RAAF trainer jets refuel at Newman

Five aircraft from the RAAF Base Pearce near Perth were spotted at Newman Airport last week as the student pilots stopped in the Pilbara town to fuel up.

The pilots and their aircraft, a single-engine jet fighter trainer aircraft known as the Hawk 127, were on their way from Learmonth Airport when they stopped at the location.

The aircraft are two-seat jet training aircraft and the students were on the navigation phase of their training which leads to graduation on to the F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft.

A spokesman for the Defence Department said the trainees would remain on the Hawk 127 aircraft for specialised fighter training with 76 Squadron at RAAF Base Williamtown, near Newcastle in NSW.

The students are about three-quarters of the way through a six-month conversion course on to jet aircraft.

Newman was chosen as a refuelling point due to it being the only public airport in central inland WA and because it suited their flight plan tracking on their return to Pearce.

The Shire of East Pilbara expects there will be more visits of this nature in the future.