Flying the RAAF F/A-18 Hornet | Matt Hall (Part 1)

In part 1, former RAAF F/A-18 Hornet pilot, Matt Hall, shares his story starting off with basic training, being selected to fly the Hornet, a walkthrough of the flying training stages, the strengths and weaknesses of the jet, going up against F-16s, working with the F-111s and more!
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[@theozzieflightsimmer1552]

he is an incredible fella! And one hell of a pilot! i have flown with Matt, and done aerobatics on a couple of his joy flights and probably one of the most genuine people you will ever come across. I am about to go broke booking in another flight with Matt.

[@unsungdrummer]

Gotta love the Aussies-humble and humorous yet lethal and professional as they come. Good stuff!

[@eranmalloch]

Yes, we Aussies ARE humble & humorous ;-)

[@graemedicks3139]

Well Said

[@goodo5691]

@@eranmalloch some not as humble as others:)

[@youwebz]

Thank you 🇦🇺

[@iatsd]

How would you know if they're lethal? They haven't seen real combat since Vietnam, barring a limited role in Afghanistan where the only thing of note they did was commit war crimes. The Australian *Air Force* hasn't been in combat since Korea.

[@Maxflight9]

Hall is the GOAT

[@markhaughton9563]

Saw matt speak over here in oz at one of our annual flight safety meetings. They always have guest speakers. He did his talk in 2 separate 45 minute stints. The first told us about his time in the RAAF and exchange flying F15s with the yanks, the second told us about his Redbull flying. VERY entertaining.

[@kizzjd9578]

Met matt a few years ago at the Ingham wings and wheels air show with his red bull plane. Great guy!

[@baricho4771]

Surely Matt has had the best job ever!.. constantly 'on'! Flying the best..

[@davidferry548]

I spend two years posted. To 81 wing years ago as a ground liaison officer , I remember Matt as a very capable and focused officer

[@Cdog79]

@@mike9347 how so?

[@Cdog79]

@@mike9347 I haven’t read it but I might buy it. Sounds interesting. Cheers

[@dedexyz8475]

FANTASTIC interview w/ Matt, and with an interviewer who KNOWS how to- by STFU, and letting The Guest- talk! I've long followed Matt's racing career, but didn't know the military side in detail, until this video. NICE work!!

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers for the kind words!

[@321fightson]

Hi Mike. Great interview with Matt and some cool stories. I'm looking forward to the 2nd part. Hopefully you also got to discuss his time flying in the Red Bull Air Race.

[@Aircrewinterview]

Thanks very much. We do indeed :)

[@davidsmith8997]

Another solid interview. Funny story about the Vipers' reaction. Looking forward to Part 2!

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers

[@simondent2196]

Is this David chilli smith?

[@davidsmith8997]

@@simondent2196 Don't think so mate. Cheers.

[@allgood6760]

Thanks from across the ditch mate👍🇳🇿

[@marksita76]

Good Stuff....great interview! Love hearing the side stories. F/A 18 is my favourite and in the air is still one of the best looking fighters ever built👍🇦🇺

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers Mark.

[@jimbrown5268]

This was great - thanks to both of you.

[@aviaterred]

Thanks for your service Matt.

[@mkmdexplorationparanormal5610]

Great interview Mike, loved his typical Aussie persona 😂 can't wait for part 2

[@bensmith7536]

I saw Matt fly at the Red Bull Air Race in Perth years ago.

[@arronhyde]

Brilliant interview. Wish i could ask him questions...

[@pontiacGXPfan]

good on ya, Hallsy!

[@matk4731]

That was fantastic 👏👏. Can’t wait for part 2. Thanks for sharing 👍🏻👍🏻🙃🙃

[@Aircrewinterview]

Thank you!

[@stephenpage-murray7226]

I hope they cover his time as an F-15 instructor in the U.S

[@Aircrewinterview]

Yeah that is in part 2 out this Sunday.

[@gmills5763]

Nice interview!

[@Greattooltv11]

Wonderful ❤ ❤ so good thank you

[@DJones476]

As far as I know, the RAAF continued to use the old-style SJU ejection seat long after the U.S. and Canada switched over to the Martin Baker NACES. The NACES is a _vastly_ more comfortable seat, even during long missions. Plus, it is fully adjustable!

