as a teenager, i lived in a house on a hill at the end of a long valley in mid northern nsw, about two hours drive from newcastle... these jets would come up the valley flat out no doubt targeting the house then peel off and zoom down over the surrounding hills...... you would never hear them coming, only leaving. i remember watching them go past and being able to read the numbers on the side they were so low.
Was a bomb loader of the F and D models. Took the F-111F to Desert Storm in Taif Saudi Arabia, and the jets reliability and performance was unmatched. We loaded a staggering amount of munitions on that jet in a span of a month and a half. Good times!
This thing absolutely CLOBBERED the A10s at the one thing the Warthog was designed for: tank busting. What an aircraft. AND, all of the F111s kills during desert storm are confirmed, unlike the A10, which was actually performing so badly that the F111 was being used in its place. It could fly at night, in bad weather, and it could hit with laser accuracy, something the A10 could not do. It laughed in the face of and proved the Reformers wrong, and they absolutely hated this thing because of it. So they often resorted to making things up about it, and have unfortunately tarnished it's reputation. Fuck Pierre Sprey
Retiring the F-111 without a suitable replacement was one of the biggest mistakes the RAAF ever made. It gave Australia unparalleled strike capabilities and a suitable deterrent against nations such as Indonesia, who on one occasion decided not to go to war with us, specifically because of the F-111. The capability lost with the retirement of the F-111 has still not been regained and had it not been so hard to maintain, would still be one of the most potent aircraft in the world today
"Retiring aircraft X was Y militaries biggest mistake, Nothing comes close to it today" - Literally everyone who has no idea about the complexities of keeping a jet not only operational but modernized enough to be effective in a battlefield.. these things were disgustingly outdated by the end of their life and the cost of keeping a glorified bomber operational without any real plans of modernizing it is much more than buying a new multirole aircraft. Why send an F-111 with F-18's escorting (which was extremely common in the last 10+ years of its life) when you can just send the F-18's? Might carry less ordinance but you can call in a real bomber if you need that.. The jet certainly had it's place in history and was damn good at what it did, but to say it had "unparalleled" strike capabilities is a little bit of a stretch if you ask me.
@@mocoj7423 I'm not saying that retiring the F-111 wasn't a good idea, I'm just saying that the deterrent that the F-111 gave Australia was massive with Indonesia specifically deciding not to go to war with us because of that plane. I honestly believe that an aircraft with the capabilities of the F-111 in the 5th generation airframe would be significantly better than any other aircraft currently in the air, and hell the F-111 still outperforms most 4th generation aircraft despite its age.
@@mocoj7423 there was the option of upgrading the aircraft - similar to what Poland and India have done with their MiG's - to meet modern requirements and rejuvinate the airframe. Australian Government instead chose the JSF option which has consistently been debated to be unsuited to defending a territory the size of Australia. One thing is for sure though, that the diversity of Australia's fighter fleet is severely lacking.
@@mocoj7423 Only a couple of small problems with that. A Hornet can't outrun a Sukhoi, not even close. Once it runs out of puff, and runs for a top up, the tanker that has had to nurse it along will be in a bit of strife as well as a Sukhoi has F-111 type range. Once detected, (and it will be) due to opening the weapons bay and because its got external stores to be of any use, an F-35 will never be able to get away from the fight either. Miyagi say best way avoid punch not be there! They could have been a great source of Aus industry involvement for some modest upgrades (engines/AESA radar) that would have made them unmatchable - again.
Richard Goold so do I, unfortunately I missed the last time it flew near me which was the Avalon air show in 2015 I think, but the weather was just horrible so we missed a number of aircraft :(
Last time a saw one was at the last airshow they did and all I remember was how fast and intimidating it was and complaining to my old man about the noise XD. Wish it was still around so I could of appreciated it better.
In 1984 I talked to an FB-111 pilot from Plattsburgh AFB. He said that when they went to Nellis AFB for Red Flag that when F-15 tried to catch them that they would go down on the deck and light the afterburners. He said that there was no way the F-15s could catch up to them. They were much faster than the F-15s on the deck.
yes a fellow F-15 pilot admited to me in San Diego at a display that The F-111F straightline was the fastest of all military aircraft.SR-71 was recon of course and not a low level beast. The VARK in the F model ruled supreme.
