Plane spotters were in for a treat on Tuesday morning when a huge air force transport plane cruised into town.
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The C-130J Hercules aircraft touched down at Tamworth airport and its doors were opened for the public to explore inside.
The rare visit was part of a community engagement program for Indigenous communities run by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
Kids and adults alike were out in force at the event and lined up to take a peek in the back of the transport plane and in the cockpit.
Katrina Siemsen and her eight year-old son Alijah waited 45 minutes at the gate to get the first view.
Alijah said he "is a really big fan" and wants to join the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to follow in the footsteps of his great-great grandfather.
He said sitting in the pilot's chair was a highlight.
"It feels like you're actually flying a plane," he said.
Flying Officer Justin Quek is the co-captain of the Hercules and actually did fly the plane in.
"There is so much that is cool about this aircraft," he said.
"It can get into shorter fields ... it can carry a lot of cargo and it can get out quickly as well."
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The aircraft can carry 100 passengers but its use extends far beyond delivering people and cargo, Flying Officer Quek said.
"This plane was heading off to Norfolk Island to deliver water and parts, it's been on bushfire assist delivering firies around the place," he said.
The Hercules took to the sky for the 'Our Place, Our Skies' initiative run by the RAAF to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Flight Lieutenant Tjapukai Shaw is the Indigenous liaison officer from the RAAF base at Richmond, where the plane flew in from.
"If we can come out here and get one person to join, we've changed the life of not only one person but potentially a family," he said.
Indigenous recruitment in the RAAF sits at around 2.1 per cent, though there is a push to increase these numbers across the ADF.
A 'protective mobility vehicle' called the Bushmaster was also on display after making the trip out to the airport from the 12th/16th Hunter River Lancers in Tamworth.