[@goodo5691]

cheers for that...loved it

[@jettsaraghimotorsport4017]

Amazing interview! Very informative. Thank you!

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers!

[@TakisDiakoumis]

Thia was awesome mate. Keen to see part 2. Are you going to cover his time on the Eagle and Gulf War 2 or is that maybe a different set?

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers! Part 2 is on his time flying the F-15E and air racing. We do talk about his time over Iraq also.

[@wayneschenk5512]

Great stuff met Matt at a red bull event very approachable guy.

[@VideoUser3053]

Great interview. Really interesting.

[@Aircrewinterview]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@BradLatham-q6k]

Everybody here are super heros

[@bradpool127]

We could feel and hear the rumbling of the practice bombs being dropped at Dutson Downs in Victoria during the night at our farm. It took about 48 seconds from the time we saw the bomb flash, to the time we could feel the rumble, it would make the windows rattle.

[@cmscms123456]

I never thought much of the F111 until I heard a pilot here talk about it... Talk about FAST... I guess you know, an F-18 wont catch a F-111.. in fact your air to air missile might not catch it.

[@SuperEdge67]

Yep Mach 2.5 at altitude. Australian F-111s have been replaced now by Super Hornets and we have EA-18F Growlers as well. Older hornets being replaced by F-35s.

[@gregalanharper]

Actually, we have F/A-18F Super Hornets as well as E/A-18G Growlers.

[@brianross4057]

I lived on Salonika beach in QLD Australia and it is in the domestic flight path to the Mackay Airport so I heard a lot of different planes from a local Bi Plane to Spitfires and Mustangs and all sorts traveling to shows and of course all the different domestic passenger jets and it was about 1990 I heard a totally different jet which was loud and had a presence you could feel and it was no wonder because he was practically hovering over top with his wings swept forward and he slowly flew over the top of Hay Point coal terminal and circled back towards me then it started to sweep the wings back at the same time accelerating out of sight at sea level out over the ocean it blew me away how fast it was.

[@Nathan-ry3yu]

@@SuperEdge67 I wished they made a swept wing stealth F111 to replace it. I think the US was going to develop something similar with the F22 as a swept wing bomber variant but never went ahead

[@davidewhite69]

I worked on both the F-111 and the F/A-18. One time when I was at 75 SQN (RAAF Tindal N.T) there was a huge low level battle between visiting f-111s and hornets, and by low level I mean tree top! The hornets could not catch the F-111s down in the weeds, they just couldnt stay with them, they could easily out-turn them but just couldnt stay on their tail when the F-111s firewalled the throttles, but that said it wouldnt matter because the F-111 would have had an AIM-9 up their arse

[@davidewhite69]

why is the pic of A21-107 at 3.20 mirror imaged? I may have strapped Matt in that day at 2OCU

[@bradpool127]

It was my dream to fly the Hornet for the RAAF back in the 1980s but my parents wouldn't let me become a cadet.

[@slickstrings]

I wonder if matty would have been happier with the enhanced power engined hornet. Our australian hornets were upgraded to nearly c model, but never got the hotter engine.

[@DJones476]

They might have needed it, too. The chunkier the Hornet got over the decades, the more power it needed.

[@slickstrings]

@@DJones476 yes, i wish we did but i guess it was money the government didnt want to spend. Especially since we were already investing money into the f35 back in early 2000s

[@DJones476]

@@slickstrings The -402 engines had a few issues, that I recall. Burnt out spray rings and flame holders were a frequent nuisance. The -402 was essentially a hybrid engine with the cold section (fan, etc.) of the -400 combined with the hot section (everything from the combustion chamber, back) of the RM12. You couldn't just slap a pair of _'purebred'_ RM12s into a Hornet, though. Not without changing the shape of the intakes (to increase airflow), and this would have required extensive flight testing. I hope I've provided some insight, Dude. Love from British Columbia!

[@eranmalloch]

We got - and still have - the Super Hornets (all 2-seat F models, I believe), which obviously have bigger GE 414 engines. We also got Growlers. Not sure how well a 2 seat F model rhino would perform ACM/BFM compared to a single seat classic (or E model Rhino for that matter). These jets were purchased as interim planes to "replace" the F111, while we waited for our F35s.

