May Day F-111

Whilst at the Avalon Airshow a RAAF mechanic told me that all of the F-111’s that were not going to the main museums were going to be shredded due to some agreement with the US. Has anyone else heard this? I would have thought it would be relatively easy to make them unusable (cut the wing hinges for example) and it is not like the F-14 where an unfriendly country could obtain spares from the airframes. I would certainly like an escape module if any were to be broken up.

Cheers Paul

not 100% sure about the C models as i believe we purchased them outright, if we did then they arent subject to the “scrap-at-end-of-life” clause very common to US FMS sales contracts.

However the G model was sold under an FMS contract so i believe any examples that are not marked for preservation by a military or government institution must be scrapped/destroyed in some manner

If it hadn.t flown for 2 or so year it would explain why it was chosen to go, but doesnt explain why it was “retired” early.

“Unlikely, thats been one of the great scare tactics used to get rid of the fleet, an F-111 has a fatigue life of some 12,000 hours, meaning -272 would have needed to notch up some 6,300 hours in about 13 years of service to have gone Lifex.“

I agree with you there, but im only repeating what the man with all the bars on his shoulders said… 😀 (not that it means much!)

What ever happened to the one which did the wheels up at Amberley???
I’d be surprised it if was repaired and brought back into service.

The Belly lander is back flying again and has been for some time, reason it was returned to flight is that it is one of only 4 RF-111C’s, the RAAF’s only real tactical recce bird.

The G models were all retired in December 2007 as it was deemed unnessecary to retain them as the were primarily used for conversion training and it was felt that as there were to be no new F-111 aircrew trained due to the type’s impending retirement the G’s could be pensioned off earlier than the more capable C’s

Add the fact that it hadnt flown since December 2007 and had been in open storage

If it hadn.t flown for 2 or so year it would explain why it was chosen to go, but doesnt explain why it was “retired” early.

“Unlikely, thats been one of the great scare tactics used to get rid of the fleet, an F-111 has a fatigue life of some 12,000 hours, meaning -272 would have needed to notch up some 6,300 hours in about 13 years of service to have gone Lifex.“

I agree with you there, but im only repeating what the man with all the bars on his shoulders said… 😀 (not that it means much!)

What ever happened to the one which did the wheels up at Amberley???
I’d be surprised it if was repaired and brought back into service.

Whilst at the Avalon Airshow a RAAF mechanic told me that all of the F-111’s that were not going to the main museums were going to be shredded due to some agreement with the US. Has anyone else heard this? I would have thought it would be relatively easy to make them unusable (cut the wing hinges for example) and it is not like the F-14 where an unfriendly country could obtain spares from the airframes. I would certainly like an escape module if any were to be broken up.

Cheers Paul

The reason the aircraft was trucked down was that is was cheaper. The equipment and personnel required to remove various pieces of equipment and a number of harmful substances from the aircraft were based at RAAF Amberley. It would have been very expensive to fly the aircraft to Avalon (couldn’t get it into Point Cook) and then transport the team and equipment there to do the job.

It would have had to have been dismantled at Avalon and trucked to Point Cook in any event.

Add the fact that it hadnt flown since December 2007 and had been in open storage

May Day F-111

The reason the aircraft was trucked down was that is was cheaper. The equipment and personnel required to remove various pieces of equipment and a number of harmful substances from the aircraft were based at RAAF Amberley. It would have been very expensive to fly the aircraft to Avalon (couldn’t get it into Point Cook) and then transport the team and equipment there to do the job.

It would have had to have been dismantled at Avalon and trucked to Point Cook in any event.

It was reported the aircraft had run out of “airframe” life during one news interview i saw on CH9 news the other night. (A Wing Commander). This is why it was trucked, instead of flown to its new home!

It could very well be fatigued “killed” it sooner then the older “C” models?

Unlikely, thats been one of the great scare tactics used to get rid of the fleet, an F-111 has a fatigue life of some 12,000 hours, meaning -272 would have needed to notch up some 6,300 hours in about 13 years of service to have gone Lifex.

The only item i can think of that may have caused a fatigue issue would have been the wing pivot joint, but again unlikely as all RAAF F-111’s were “zero timed” less than 10 years ago, a process which included fitting a redesigned reinforced new wing set as well as a total redesign and overhaul of the wing pivot system, which included the replacement of all fatigue lifed parts with brand new parts.

The C models are only now approaching 50% of theyre fatigue lives.

It was reported the aircraft had run out of “airframe” life during one news interview i saw on CH9 news the other night. (A Wing Commander). This is why it was trucked, instead of flown to its new home!

It could very well be fatigued “killed” it sooner then the older “C” models?

No, I don’t know the rationale behind why this particular F-111 was chosen.

It was the 1st G model delivered to the RAAF and also the first F-111 returned to flight after entering AMARG/AMARC

The C model is currently still in service, although tnot for much longer due to bureaucratic wrangling and scare mongering, the RAAF is going to lose one of the most capable long range tactical strike aircraft on the planet, and replace it with what? A glorified insect

Is it some trick of the imaging, or is the inboard corner of the port wing flap looking more than a bit dog-eared?

May Day F-111

No, I don’t know the rationale behind why this particular F-111 was chosen.

Mayday Mayday

I agree with both points you make Keith, but the question remains, why a G instead of a C? The G was a fleet ‘top up’, while the C model was unique to the RAAF. I think that given the significance of the F-111 order in Australian politics, I can’t help feeling that this is second best option. Any reason why the museum was not offered or did not request a C model?

May Day F-111

I don’t know if the RAAF Museum will receive a C-model but one thing is for sure: one F-111 is great: two just represents a storage problem.

F-111C?

Is the Museum likely to receive a c model- surely more significant to RAAF history than the later G model?