To true shame they weren't made light enough, never would have had the F14 steal thier lime light, F111 was the real tank buster too, hot more than the worthog I've been lead to believe
This aircraft kept those little buggers to our north under wraps for 30 odd years, it was the one plane the Indonesians and in fact, most of SE Asia feared above all others, shame there`s nothing like them in service at this point in time.
Babuzzard 64 I agree this was one hell of an aircraft and you are absolutely right with your comments. As we know Indonesia invaded and Annexed West Papua, Bali then East Timor (which we liberated in 99). The Menzie's gov't ordered these planes because they could fly to Jakarta bomb it even with Nuclear bombs and return to Australia without refueling. The U.S government offered B-47's free to Australia and the defence department replied no thanks will wait for the Aradvarks (F-111) in 1963. Nothing in the Indonesian air force could shoot it down and catch it. The Soviet Union armed Indonesia with fighters and coaxed it to attack Australia. The Indoensian's knew well that if that did that we had the capacity to hit every Island and they had nothing to do the same to us. The combination of the F111 and our deserted north west and the infrastructure required to invade and occupy Australia is what saved us. Indonesians were a Islamic lapdog for the Communists. THe same as the Arabs who were armed by the Commies to attack Israel. It was hoped the Indonesians would follow. Thank you F111, General Dynamics, Menzie's Govt and the boys who flew and serviced them. It was the most saddened day when I saw the videos of them being buried in a line like war criminals did to hide their massacres. Shame Australian government shame.
@@reticulan5 I don't understand why they buried them. They should've been put on display in museums around the country. I had my pic taken with one, back at the '88 airshow.
@live loud , wrong.. they were actually Extensively upgraded for the many years they were in service, RWR's , on-board radar, attack computer , avionics and an advanced jammer which is now used on the hornet were all used on the F-111C.. it was retired due to requiring 180 hours maintenance per flying hour, a near 40 year old complex, swing wing aircraft needs extreme maintenance....but still..i wish we kept it.
I know it was a maintenance heavy aircraft but I didn't know it needed THAT many hours of wrench time, damn! It was a very impressive bird and in the hands of a well trained aircrew it could be a powerful, dynamic beast!
Max Brandt yeah being swing wing it was intense, the US has a similar problem with the B-1B but being under 30 years old and bigger its not so bad. The super hornet requires bugger all in comparison, ive heard figures less than half that.
VARKS always had on board radar..Parts and engines were in short supply..hell the glass surrounding the cockpit was in short supply....but in its DAY..nothing could match this sleek fast loaded out bomber.Get in low and fast , drop on target and exit quickly.Remember Libya 1986??
Half the airframes, the 'disposal' was 'dig a hole, put planes in, cover with dirt',... A handful went to meseums, the rest went back to the Us to be stripped so the yanks could learn what the RAAF engineers fixed in the designs to keep them airworthy. If anyone wonders where Carbon-over-wrap technology comes from,....
2:13... sorry what? Flying at over 1Km/sec? Really?! If this is labeled as documentary, what a crappy one it is. 1Km/s is 3600Km/h... that is around 3x the speed of sound (M3.0)... no aircraft can fly that fast... not low level anyway... M1.3 at most. MiG-25, MiG-31 and Sr-71 can do M3+ at very high altitude... and these aircraft are lot more faster than F-111... just saying
Edin Kulelija Well not mach 3 but Mach 2.5 about 3000 km/h maybe that's why they thought mach 3. This aircraft had a range of 5500 km. Incredible that it was designed and tested in the 1960's. To this day it is still one of the fastest fighter jets. Many military experts I have met and talked to as I am a long time buff and I like to think I am well read. Have said our mistake was not to buy F-15's to go alongside the F-111. When our military acqusitioners saw the devastating destruction The F-15's inflicted on the Arabs by the Israeli air force. All of them were embaressed by their decision to buy the Mirages. As I learned at a air show when I spoke to personal after I filmed an F111. Thank god we had those.
+reticulan5 You mean the F/A-18? we got the mirages in the 60s before the F-15 was available, but it was in the competition (F-15A) when we got the F/A-18, and exceeded some of the requirements but lacked in the ground attack role in the late 70s/early 80s, the F-16 narrowly missed out on being chosen though... I just wish we had abit more to throw at funding for defence...instead of compromising and "adding abit here with cutting abit there" kinda thing. But i guess thats our predicament..we arent a Superpower.
