Bart Bear's Blog

This is one tough little vehicle. It is an aircraft tug used at the Richmond RAAF base to move aircraft around. The aircraft based at Richmond are big - Hercules and C-17 - so the tractor has to be really powerful. I saw this one in action when we went to an airshow there a couple of years ago. The guys let me climb on the tractor but they wouldn't let me have a go at driving it. They say that when I grow big enough for my feet to reach the pedals they will give me a go. I guess that rules out small bears as anything but passengers. A pity, because I would like to push big aeroplanes around. Maybe I can get Dad to make a model tractor and I can use it to shuffle the models in his shelves.

Labels: airshow, New South Wales, Richmond

Whenever we go to airshows I have a great time. It seems that pilots and groundcrew all like small bears, so I get to go places that big people can't. For instance, how many airshow visitors ever get to sit on the nose of a BAe Hawk 127 LIF? One of the great things is that I can always talk Dad into making a model of the aircraft that I like best, if there is not one already in our collection of 800 or so. So as soon as we got back from the Richmond airshow last year I started putting the pressure on for a model of the Hawk that I sat on. We always do our models in 1/72 scale, so the model is much smaller than me and I guess that I shouldn't try sitting on it.

Labels: aircraft, airshow, models, New South Wales, Richmond

This is the biggest aeroplane that I have been allowed to roam around in. It is a Boeing 707 converted to a tanker for the RAAF. The crew took me all over it at the Richmond airshow. Here I am waving to Mum and Dad from the cockpit window. The way Mum was panicking you would think that there were no parachutes on board.

Labels: aircraft, Boeing 707, New South Wales, Richmond

Here's another photo from my day at the Richmond airshow. The RAAF guy let me climb all over his F-111. The most interesting seat for a bear is right at the tail on this nozzle between the engine tailpipes. I wouldn't like to sit here when the aircraft is flying though. It is the fuel dump valve and during the flying display it is where the flame for the "dump and burn" comes from.

Labels: aircraft, F-111, New South Wales, Richmond

Another photo from the Richmond airshow. It shows why you should always treat small bears with respect. You never know what we have to bite you with. The RAAF pilot who sat me on this missile on his FA-18 said that it was the first time he had been loaded with bear rather than loaded for bear. I don't think that he really hunts bears in his jet. He seemed too nice for that. Anyhow, bears are too smart to give a jet a clear shot. In fact he wanted to keep me as his mascot but Mum wouldn't let him.

Labels: aircraft, FA-18, New South Wales, Richmond

We went to the Richmond Australian Defence Force airshow on Sept 23. There were lots of aeroplanes; old ones like Dad likes and new noisy ones that Mum likes. I was able to climb on most of them even though they were roped off to keep people away from them. Here I am helping the ground crew prepare the RAAF museum's Mustang for flight. More aeroplane pictures later.

Labels: aircraft, mustang, New South Wales, RAAF museum, Richmond