These Images Of Aussie C-17s Flying Among Skyscrapers In Brisbane Are The Best We’ve Ever Seen

Published Oct 5, 2021 5:02 PM EDT

Like clockwork, every year around September images and videos of military aircraft maneuvering incredibly low through dense urban terrain emerge out of Brisbane, Australia, and hit social media with viral velocity. In years past, the city’s Riverfire spectacle was probably best known in aviation circles for showcasing the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F-111 “Pigs” doing their iconic ‘dump and burn’ maneuver while ripping over the Story Bridge. Today, the F-111s are long gone, but the RAAF is still super active in this event with its Super Hornets and Growlers, and most notably, its hulking C-17 Globemaster III airlifters, taking center stage.

These massive cargo jets, in particular, weaving just a couple hundred feet off the ground over the picturesque city is truly a sight to behold. There is really nowhere else in the world where heavy airlifters perform for audiences like this. But after seeing this display for a number of years, and writing about it, as well, the novelty wears off. That is until someone comes along with a new perspective or a piece of media that showcases just how unique the flyover is like never before. Two years ago, this was cockpit footage from inside the display C-17. This year it is the stunning images of Mark Greemantle.

To put it bluntly, I have never seen images like his from one of the most heavily photographed aviation displays of the year. Case in point, check out Mark’s images of the C-17 going through its paces for Riverfire 2021:

The War Zone asked Mark how he captured these incredible photos and he was kind enough to lay it all out for us:

To achieve these images, I have found an ideal perch upon the railing of the 39th floor of Riparian Plaza in Brisbane. For two years pre-COVID, I have hosted the RAAF media teams with me to ensure they can make the most of this vantage point. From the vantage point of Riparian Plaza’s 39th-floor balcony, the jets pass about 30-80ft below the balcony. The balcony, with its 360-degree views, allows for coverage of the air display from above most of the central business district buildings. This year’s images were shot on a Nikon D850 with a Nikkor 200-500mm telephoto lens so the close passes meant I was stuck with close-up crops of the C-17 Globemasters. The general flight path of the display was known from previous years and had only been slightly altered for 2021. What was known for certain was that the pilots from RAAF Amberley Base had flown many hours in the simulator to prepare for the low-level passes (250-300ft above ground level) over the river and bridges. Despite many publications pushing alarmist rhetoric about “dangerous display flights” being too much like 9/11… they hide that the aircraft have a very broad river below their low-level passes and that at no point is any building occupant at any risk of harm. Previous years have included more passes by either 1Sqn RAAF’s F/A-18F Superhornets or 6Sqn’s EA-18G Growlers, as well as the 36Sqn Globemasters, and we’ve also enjoyed displays from Australian Army aviation corps with the MH-90 Taipans and the ARH Tigers buzzing the large number of boats crowding the river ahead of the fireworks displays.

To achieve these images, I have found an ideal perch upon the railing of the 39th floor of Riparian Plaza in Brisbane. For two years pre-COVID, I have hosted the RAAF media teams with me to ensure they can make the most of this vantage point.

From the vantage point of Riparian Plaza’s 39th-floor balcony, the jets pass about 30-80ft below the balcony. The balcony, with its 360-degree views, allows for coverage of the air display from above most of the central business district buildings. This year’s images were shot on a Nikon D850 with a Nikkor 200-500mm telephoto lens so the close passes meant I was stuck with close-up crops of the C-17 Globemasters.

The general flight path of the display was known from previous years and had only been slightly altered for 2021. What was known for certain was that the pilots from RAAF Amberley Base had flown many hours in the simulator to prepare for the low-level passes (250-300ft above ground level) over the river and bridges. Despite many publications pushing alarmist rhetoric about “dangerous display flights” being too much like 9/11… they hide that the aircraft have a very broad river below their low-level passes and that at no point is any building occupant at any risk of harm.

Previous years have included more passes by either 1Sqn RAAF’s F/A-18F Superhornets or 6Sqn’s EA-18G Growlers, as well as the 36Sqn Globemasters, and we’ve also enjoyed displays from Australian Army aviation corps with the MH-90 Taipans and the ARH Tigers buzzing the large number of boats crowding the river ahead of the fireworks displays.

Check out some additional images from Mark of Taipan and Tiger helicopters showing off at this year’s Riverfire:

A bit more about Mark and how he became so passionate about aviation photography:

My work with defense interests began nearly a decade back when I commenced fundraising efforts for verified Veteran organizations in Australia and the US shooting mostly warbirds and pinups in WWII-themed calendars. It grew from calendars to touring with warbird crews to shoot air-to-air work and eventually led me to include a major in aviation management to my degree in counterterrorism and intelligence. Australia has been slow to recommence airshows since COVID, so the RAAF displays for Riverfire have been a small preview of what was normalcy for many of us.