American X-15 This aircraft has the current world record for the fastest manned aircraft. Its maximum speed was Mach 6.70 (about 7,200 km/h) which it attained on the 3rd of October 1967 thanks to its pilot William J. “Pete” Knight this aircraft was capable of far more then the advertised top speeds the F-111 was a one of a kind thats for sure
The role of this aircraft, has not be filled. Australia doesn't need Stealth, we need speed, range and payload delivery,.. the F-111 did that in a 'Surprise MF's we're here!' package. Nothing designed since comes remotely close to performing the same role, or having the Deterrence Value of the Aardvark.
I'd love to kick the arse of whoever was responsible, (starting with the previous governments minister of defence), for retiring these AWESOME aircraft, ultimately before their retirement time was really due.
Sorry, no jet aircraft in history (let alone in existence today) can fly at over 3,280 feet per second (greater than 1 kilometer per second), at 200 feet above the ground. 1 kilometer per second is Mach 3. Even the Panavia Tornado can only just barely reach Mach 1.2 at sea level. Even if the engines of the F-111 had sufficient thrust to get the airframe up to Mach 3 at 200 feet above ground, the entire aircraft would have overheated and disintegrated long before attaining that speed. The F-111 could possibly attain between Mach 1.1 - Mach 1.15 at sea level (765 kt IAS), but no more than that. Actually even at those speeds the crew would risk melting, warping or even cracking the canopy glass (perspex or polycarbonate, whichever).
Re the F111 retirement, we had a bomber now we don’t. Ultimately someone must have decided that long range aviation bombing capability was not going to be a part of Australia’s future spend. I often wonder how much of the decision making is influenced by the US’s latest trends needing a kick along, and discounts offered for nations prepared to be entry level beta testers, irrespective of their actual needs.
If I could have a military jet this one is high on my list. It can fly across the Atlantic it's a mach 2 jet and is a side by side so your passenger can be more comfortable because they can look over and see you. I'd bet it's even faster with more range as a retired jet because it would have to lose the radar and other weapons based things. Hopefully it wouldn't have the need for ballast in the front so its center of gravity wont change drastically. I just wonder how much fuel it can carry probably 2 ymtanks in its bays and 2 on the wings. But I also wonder how long it can fly super sonic off of the fuel in the bays. Like could it make it from Florida out over the ocean hit super sonic and go all the way to New York or even half way and stop for fuel once and then streak the rest of the way up the coast to new York? Lol. To bad the weapons bays aren't pressurised or I'd want them to get seats for more people lol.
Empty the avionics bays of military hardware, fit with current civilian gear, then use all that empty space of more fuel tanks, and pump the fluid around to maintain CG. The changes in electronics since it was designed, the entire avionics from then would fit in a laptop sized box now. Heck, a Flight Controller from a top end RC model these days would fly an F-111, they already fly the model versions!
@PiDsPagePrototypes might throw the balance off tho. Would need to have other tanks and be able to move fuel around the plane. But I like what your thinking. Maybe get enough fuel to fly somewhere at Mach 2 most of the flight.
if an f111 was going to be engaged. it systems on board were so old it wouldn't even know it was under attack. that why they were escorted by a hornet ...
@@Yahweh312 it's true. They used the hornets to escort them for their last 10-15 years of service. They wouldn't stand a chance in modern warfare today, those aircraft, though be beautiful are just lardy bombers if they're to be flown today. Although if General Dynamics were to upgrade the components inside the F-111, and modernise their internal components, they could be used as a really handy fighter bombers, as they were originally intended for, but I don't see general dynamics constructing a fleet of 40, or so be the Australian Government ordering said aircraft at all. We just purchase what the US wants us to purchase.
I would like have flown these if I joined the RAAF, but I never ended up applying, which ideally should've been a couple years before this time. So, there service fell short by a decade. Remember when in the 90s the thought of the year 'two thousand and twenty' was way off in the future? Well here we are, the future is now.
