F-111 Pics

[orbitup]

Many modern fighters (F-16s, F-15s, etc) have tailhooks for the arresting cables on the runway, the beautiful and ever-powerful A-10 in your avatar doesn't is because the front landing gear was designed to serve that purpose in an emergency.

Also, some airfields have webbed barricades used to help stop an aircraft if necessary.

However, the F-111 has one because McNamara intended on both the USAF and the USN to use the aircraft (Google Tactical Fighter Experimental (TFX)). The Navy was able to bow out and eventually got the Tomcat.

Yeah, I read all about the F-111 long ago and remember some of the troubles they had adapting it for the navy. It wouldn't have been called the Aardvark if the had kept that nose cone.

And if I'm not mistaken. The F-14 had the same engines for a while.

I worked on A-10''s too, at Davis Monthan. It was like working with Legos compared to the 111.

 

[txinvestigator]

Ye, our plane had tail-hooks too and the runway had cables. We had a guy in supply that would listen to the tower and let us know when they were going to use it, for some kind of emergency landing. We would all go outside and watch.

I recently learned that F-16s have tail hooks, and was told many AF planes do. They are not hydraulically lowered and raised like Navy places, but have a small charge that forces them down when deployed. They have to be manually repositioned.

I thought that interesting

Edit; majormadmax beat me to it. lol

 

[Acera]

I didn't know there was a Cold War Air Museum in Lancaster. Orbit-up and I both live less than 10 miles from there. Is an F-111 there?

I don't think they do, but they should have. It would be a fitting part of the collection.

They do have a bunch of interesting Russian (Soviet) stuff.
Like: Flying MiG-21, almost ready to fly MiG-23, a pair of flying Mil MI-24 Hind Helicopters, and some other stuff.

Cold War Air Museum - ColdWarAirMuseum

Cold War Air Museum
850 Ferris Road
Lancaster, TX 75146
972-218-9700

Never been there myself, but interested to see if it would be worth a trip up for a day.

 

[Agteacher2]

Awesome pics

 

[ROGER4314]

Great pics! Thanks!

I had 5 1/2 years on the F4c's in Tulsa. The Phantom is a big, powerful brute and my lead man used to assign me work by the runway when a test flight was due so I could watch. I loved those birds and had an article published about working on the F4's in a magazine called "Smoke Trails" which is dedicated to the F4 Phantom.

One of my friends there worked on the aft parachute door assemblies of the Phantom for the whole time I was there. Those tail ends were riddled with holes and "doubler" repairs because enemy gunners were trained to shoot where the smoke started on an attacking Phantom!

We also made the F-15 aft fuselage sections and conformal tanks. Parts of the F-18 Hornet were also made there as were drop tanks.

Check out my thread on $10,000 belt buckles as it details how Titanium F-15 panels were "Chemically Milled" to lighten them.

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