Is The F 111 Still In Service

No. 6 Squadron's F-111 A8-109 commences its last take off at RAAF Base Amberley. The last F-111 takeoff ... ever.

No. 6 Squadron's F-111 A8-109's final take off at RAAF Base Amberley in 2010. The last F-111 takeoff.. ever.

As we recently reported, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has been divesting itself of its remaining General Dynamics F-111 Aardvarks and the last ane to remain operational, that flew at the series' decommissioning ceremony in Dec 2010, was delivered to the The Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) located at Illawarra Regional Airport in New South Wales, Australia before this month, with a handover ceremony that was attended by regional politicians, military contumely and one of the plane's quondam pilots.

F-111 "Dump and Burn" maneuvers at Riverfire 2010 Celebration in Brisbane
(Image Credit : DG Photography)

In marked contrast to the way things are generally done in the states, and possibly due to security restrictions placed on these still quite potent warbirds, this plane and five others were restored by the RAAF and are on long term loan from the Australian government to deserving museums, providing a heave to attendance and museum revenue along with positive secondary furnishings in tourism every bit the
F-111 looms quite big in the minds of Australian Aviation enthusiasts, particularly encouraged by decades of air bear witness performances where F-111s would perform ignited fuel dumps, dubbed "Dump and Fire," which would exit blazing funnels of flames trailing backside the planes that became the de facto most memorable moment of any Australian air show attended past the RAAF and their Aardvarks as well as becoming a regular characteristic of many of Australia'south national celebrations such as when they hosted the Olympic Summer Games in Sydney in 2000.

A8-109 at its new habitation at HARS
(Image Credit: HARS)

The F-111 was entered product in 1967 and introduced several new technologies for production aircraft, including variable-sweep wings, afterburner turbofan engines, and automated terrain-post-obit radar for low-level, high-speed flying, the latter earning the airplane the nickname "The Pig" for its ability to get down in the dirt, flight at extremely low altitudes.

F-111 project leader Tony Abela said this particular F-111C, A8-109, which had served in Vietnam, was chosen because of HARS' potent ties with Vietnam veterans and the RAAF. "For united states of america it was a continuation of our link with the RAAF and our link with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) equally well, that's why nosotros especially wanted A8-109," Mr Abela said.

Some interesting coverage of the handover:

Is The F 111 Still In Service,

Source: https://warbirdsnews.com/warbirds-news/worlds-operational-f-111-display-historical-aircraft-restoration-society.html

Posted by: duffymuck1993.blogspot.com

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