High time jets tend to become very maintenance (MX) intensive. One of the key stats in military aviation is MX hour per flight hour. Even by the early '90s the 111's ratio was exceptionally high compared to other aircraft in the inventory. And this was for USAF 111s, BEFORE we sold them to the Aussies. Kudos to the Aussies for getting another 15 years out of them. I imagine the maintenance burden became unsustainable for them. That said, there was NOTHING that could hang with a 111 on the deck. A friend of mine started off as a 111 weapons system officer (WSO) before transitioning to the F-15E. When I asked him to compare the two, he said the Strike Eagle did everything better except for one thing: Hauling a** on the deck. He said when the stuff hits the fan, speed down low is the thing you most want in your bag of tricks. He recognized the trade-off, but said he wouldn't go back to the 111 for all the money in the world.
Also when the f111 needed new parts, towards the end of it´s career the only parts to be found were already worn out seconds An airforce mechanic told me it was becoming a big problem trying to keep them operational. I reckon though they should have developed an entirely new aircraft, like they have done with the super hornet. Their was just so many advantages to this jet that they should have been continued the line.
Because it didnt make sense to continue to operate them economically. Also we have suitable replacements for the aircraft, the F/A-18F and F-35 are incredible aircraft that have made the F-111 obsolite in RAAF service
We didn't buy your old ones: we got custom-made F-111Cs with longer wings, so we could fly them to, oh, let's just pick a place name at complete random, Jakarta.
À 2'06" , "le vol à plus de 1 kilomètre par seconde et à seulement 200 pieds..." ??? Mais bien sûr !!! Ces foutus rosbeefs n'en sont pas à une connerie près pour se faire valoir !! 1 km/s équivaut à 3600 km/h ( à 66 mètres sol ) !!! C'est n'importe quoi !!!
My mate went to visit the F111 on display at Evans heads and was told by the people that run the museum there that that particular aircraft got up to mach 2.92
Yes Russell that was my understanding, as well. That they were dropped down abandoned coal mines in the Ipswich area. Also, that they were disposed of because they were nuclear capable and Australia was party to a treaty which required less capacity/ability to deliver nucs.; by the West. True of false? Je n' sais pas.13\06\2121
as a teenager, i lived in a house on a hill at the end of a long valley in mid northern nsw, about two hours drive from newcastle... these jets would come up the valley flat out no doubt targeting the house then peel off and zoom down over the surrounding hills...... you would never hear them coming, only leaving.
i remember watching them go past and being able to read the numbers on the side they were so low.
The FB-111 is still my favorite.
Was a bomb loader of the F and D models. Took the F-111F to Desert Storm in Taif Saudi Arabia, and the jets reliability and performance was unmatched. We loaded a staggering amount of munitions on that jet in a span of a month and a half. Good times!
This thing absolutely CLOBBERED the A10s at the one thing the Warthog was designed for: tank busting. What an aircraft. AND, all of the F111s kills during desert storm are confirmed, unlike the A10, which was actually performing so badly that the F111 was being used in its place. It could fly at night, in bad weather, and it could hit with laser accuracy, something the A10 could not do. It laughed in the face of and proved the Reformers wrong, and they absolutely hated this thing because of it. So they often resorted to making things up about it, and have unfortunately tarnished it's reputation. Fuck Pierre Sprey
Retiring the F-111 without a suitable replacement was one of the biggest mistakes the RAAF ever made. It gave Australia unparalleled strike capabilities and a suitable deterrent against nations such as Indonesia, who on one occasion decided not to go to war with us, specifically because of the F-111. The capability lost with the retirement of the F-111 has still not been regained and had it not been so hard to maintain, would still be one of the most potent aircraft in the world today
"Retiring aircraft X was Y militaries biggest mistake, Nothing comes close to it today" - Literally everyone who has no idea about the complexities of keeping a jet not only operational but modernized enough to be effective in a battlefield.. these things were disgustingly outdated by the end of their life and the cost of keeping a glorified bomber operational without any real plans of modernizing it is much more than buying a new multirole aircraft. Why send an F-111 with F-18's escorting (which was extremely common in the last 10+ years of its life) when you can just send the F-18's? Might carry less ordinance but you can call in a real bomber if you need that.. The jet certainly had it's place in history and was damn good at what it did, but to say it had "unparalleled" strike capabilities is a little bit of a stretch if you ask me.
@@mocoj7423 I'm not saying that retiring the F-111 wasn't a good idea, I'm just saying that the deterrent that the F-111 gave Australia was massive with Indonesia specifically deciding not to go to war with us because of that plane. I honestly believe that an aircraft with the capabilities of the F-111 in the 5th generation airframe would be significantly better than any other aircraft currently in the air, and hell the F-111 still outperforms most 4th generation aircraft despite its age.
