Date 11 November 2013
Source http://www.defenseimagery.mil Author SMSgt Denise Johnson Permission (Reusing this file)
Public domain photograph from defenseimagery.mil.
There has been much speculation in Bow St by Raglan locals about the visit to Raglan on Tuesday 17th by a low flying aircraft. Some people thought it was an Orion on an annual flight to check if Raglan Airfield was still there. Others thought it was doing ultra sonic testing for oil drilling.
The aircraft flew up Ngarunui Beach then from the coast up Raglan Harbour past Lorenzen Bay and then back to the coast again. The Globemaster was also spotted over Hamilton on the same day and landed at Hamilton Airport. Globemasters have often been in New Zealand skies this year, especially over Marlborough, Nelson and Kapiti on their way to Ohakea airforce base.
The plane, a C-17 Globemaster-3, belonging to the Royal Australian Airforce was in New Zealand for tactical low-level training flights with the NZ Defence Forces and was flying out of Whenuapai Airport.
C-17 Globemasters were in New Zealand recently for Operation Southern Katipo in the South Island. One of the main aims of Southern Katipo was to test the ability of how the 10 nations involved – New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Canada, France, Malaysia, Singapore, Tonga, the United Kingdom and the United States – could work together.
The C-17 commonly performs strategic airlift missions, transporting troops and cargo throughout the world; additional roles include tactical airlift, medical evacuation and air-drop duties. This aircraft is slightly larger than a Boeing 767.