Speaker 1: getting out there on Saturday's Nash.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, main parking for the open day on Saturday will

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Speaker 2: be at the showground and then a free parking ride

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Speaker 2: in from there. All people can park around that Winelli

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Speaker 2: General area and then walk in via the water tower.

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Speaker 1: Now, what's that link? If people do still need to

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Speaker 1: get tickets.

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Speaker 2: Air Force dot gov AU ill search for Pitch Black

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Speaker 2: Open Day and it'll come up there. It's through Ostik's

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Speaker 2: o z tix and I think we're the number one

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Speaker 2: hit on there at the moment. Tickets are selling out.

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Speaker 2: We expect they'll probably fill up today.

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Speaker 1: Yeah right, so get in get in there today to

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Speaker 1: get those tickets. Now, saying this to you off air,

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Speaker 1: what I've been what's been sort of I would imagine

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Speaker 1: for you guys, quite nice and quite a welcoming sort

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Speaker 1: of feeling as well. Is over the last few days

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Speaker 1: I've noticed that there's been cars parked up, you know,

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Speaker 1: just off Baggott Road watching all the aircraft. If you

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Speaker 1: go around even near the airport round towards Marara, there's

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Speaker 1: cars parked up there. I know that there are plenty

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Speaker 1: of them along Amy Johnson as well. Is it nice

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Speaker 1: for you guys when you do come to a place

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Speaker 1: like Darwen where it seems as though the city really

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Speaker 1: gets behind what you're doing.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, they certainly do and the local stopping in, but

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Speaker 2: that we know there's visitors from around Australia that are

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Speaker 2: a year in town and go, oh, go and watch

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Speaker 2: those aircraft because you know, it's a pretty big demonstration

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Speaker 2: of Australia and our partnerships with like minded countries here

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Speaker 2: for Pitch Black and when they can see those aircraft

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Speaker 2: up close and then come to the show tonight or

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Speaker 2: on the open day, it's really good and yeah it's

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Speaker 2: rewarding to see. But you know, we're part of the

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Speaker 2: community and we support community where you know, that's what

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Speaker 2: the Rural Australian Air Force and the Australian Defence Force

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Speaker 2: is all about. Absolutely.

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Speaker 1: Well, I'm sure it's going to be a fantastic event

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Speaker 1: this evening and of course on.

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Speaker 2: Saturday as well.

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Speaker 1: Head of Air Force Air Shows air Commodore Mika Gray.

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Speaker 1: Always good to catch up with you. Thank you so

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Speaker 1: much for your time. Thanks Katie, thank you