@@mocoj7423 there was the option of upgrading the aircraft - similar to what Poland and India have done with their MiG's - to meet modern requirements and rejuvinate the airframe. Australian Government instead chose the JSF option which has consistently been debated to be unsuited to defending a territory the size of Australia. One thing is for sure though, that the diversity of Australia's fighter fleet is severely lacking.
@@mocoj7423 Only a couple of small problems with that. A Hornet can't outrun a Sukhoi, not even close. Once it runs out of puff, and runs for a top up, the tanker that has had to nurse it along will be in a bit of strife as well as a Sukhoi has F-111 type range. Once detected, (and it will be) due to opening the weapons bay and because its got external stores to be of any use, an F-35 will never be able to get away from the fight either. Miyagi say best way avoid punch not be there! They could have been a great source of Aus industry involvement for some modest upgrades (engines/AESA radar) that would have made them unmatchable - again.
Phil
F-35 was one of the biggest money 💰 pits the government agreed to.
The F-111 is with no doubt one of the best aircraft to have ever been conceived. Fight me on that!
I really miss this airplane. Glad the Aussies made good use of it.
About half the time I’ve seen these things flying they were below me and I don’t fly.
I had one go under my skateboard. Scared the heck out of me.
I worked on the FB-111 while in the United States Air Force.
I remember on my orientation day into the ADF. The fella from the Air Force said, he got from Amberly to Sydney in 15 minutes. Pretty impressive
I wish it was around until 2020
Richard Goold so do I, unfortunately I missed the last time it flew near me which was the Avalon air show in 2015 I think, but the weather was just horrible so we missed a number of aircraft :(
Yeah, bit over optimistic on that prediction but I guess they didn't realise that the fuel tank maintenance would lead to a legal action
Last time a saw one was at the last airshow they did and all I remember was how fast and intimidating it was and complaining to my old man about the noise XD. Wish it was still around so I could of appreciated it better.
I reckon they should have developed a newer version like the super hornet. That plane just had so many advantages that should have been continued.
@@shimmojr it wouldn't have been in 2015, they were retired in December 2010.
F-111, The Kingswood of the skies.
No mot the Kingswood!!! I just clingwrapped the exhaust!! - Poor old Ted Bullpitt.
In 1984 I talked to an FB-111 pilot from Plattsburgh AFB. He said that when they went to Nellis AFB for Red Flag that when F-15 tried to catch them that they would go down on the deck and light the afterburners. He said that there was no way the F-15s could catch up to them. They were much faster than the F-15s on the deck.
yes a fellow F-15 pilot admited to me in San Diego at a display that The F-111F straightline was the fastest of all military aircraft.SR-71 was recon of course and not a low level beast. The VARK in the F model ruled supreme.
That was true up to the late 80's. .
That's why we called 'em The Pig: they're down in the dirt.
To true shame they weren't made light enough, never would have had the F14 steal thier lime light, F111 was the real tank buster too, hot more than the worthog I've been lead to believe
Yes Mach 2.5 does them real speedy!
This aircraft kept those little buggers to our north under wraps for 30 odd years, it was the one plane the Indonesians and in fact, most of SE Asia feared above all others, shame there`s nothing like them in service at this point in time.
Babuzzard 64 I agree this was one hell of an aircraft and you are absolutely right with your comments. As we know Indonesia invaded and Annexed West Papua, Bali then East Timor (which we liberated in 99). The Menzie's gov't ordered these planes because they could fly to Jakarta bomb it even with Nuclear bombs and return to Australia without refueling. The U.S government offered B-47's free to Australia and the defence department replied no thanks will wait for the Aradvarks (F-111) in 1963. Nothing in the Indonesian air force could shoot it down and catch it. The Soviet Union armed Indonesia with fighters and coaxed it to attack Australia. The Indoensian's knew well that if that did that we had the capacity to hit every Island and they had nothing to do the same to us. The combination of the F111 and our deserted north west and the infrastructure required to invade and occupy Australia is what saved us.
