The thumping pulse of powerful Black Hawk helicopters was felt above Wagga on Thursday, when two of the choppers set down on a local oval to the delight of onlooking residents.
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The 6th Aviation Regiment has been soaring across the Riverina skies this week and its landing at Bolton Park offered residents a chance to get up close and personal with the famous aircrafts.
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The regiment has visited both the Kapooka training camp and the Wagga RAAF base this week, but Major Jean-Marc Grant said the real purpose of the visit was simply to interact with the community.
"The last couple of years we've had drought, bushfires, the COVID pandemic and more recently flooding across the state," Major Grant said.
"So while we've been serving the community a lot we haven't really had the chance to get out there and interact with them, so army is making a proactive effort to get back out, say hello and do these kinds of things."
Once the helicopters had set down on the oval, spectators were invited to explore the ins and outs of the machines and get photos in the cockpit.
Among the crowd was local resident Greg Tucker, who had taken his grandchildren Olivia and Lucas Vick out of school to witness the landings.
"It was definitely worth seeing," Mr Tucker said. "We have to know what our army and airforce and members like that do for us and they do a very good job, particularly in floods and fires."
Olivia and her brother both got to hop inside the S-70A-9 Black Hawk.
"It was amazing - I loved it so much," she said. "There was like a thousand buttons in the cockpit and it was a lot bigger than I imagined."
Major Grant said it was a good feeling to let residents see the helicopters up close.
"People are just stoked to see them and the first thing they say is 'wow they're huge up close' and 'they're very loud'," he said.
The helicopters have been in service for 34 years, during which they have been used in conflicts and humanitarian efforts in Wagga, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan and Timor-Leste.
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