An original old patch. Yes, I accept any donations of old A.F. patches ! Image Unavailable, Please Login
End of days coming: http://www.smh.com.au/national/farewell-to-the-pig-the-fighter-jet-that-never-saw-combat-20100723-10orb.html Nicknamed "the pig"? Looks like our guys viewed the F-111 with some affection then lol.
Alex- The F111Cs were called pigs by the RAAF aircrews, probably derived from the Aardvark name (gound loving, long-nosed pig) USAF crews bestowed on the airplane. The F-111A/E/F all saw combat. The F-111C/D/G and FB-111A never did. I have 2000 hours in the F-111A/E/D/F. Aircraft worked great in combat and the F-111F was one of only two aircraft to be fully precision guided munitions capable during Desert Storm. The F-117A was the other one. We did more damage and killed more targets in Desert Storm than all the other fighter aircraft in the war combined. Eventually, the F-111s just cost too much to maintain. The F/A-18E/F the RAAF is buying until the F-35 comes on line has less than half the range of an F-111C, so will be dependent on more bases or aerial refueling to perform the same missions. As a counterpoint, the Hornets have an excellent air to air capability the Aardvarks never had. Taz Terry Phillips
Thank you for the background - I always appreciate you making the effort to respond in detail and enjoy reading your informative posts.
Last F111 flight today - end of an era. http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/mp/8442291/pigs-will-fly-over-qld-for-the-last-time/#comments
Rob- Very expensive, but I hope so, too. If all the attack avionics do not have to be kept operational, it might be possible. There is a final farewell ceremony at the old General Dynamics, now L-M, factory in Ft Worth, Texas this month. Taz Terry Phillips
Hi buddy,the RAAF has 21 F111,17 will be scrapped and 4 will end up on static display in museums around Australia. Tomorrow a final flyover in Queensland. Lets hope they do one final dump and burn. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I believe it's supposed to look like a sword.."the tip of the spear" so to speak, which pretty much defines the role of the F-11. It's a really cool image actually..
Alex- The guy in the lead at 72.5 degrees wing-sweep was probably having no fun. The spoilers on the F-111 locked out at between 45 and 47 degs of wing sweep and roll response degraded. Plus, unless you are really smoking, the lifties are all gone at that wing-sweep and your angle of attack is getting kind of uncomfortable. Funnily enough, though, 45 degs wing-sweep was the best mach penetration airspeed. Further back and the nose was too high for good penetration through the barrier. Once, through, fully swept for maximum velocity. More of a problem on the F-111A/C/E than the D or F, which could just brute force through the mach. The F model was the hot rod, with 25% more power than the F-111D and 39% more than the other models. So much power, we used mil for go arounds, while all the rest used afterburner. We started Desert Storm with 64 F-111Fs and took that many home. No losses during the war. Taz Terry Phillips
Err, I wasn't referring to a specific jet, just the formation in general...it's in the shape of a sword/spear with the various sweep angles...looks pretty cool IMO =)
Rob- We flew about 2600 sorties in Desert Storm, all but three were at night. Those three were flown under protest from the wing. Alex- I was not commenting on anything you said (What did you say?), just on what a fully swept F-111 feels like at relatively low speed. We did similar formations, usually line abreast or echelon, with wingsweeps varying from 72.5-16 degs for airshows. The guys at 45 and 26 degs were pretty happy, the other two were not. The 72.5 deg guy always leads, because flying formation at that wingsweep and relatively low airspeed is difficult. The airplane really does not fly well at 16 degs much over 300 KCAS. Taz Terry phillips
oh, got it. Yeah, I figured it wasn't very maneuverable like that, but it's so damn sexy with the wings tucked in..same with the F-14.
Alex- The F-14 had a whole lot lower wing loading than an F-111. They had auto-sweep, unlike us, but the wing could also be moved manually. The F-15s called the F-14s Turkeys, because they were big, did not turn as well as an F-15 (or an F/A-18), and telegraphed their energy state by their wing position if left in auto on the wingsweep. Their advantage was the Phoenix that could kill you 100 nm away. Plus they could out-accelerate anything through the mach, including the F-15 and F-16. Wingsweep, you know. Taz Terry Phillips
Did the Pheonix ever get a kill in combat? I would have loved to see one in person, I bet it was a huge weapon. It's too bad we don't have anything in our arsenal with that range any more..or even close to it for that matter. When I was little, I used to stop by the bookstore every time we were at the mall and look for new books on planes. I've got section of my bookshelf at my parents house full of books on fighters/bombers/weapons. THe F-14 was always my favorite jet, and the AIM-54 Pheonix my favorite weapon. I remember watching Top Gun and wondering why the hell they didn't just load them up with Pheonix and shoot down the bad guys from 100 miles away, but once I got a little older I realized it wouldn't have made for much of an action movie
Now that I think about it, I had a professor in college who worked on guidance systems for the Air Force out in Death Valley I believe. If I remember correctly, he mentioned that he was working on a new guidance system for the Phoenix as if they were converting it into an surface-to-air weapon. They were probably using it as a test bed in any case..
Well, I guess that is it for the F-111. Note two to be kept in flyable storage, and we have several at Davis Monthan AFB in the same storage condition. Let me know if anyone wants to see the photos. Taz Terry Phillips McNamara's Folly turned out to be a pretty fantastic weapon. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Dear Friends, Well the historic event has happened, the final flight of Australia's best defence asset, our big stick, the best deterent we have or will ever have. The best air interdiction aircraft ever built, the General Dynamics F-111, THE PIG. At 13:30 on the 3rd December 2010 the last aircraft, A8-125 landed ending Australia's 37+ year invlovement with the aircraft. Witnessing the event were current crews, family, RAAF officers, many former RAAF crews, people who loved the aircraft (me included) and even quite a few ex-USAF aircrew that came down to see for themselves the last flight of the type. When it was purchased, the F-111 was controversial, it came with some teething problems, but since their delivery in 1973, they have been the greatest asset in the region. Nothing could come close. It was fitting that the first aircraft that arrived at RAAF Amberley, the home of the F-111, A8-125 was also to last to land. Six aircraft were launched for the 'Last Hurrah', a flight over Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, the region where the F-111s roamed. The people of the region love the 'Pig', an affectionate nickname highlighting the types ability to fly low with its nose in the dirt. Of course the last flight would not be complete without the trade mark "dump and burn". No other aircraft has such a unique party trick, raw fuel is dumped using the emergency fuel release, and then the afterburner is lit, and you get a 100-300 foot flame that comes out of the rear of the aircraft. A Hornet driver could beat himself silly pulling Gs all over the sky, and the Pig would come and do the dump and burn, and to all airshow crowds, that was the highlight of the whole day. Locals have enjoyed this spectacle at the annual Riverfire fireworks display, where the finale of the display was a dump, lighting up the whole city as it flew over. The last night show was last Saturday over the After a vigorous aerial display, five other F-111s did an airfield attack and then they formed for a final six ship flypast. Then they landed. One by one they taxied to the hard stand, and were directed to stop, and at 13:35 the air around Amberley became quiet, never again to have the high pitched whine of the F-111. Two aircraft are to be kept in flyable storage should there be a momentous wartime need for them, and right now 4 are to be kept in museums, but the fate of the rest is uncertain. Many will meet their demise, the victim of a political decission to save money over capability, the same death that befell the US versions. Sadly this is the way of many a great warrior, many of the best types have fallen to the stroke of the pen. I hope that you enjoy the photos of the F-111 finale, as you too can see the end of an era, the last tier one aircraft that Australia ever owns.