Indonesians were a Islamic lapdog for the Communists. THe same as the Arabs who were armed by the Commies to attack Israel. It was hoped the Indonesians would follow. Thank you F111, General Dynamics, Menzie's Govt and the boys who flew and serviced them. It was the most saddened day when I saw the videos of them being buried in a line like war criminals did to hide their massacres. Shame Australian government shame.
@@reticulan5 I don't understand why they buried them. They should've been put on display in museums around the country. I had my pic taken with one, back at the '88 airshow.
Those are some gnarly guitar riffs.
@live loud , wrong.. they were actually Extensively upgraded for the many years they were in service, RWR's , on-board radar, attack computer , avionics and an advanced jammer which is now used on the hornet were all used on the F-111C.. it was retired due to requiring 180 hours maintenance per flying hour, a near 40 year old complex, swing wing aircraft needs extreme maintenance....but still..i wish we kept it.
I know it was a maintenance heavy aircraft but I didn't know it needed THAT many hours of wrench time, damn! It was a very impressive bird and in the hands of a well trained aircrew it could be a powerful, dynamic beast!
Max Brandt yeah being swing wing it was intense, the US has a similar problem with the B-1B but being under 30 years old and bigger its not so bad. The super hornet requires bugger all in comparison, ive heard figures less than half that.
VARKS always had on board radar..Parts and engines were in short supply..hell the glass surrounding the cockpit was in short supply....but in its DAY..nothing could match this sleek fast loaded out bomber.Get in low and fast , drop on target and exit quickly.Remember Libya 1986??
They should have developed a newer version like the super hornet. That jet had many advantages and it should have continued on.
@@shaundouglas2057 A stealthy, Mach 2.6 low altitude penetration strike jet 😍
I downloaded one of these once when I was in the RAF they are huge
Allways liked this unusual jet.
I was on the 3SQN flight when a young Mal Hurman (75SQN) exited his Mirage onto a cemetery behind the BC Bar at Butterworth.
Now if they could develop a system that rings the doorbell before the bomb comes flying through it!
it was sad to see them go . i would loved to have got my hands on one , as they all went for scrap value you know ..
Wish we had longer clips of those low level valley runs... so amazing
I was working at the metal recycling facility that shredded the engines for these beasts. I'll never forget that sad day
Half the airframes, the 'disposal' was 'dig a hole, put planes in, cover with dirt',... A handful went to meseums, the rest went back to the Us to be stripped so the yanks could learn what the RAAF engineers fixed in the designs to keep them airworthy. If anyone wonders where Carbon-over-wrap technology comes from,....
they should have kept F111 in service until 2020 maybe even longer and acquired FA/18F super hornets to TAKE THE PLACE OF THE OLDER F/A18 A B MODEL
Goon and Kopp will love this video !! 😂
No but we have extracts for that video in our playlist "Pigs Can Fly"
The job satisfaction of giving someone what they had coming . I would love to be a fighter pilot "peace" :-)
1 km per second equals nearly 3 times the speed of sound. Not even a sr71 could achieve this ar sea level.
Its doesnt actually fly at 1km/s, the top speed at sea level was Mach 1.3, and at high altitude it was mach 2.5 give or take
2020. Unfortunately that didn't work out
Cool plane!.. thanks mate👍🇳🇿
2:13... sorry what? Flying at over 1Km/sec? Really?! If this is labeled as documentary, what a crappy one it is.
1Km/s is 3600Km/h... that is around 3x the speed of sound (M3.0)... no aircraft can fly that fast... not low level anyway... M1.3 at most.
MiG-25, MiG-31 and Sr-71 can do M3+ at very high altitude... and these aircraft are lot more faster than F-111... just saying
Edin Kulelija Well not mach 3 but Mach 2.5 about 3000 km/h maybe that's why they thought mach 3. This aircraft had a range of 5500 km. Incredible that it was designed and tested in the 1960's. To this day it is still one of the fastest fighter jets. Many military experts I have met and talked to as I am a long time buff and I like to think I am well read. Have said our mistake was not to buy F-15's to go alongside the F-111. When our military acqusitioners saw the devastating destruction The F-15's inflicted on the Arabs by the Israeli air force. All of them were embaressed by their decision to buy the Mirages. As I learned at a air show when I spoke to personal after I filmed an F111. Thank god we had those.