A huge thanks to Mark for sharing his amazing images and thoughts with us. Make sure to follow him on Instagram and here are also a couple of bonus images from Riverfire 2019 that Mark passed along for good measure for you to enjoy:

Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com

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发布于美国东部时间2021年10月5日下午5:02

每年九月前后，澳大利亚布里斯班都会准时出现军用飞机超低空穿梭于密集城区的画面和视频，并在社交媒体上迅速传播开来。往年，布里斯班的“河畔烟火”（Riverfire）活动在航空界最负盛名的莫过于皇家澳大利亚空军（RAAF）的F-111“猪”（Pigs）战斗机在故事桥上空进行标志性的“倾泻燃烧”（dump and burn）特技飞行。如今，F-111早已退役，但RAAF仍然积极参与这项活动，其F/A-18“超级大黄蜂”（F/A-18F/S）和F/A-18“咆哮者”（F/A-18F/S）战斗机，以及最引人注目的C-17“环球霸王III”（Globemaster III）运输机，都成为了活动的焦点。

这些巨型货运飞机，尤其是它们在风景如画的城市上空仅几百英尺的高度穿梭飞行，真是令人叹为观止。世界上恐怕再也找不到其他地方能像这样，让重型运输机为观众进行表演了。然而，在观看这种表演多年，并撰写相关文章之后，新鲜感便会逐渐消退。直到有人带来全新的视角，或者用全新的媒体素材，以前所未有的方式展现这场飞行表演的独特之处。两年前，我们看到了C-17运输机的驾驶舱内拍摄的视频。而今年，则是马克·格里曼特尔拍摄的令人惊艳的影像。

坦白地说，我从未见过像他这样拍摄的、来自年度最受瞩目的航空展之一的照片。举个例子，看看马克拍摄的C-17运输机在2021年河火航展上进行表演的照片：

《战区》栏目询问马克是如何拍摄这些令人难以置信的照片的，他非常友好地向我们详细讲述了整个过程：

为了拍摄这些照片，我在布里斯班河畔广场39层的栏杆上找到了一个理想的拍摄位置。在新冠疫情爆发前的两年里，我接待了澳大利亚皇家空军的媒体团队，确保他们能够充分利用这个有利位置。从河畔广场39层的阳台上，喷气式飞机从阳台下方约30-80英尺（9-24米）处飞过。阳台拥有360度全景视野，可以从中央商务区的大部分建筑上方拍摄飞行表演。今年的照片是用尼康D850相机和尼克尔200-500mm长焦镜头拍摄的，由于飞机飞得非常近，我只能拍摄C-17环球霸王运输机的特写镜头。往年的飞行表演路线早已确定，2021年仅做了些许调整。可以肯定的是，来自皇家澳大利亚空军安伯利基地的飞行员们在模拟器上进行了长时间的飞行训练，为低空（离地250-300英尺）飞越河流和桥梁做好准备。尽管许多媒体大肆渲染“危险的飞行表演”，声称其与9/11事件如出一辙……但他们却掩盖了飞机低空飞行时下方是一条宽阔的河流，任何建筑物内的人员都不会面临任何危险的事实。往年，澳大利亚皇家空军第1中队的F/A-18F超级大黄蜂战斗机或第6中队的EA-18G咆哮者电子战飞机以及第36中队的环球霸王轰炸机都会进行飞行表演。此外，我们还欣赏过澳大利亚陆军航空兵的表演，MH-90太攀蛇直升机和ARH虎式直升机在烟花表演前，在河面上众多船只上空盘旋。

为了拍摄这些照片，我在布里斯班河畔广场39层的栏杆上找到了一个理想的拍摄位置。在新冠疫情爆发前的两年里，我一直接待澳大利亚皇家空军的媒体团队，确保他们能够充分利用这个有利位置。

从河畔广场39层的阳台上，可以看到喷气式飞机从阳台下方约30-80英尺（9-24米）处掠过。阳台拥有360度全景视野，可以从中央商务区的大部分建筑上方拍摄到飞行表演。今年的照片是用尼康D850相机和尼克尔200-500mm长焦镜头拍摄的，由于飞机掠过的高度很近，我只能拍摄C-17环球霸王运输机的特写镜头。

往年的飞行表演路线早已确定，2021年仅做了些许调整。可以肯定的是，来自皇家澳大利亚空军安伯利基地的飞行员们在模拟器上进行了长时间的飞行训练，为低空（离地250-300英尺）飞越河流和桥梁做好准备。尽管许多媒体大肆渲染“危险的飞行表演”，声称其与9/11事件如出一辙……但他们却掩盖了飞机低空飞行时下方是一条宽阔的河流，任何建筑物内的人员都不会面临任何危险的事实。

往年，澳大利亚皇家空军第1中队的F/A-18F超级大黄蜂战斗机或第6中队的EA-18G咆哮者电子战飞机以及第36中队的环球霸王轰炸机都会进行飞行表演。此外，我们还欣赏过澳大利亚陆军航空兵的表演，MH-90太攀蛇直升机和ARH虎式直升机在烟花表演前，在河面上众多船只上空盘旋。

来看看Mark of Taipan和Tiger直升机在今年Riverfire活动上展示的更多照片：

关于马克以及他如何对航空摄影产生如此浓厚的兴趣，我们再补充一些信息：

我与国防领域的合作始于近十年前，当时我开始为澳大利亚和美国的退伍军人组织筹款，主要拍摄二战主题的飞机和美女照片，并制作相关日历。后来，我的工作范围从制作日历扩展到跟随战机机组人员巡回拍摄空战照片，最终促使我在反恐和情报学位之外，辅修了航空管理专业。自新冠疫情以来，澳大利亚的航展恢复进程缓慢，因此，皇家澳大利亚空军在“河火”航展上的表演，让我们得以一窥许多人曾经习以为常的航展盛况。

非常感谢 Mark 与我们分享他精彩的照片和想法。请务必在 Instagram 上关注他，此外，Mark 还特意分享了几张 2019 年 Riverfire 音乐节的精彩照片，供大家欣赏：

联系作者：Tyler@thedrive.com

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