After months of preparation, Riverfire had finally arrived. 500,000 people. 11 tonnes of fireworks. And, what The Aviation Studio was mostly interested in — low-level displays from mighty military machines — the Royal Australian Air Force’s Boeing C-17A Globemaster III and Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet.
The Stallion.
By 3:30pm, we had arrived and had established ourselves at the edge of the Brisbane River in Southbank. The first flyover, the C-17, was scheduled at 4:20pm. ‘Stallion 05’ had left Amberley not long after we arrived at Southbank, and was holding just to the north at 2,000ft.
![](https://theaviationstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Hold.jpg)
Just on time, the C-17 — the same one that had done the practice runs two days prior — came screaming over Southbank.
![Royal Australian Air Force C-17 at Riverfire Brisbane 2019](https://theaviationstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/A41-207_WM-2048x1365.jpg)
The C-17, after doing the run down the Southbank stretch of the Brisbane River, did a 270 degree turn around The Gabba to line up with the run down Kangaroo Point cliffs, including an impressive pitch down maneuver to get low enough for everyone to see.
![A Royal Australian Air Force C-17 at Riverfire Brisbane 2019](https://theaviationstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/A41207TAS-2048x1306.jpg)
To see what the display would have looked like from the cockpit of the C-17, see some below released by the RAAF of the practice flypasts.
The Super.
Next up, at 5:30pm, it was time for the Super. Announcing itself with a high-speed past down Coronation Drive, A44-202 under callsign ‘Cannon’ banked around Spring Hill and Kelvin Grove to do the first of three Southbank flypasts.
![Riverfire RAAF F/A-18F A44-202 passing the Meriton Herschel Streetwith full afterburner](https://theaviationstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/RAAF-FA18F-A44-202-Riverfire-4-2048x1365.jpg)
The last flypast was at full afterburner and really left the crowd with a good sense of this machine’s capability. At the end of its Riverfire display, the Super Hornet pulled up into a powerful nose-high climb before heading back to RAAF Base Amberley.
The Aviation Studio‘s take? A spectacular way to start Brisbane’s night of nights. We’re already planning for the next Riverfire!