+reticulan5 You mean the F/A-18? we got the mirages in the 60s before the F-15 was available, but it was in the competition (F-15A) when we got the F/A-18, and exceeded some of the requirements but lacked in the ground attack role in the late 70s/early 80s, the F-16 narrowly missed out on being chosen though... I just wish we had abit more to throw at funding for defence...instead of compromising and "adding abit here with cutting abit there" kinda thing. But i guess thats our predicament..we arent a Superpower.
WhatEv...F-111 first jet to do-the-Mach at sea level !!!
they were never at full throttle at V max as the limit was skin temperature, maybe they could have done it on a kamikaze run
American X-15 This aircraft has the current world record for the fastest manned aircraft. Its maximum speed was Mach 6.70 (about 7,200 km/h) which it attained on the 3rd of October 1967 thanks to its pilot William J. “Pete” Knight
this aircraft was capable of far more then the advertised top speeds the F-111 was a one of a kind thats for sure
The role of this aircraft, has not be filled. Australia doesn't need Stealth, we need speed, range and payload delivery,.. the F-111 did that in a 'Surprise MF's we're here!' package. Nothing designed since comes remotely close to performing the same role, or having the Deterrence Value of the Aardvark.
I'd love to kick the arse of whoever was responsible, (starting with the previous governments minister of defence), for retiring these AWESOME aircraft, ultimately before their retirement time was really due.
Sorry, no jet aircraft in history (let alone in existence today) can fly at over 3,280 feet per second (greater than 1 kilometer per second), at 200 feet above the ground. 1 kilometer per second is Mach 3. Even the Panavia Tornado can only just barely reach Mach 1.2 at sea level. Even if the engines of the F-111 had sufficient thrust to get the airframe up to Mach 3 at 200 feet above ground, the entire aircraft would have overheated and disintegrated long before attaining that speed. The F-111 could possibly attain between Mach 1.1 - Mach 1.15 at sea level (765 kt IAS), but no more than that. Actually even at those speeds the crew would risk melting, warping or even cracking the canopy glass (perspex or polycarbonate, whichever).
Its an exaggeration dude, calm down
Did the f111C have MFCDs? Tactical maps? Multi Function Color Displays for navigation
the f-111 was built before that sort of technology was widely used in aircraft
'
come on america...
america can make it many more F-111 / F-111sa jetplanes with better fast speeding up, more mile ranges, great update systems
Re the F111 retirement, we had a bomber now we don’t. Ultimately someone must have decided that long range aviation bombing capability was not going to be a part of Australia’s future spend. I often wonder how much of the decision making is influenced by the US’s latest trends needing a kick along, and discounts offered for nations prepared to be entry level beta testers, irrespective of their actual needs.
Awesome video
If I could have a military jet this one is high on my list. It can fly across the Atlantic it's a mach 2 jet and is a side by side so your passenger can be more comfortable because they can look over and see you. I'd bet it's even faster with more range as a retired jet because it would have to lose the radar and other weapons based things. Hopefully it wouldn't have the need for ballast in the front so its center of gravity wont change drastically. I just wonder how much fuel it can carry probably 2 ymtanks in its bays and 2 on the wings. But I also wonder how long it can fly super sonic off of the fuel in the bays. Like could it make it from Florida out over the ocean hit super sonic and go all the way to New York or even half way and stop for fuel once and then streak the rest of the way up the coast to new York? Lol. To bad the weapons bays aren't pressurised or I'd want them to get seats for more people lol.
Empty the avionics bays of military hardware, fit with current civilian gear, then use all that empty space of more fuel tanks, and pump the fluid around to maintain CG. The changes in electronics since it was designed, the entire avionics from then would fit in a laptop sized box now. Heck, a Flight Controller from a top end RC model these days would fly an F-111, they already fly the model versions!
@PiDsPagePrototypes might throw the balance off tho. Would need to have other tanks and be able to move fuel around the plane. But I like what your thinking. Maybe get enough fuel to fly somewhere at Mach 2 most of the flight.
if an f111 was going to be engaged. it systems on board were so old it wouldn't even know it was under attack. that why they were escorted by a hornet ...
bullshit
@@Yahweh312 it's true. They used the hornets to escort them for their last 10-15 years of service. They wouldn't stand a chance in modern warfare today, those aircraft, though be beautiful are just lardy bombers if they're to be flown today. Although if General Dynamics were to upgrade the components inside the F-111, and modernise their internal components, they could be used as a really handy fighter bombers, as they were originally intended for, but I don't see general dynamics constructing a fleet of 40, or so be the Australian Government ordering said aircraft at all. We just purchase what the US wants us to purchase.
