The stopwatch was counting on the tarmac at Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Richmond Air Show 2025, as three teams competed to pull a 34-tonne C-130J Hercules and raise $1000 for Legacy Australia.
Before a cheering crowd, the "Plane Pull" brought together Defence and industry from across RAAF Base Richmond, with each team of 20 pulling a Hercules by rope over 20 metres.
The winning team was the No. 37 Squadron Technicians, with a time of 12.13 seconds.
In second place was Northrop Grumman Australia with 14.13 seconds, and finally the RAAF Base Richmond All Stars with 16.82 seconds.
On top of bragging rights at RAAF Base Richmond, the winners also received a metal trophy and commemorative "wheel chock" - a large block of wood used to brake aircraft wheels.
Not only was the clock running on the plane pull teams; it was also counting for Corporal Angela Reid of No. 37 Squadron to organise the event.
"I'm posting out this year, and managed to combine the plane pull with the air show and Legacy Month into the one event," Corporal Reid said.
"It was an awareness and fundraising piece for Legacy, but it has been a thing I've wanted to do while I've been at the squadron for the five years.
"Never in my wildest dreams did I think we could make it a possibility that we could do this."
RAAF Base Richmond has hosted a number of plane pulls throughout its hundred years.
"I had a committee of four people to get this across the line, including the safety reports, and we did it," Corporal Reid said.
Normally, the job of towing a C-130J falls to a specialised vehicle called a Schopf aircraft tug.
The switch to "people power" to pull the Hercules requires technical preparation and safety risk assessment, including a technician in the cockpit to apply the brakes at the end of each run.
Importantly, the flattest area of tarmac is required to ensure the aircraft can be "easily" moved from a static position, pulled by a strong rope anchored to the nose-wheel landing gear.
While there can only be one winner on the day, Corporal Reid said the spirit from all teams was high.
"Everyone was ecstatic - there's rivalry from the very beginning when teams play rock-paper-scissors to see who goes first," Corporal Reid said.
"You get an opportunity to compete in an event like this that you know you're never going to get otherwise."
