changa

Trent, just one point the third photo down, A/C 6, has been taken from a mates web site and you (or someone) have cropped off the copyright for the image, I have nothing against people using images to show stuff (re the longer gun diffuser muzzle in this case) but please do not cut off the printed copyright for the image. I know the gent who took that photo personally and it has taken many years to gain his trust to borrow his slide collection to scan not only that image but many others. I do not wish to loose this trust (and valued freindship), so if you are going to post the photos all I ask

Phil, the Deltas (1971) were a mix of "lizard" scheme jets ( re matt olive drab and extra dark sea grey) and the first of the "standard scheme jets ( re semi gloss olive drab, extra dark sea grey and light gull grey). The three white, red and blue jets (painted for the RAAFs diamond jubilee in 1981) were not an official aerobatic team in the same sense as the Deltas were. If you can get you hands on mine and Darren Mottrams "Mirage IIIO-colours and markings" it has everything you need to do both schemes if you wish, contact the publisher, Roger Wallsgrove, at the below http://www.mmpbooks.

what the pilots are SUPPOSED to do and what some of them do is two different things. In short aircrew that fly high performance jets (or any jet where a helmet and oxy mask is used) should have their mask in place from start up to shut down, if not the mask should at least be in place for the whole flight from takeoff to landing. You have to remember that the mask is there to supply comms as well as Oxy, also you don't want it hanging to one side if you have to eject

sorry for the tone in my previous post Karl, but being a life support fitter (16 years and counting) I get a bit P#$^&% off when I hear that aircrew don't used their life support equipment properly. I'm sure you take pride in what you do in the cockpit, so do my troops and myself in making sure the flight gear works as advertised always, don't have a choice really because if our gear fails you pilots are in deep s@#%. Remember the old life support motto "your life is in our hands".... I'll get off my soap box now....

Look, the jackets are set off by a small explosive cart, that cart is electrically activated and can be set off by all sorts of electrical devices including mobile phones given the right conditions, but what would I know, I only work on the gear everyday, so I have no idea......

so you scoot around the sky in a viper with no mask on........glad i'm not working on your life support gear...we used to have a Hornet jock over here that used to do that......yes USED TO...I'm sure you can work out what happened to him, hypoxia is a real bummer.....

and I suggest you come and try it and see what happens with our jackets, don't get me started, I work on the stuff and have seen it happen. Also the reason that mobiles are not supposed to be used on our hercs ect is that they can play havoc with nav aids and the like

mobile phones not allowed anywhere near the flightlines in Australia, and the the life preserver used by our jocks is inflated by a small charge that is electrically initiated, so no mobile phones turned on in the jet or you could have the pryotechnics going off and inflating the jacket, also no mobiles or things like laptops or discmans are allowed to be used when flying in our C-130s and the like either. Also talk to any gunnie (armament guys) and you will soon know that mobile phones around explosives is not a good thing

yep, the old kneepad, still used by every fast jet jock in the RAAF. We have the elastic sewn to the G-Suit as well but the pillocks...err pilots always want a knee pad as well, problem is there is no standard kneepad, each squadron has its own design and then each pilot wants his own mods done to 'em, (multi clear plastic sheets, ring binders, clips, velcro straps ect ect) so where do they get them? from the Life Support guys and gals, we make them up (pain in the arse they are too, along with the stinkin' nav bags)

Finally got around to doing some modelling now that the Mirage book is out. This one is done on consignment for someone else. It is straight out of the box(revell 1/32 Mirage), except for a resin seat and some minor detailing. Paint is Humbrol, decals are a mix from the kit, Roo decal and Hi planes changa

yep, that is me, Paul "Changa" Mason, author (with Motty) of the RAAF Mirage book, authorised Mirage nut, although I work on Hornets. Point taken about the dense scrub up around the Barrigton tops/Bulahdelah area, as I said it took a bush fire to burn back the dense growth before they found that Mirage, Marty Susans was lucky he landed in one of the very few open areas so he could be picked up changa

Ross, That Mirage (A3-52, flown by Marty Susans) was found 12-18 months after the crash, a farmer came across it after a fire had gone through the area Changa

ross, SQNLDR Paul Simmons (Hornet pilot) is not the son of AIRCDR Bill Simmons (Mirage pilot) Changa

Giora Epstein is the only IAF ace I have ever read/seen credited with 17 kills, and this is backed up by official IAF records, his kills are well known and documented, especially the large number of kills he scored in a small space of time in the Yom Kippur War (12 in that conflict, most in a Nesher but some in a dual seat Mirage) the top 7 on the official Israeli list are Epstein - Mirage/Nesher - 17 Spector - Mirage/F-4 - 15 Nahumi - F-4/F-16 - 14 Snir - Mirage - 13.5 Shalmon - Mirage - 13.5 Ya'akob - Mirage - 11.5 Marom - Mirage - 11 Baharab - Mirage - 11 Karmi - Mirage - 9

Okay, the Nesher is just an unlicenced copy of the Mirage 5, which is really just a Mirage III, so any kills by the Israelis should be Mirage/Nesher. Now that means your list is incorrect as the highest scoring jet v jet ace anywhere in the world (confirmed kills, not supposed ones from the communist side) is Giora Rom flying Mirages/Neshers with 17 kills. changa