I would like have flown these if I joined the RAAF, but I never ended up applying, which ideally should've been a couple years before this time. So, there service fell short by a decade. Remember when in the 90s the thought of the year 'two thousand and twenty' was way off in the future? Well here we are, the future is now.
love this jet
4:30 I WISH
True💀
RIP
1km per second what?
3600 km/h. WOW! 🤣
Why was the F111 taken out of service?
High time jets tend to become very maintenance (MX) intensive.
One of the key stats in military aviation is MX hour per flight hour. Even by the early '90s the 111's ratio was exceptionally high compared to other aircraft in the inventory. And this was for USAF 111s, BEFORE we sold them to the Aussies. Kudos to the Aussies for getting another 15 years out of them. I imagine the maintenance burden became unsustainable for them. That said, there was NOTHING that could hang with a 111 on the deck.
A friend of mine started off as a 111 weapons system officer (WSO) before transitioning to the F-15E. When I asked him to compare the two, he said the Strike Eagle did everything better except for one thing: Hauling a** on the deck. He said when the stuff hits the fan, speed down low is the thing you most want in your bag of tricks. He recognized the trade-off, but said he wouldn't go back to the 111 for all the money in the world.
Because they getting to expensive to maintain
Also when the f111 needed new parts, towards the end of it´s career the only parts to be found were already worn out seconds An airforce mechanic told me it was becoming a big problem trying to keep them operational. I reckon though they should have developed an entirely new aircraft, like they have done with the super hornet. Their was just so many advantages to this jet that they should have been continued the line.
Because it didnt make sense to continue to operate them economically. Also we have suitable replacements for the aircraft, the F/A-18F and F-35 are incredible aircraft that have made the F-111 obsolite in RAAF service
@@lmj06 but can the hornets & lightnings carry the same war load as the 111?
1 kilometer per second = 2232 miles per hour!...WANK WANK WANK!!! 💩💩💩💩💩
Yes - that would be Mach 2.9 and I'm sure the pig was never THAT fast!
Beautyfull
Is it the video "Pigs can fly"?
Why did they stop building them?
Just too expensive and didnt make sense coming from an ecenomics pov
2020, sadly no. We downgraded to tue less capable F/A18 Super Hornet "multi role". A nice plane, yes, but nothing on the F111 Pig.
Wow!
I don't get this channel
After they were digitalised they could have been kept in the ready to go hangars--just like the B52's are in America
Who is the F111 in SE Qeensland's gonna attack? The Penguins in Antarctica maybe.
New Zealand, our main adversary.
Rugby state of origin, N.S.W.
1km per second?
Yeah nah
Thankyou for buying all of our old Varks. :)
Uncle Sam thanks you. :)
That´s what the US have done since the end of WW2: selling outdated and useless weapons worldwide.
I am fond of the Varks. Please do not think I am hateing.
We didn't buy your old ones: we got custom-made F-111Cs with longer wings, so we could fly them to, oh, let's just pick a place name at complete random, Jakarta.
The f111 is a dam good fighter jet
We bought new specially designed version.
it did not make it to 2020
À 2'06" , "le vol à plus de 1 kilomètre par seconde et à seulement 200 pieds..." ???
Mais bien sûr !!! Ces foutus rosbeefs n'en sont pas à une connerie près pour se faire valoir !!
1 km/s équivaut à 3600 km/h ( à 66 mètres sol ) !!! C'est n'importe quoi !!!
1km per second?..i dont think so.. thats mach 3.
My mate went to visit the F111 on display at Evans heads and was told by the people that run the museum there that that particular aircraft got up to mach 2.92
Maybe some Chinese whispers went on, I dunno :P
Its an exaggeration dude, calm down
Most got buried in Queensland
Bugger! Would have loved to have had one sitting in my yard.
Yes Russell that was my understanding, as well. That they were dropped down abandoned coal mines in the Ipswich area. Also, that they were disposed of because they were nuclear capable and Australia was party to a treaty which required less capacity/ability to deliver nucs.; by the West. True of false? Je n' sais pas.13\06\2121
Get Gud!
delet this