[@DJones476]

@@eranmalloch An F/A-18F is just as lethal as an E.

[@thefrecklepuny]

I wonder how big, not just a qualitative jump but also a psychological one it was going from the Mirage III to the F/A-18 Hornet? Great interview as per.

[@BuggSmasher]

Interesting ! I wonder how many converted over, or just retired ! Having read Matt's autobiography I do know he had to re-qualify in the Hornet after flying F-15's in the gulf war for the US ! Not able to quote exactly,, but he said he noticed the difference in power output between the two . . . .lol

[@Doubletrouble___647]

What do you think about the head of Aussie airforce saying to Senate this week that our pilots aren’t reporting (seeing?) UAPs? Plenty of highly regarded US fighter pilots are seeing them daily.

[@christosantonopoulos2018]

yes but can we afford to operate them at their phenomenal costs of operation per hour of flight time?

[@speedhornetsdiamonds8920]

Listen, I'm. A. Hornet. Aviator. In. My. Dreams. . Bless. You. And. The. ROYAL. AIR. FORCE. BEST. OF. DREAMS. TO. ALL. OF. YOU.

[@hudsondonnell444]

Piper Pawnee or Australian built Gippsland GA-200 Fatman?

[@grahams7697]

He is referencing the Piper PA-25 Pawnee - modified for glider tug operations.

[@Kneedragon1962]

Where's part 2?

[@grahams7697]

Search for it! 🙄

[@Kneedragon1962]

@@grahams7697 ~ Thanks Graham, it has since shown up. I was expressing encouragement.

[@matk4731]

I was a bit surprised Matt didn’t talk about nearly being shot down over Bagdad. Search Ace fighter's Iraq ordeal AUSTRALIA'S air race ace Matt Hall was almost shot down over Baghdad at the start of the 2003 "shock and awe" campaign against Saddam Hussein.

[@BuggSmasher]

And then He went back to base and had a coffee ! All in a days work for Matty !

[@chrishewitt4220]

Who the hell is thumbing down already?

[@gfenwick1]

Russian, chinese or a bot 😁

[@BuggSmasher]

Failed Hornet cadets !

[@josmith2062]

What a huge loss to the RAAF when Matty retired! 😩

[@peterkirgan6850]

Good plane but the mirage was better theca29 thank you mike

[@stephenpage-murray7226]

The mirage was a dog compared to the Hornet

[@jadesmith6823]

The old I did but I didn't 🤦😂

[@presidentoxford]

Carrot.

[@redbloodytape]

Ah, from a time before Australia became a fascist authoritarian country. Nice interview.

[@zorbalight3933]

Prattle on. Your last sentence was the only one of value.

[@redbloodytape]

@@zorbalight3933the rest of the world see's it.

[@grahams7697]

@@redbloodytape No they don’t. Bell end 🙄🤪

[@redbloodytape]

@@grahams7697 no amount of name calling will change the fact that Oz is now a shi*thole. Such a shame.

[@claytaylor6956]

@@redbloodytape No. Sydney has become a shithole (years ago, in fact) and Melbourne is rapidly approaching that accolade. However, the rest of Australia is perfectly fine! 👌 Just keep the scum-bucket pieces of shit, confined to Sydney and Melbourne & the rest of us will be just fine! 🤗

[@iatsd]

1:38 "Shots fired; welcome to the air force" Yeah, but the Australians haven't been near a real fight since Vietnam - until their very limited involvement in Afghanistan where their only major achievement was committing multiple war crimes. The *kiwis* have sent forces to more conflicts since Vietnam than the Australians have, and the Australian *Air force* hasn't done squat for decades.

[@Jagsm29]

cry harder kiwi

[@iatsd]

@@Jagsm29 Got nothing to respond with except abuse, huh? Typical Aussie whinger.

[@geevee9728]

New Zealand with zero fighter aircraft?

[@iatsd]

@@geevee9728 Indeed. And?

[@reganmacneil2578]

"Ostrayans" are all talk and show but are cowards. A quick punch to the nose puts them back in their place real quick. I know, I worked there for 3 months. Their military is the same - they have all this expensive equipment they like to show off but they always stick their head in the sand or run the other way when a war starts.