Dassault Mirage 1110, RAAF 75 Squadron/A3-69 1970
PM Model 1/72 scale
The F111 was the iconic RAAF jet fighter of my boyhood. There was also the lesser known Mirage, a French rather than American built plane. The F111 flyover was the highlight of the Edinburgh Airshow every year. However the Mirage performed a key role in the role in the protection and welfare of RAAF ground crews. Soon after the arrival of the F111 in Australia there was a problem, the fuel tanks leaked. The solution was to climb into the tanks every few months, clean them and replace the lining. This was the now notorious reseal/reseal program. It was an awful job. Over time it also appeared that ground crews were developing more than their share of cancers, particularly lung, lymphoma and melanoma. I know from experience that cancer clusters are incredibly hard to prove, often being statistical rather than real. Enter the Mirage, a perfect control arm with all the same ground crew variables, except the reseal/reseal program. Turns out that climbing into F111 fuel tanks gave you a 5 fold increase in cancer rates. #worksafe #letsmakelemonade
Pen Paint and Scalpel 