The End of an Era.....

[Humperdinkel]

Today as Australia fairwells out mighty F-111 :rockon: or the 'Pig' as we like to call her

Everybody has their thing that does it for them , well this 'Lady of the sky" is my thing..... She will be sadly missed , so I want to thank her for 37 years of service & thank all the ground crews & air crews that have kept this still mighty bird flying :thumbup:

Also want the thank the air crews that sadly never made it home , we know you were taken from us doing what you loved & you will be remembered as will your mighty 'Pig'.........

Here is a phone video of the last Dump & Burn taken on Saturday night from my driveway , she is a hell of a lot closer than she looks :thumbup:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y4zg3QGKTk]YouTube - F-111 last night time Dump & Burn[/ame]

And a few of my favs from my own personal collection

 

[mxgolf]

That's friggin cool. Thanks :thumbup:

 

[Wolfman]

Thanks Humpy! I reckon the ol' F1-11 has a special place in a lot of Australian's heart's!

Bit like the FZ6, much more than the sum of the parts the plane is made of!

I love the sound of these planes, and I love the look of them as well!

 

[Kazza]

Dan, this is truly a sad day for you

Never mind, the replacements are MUCH better :rockon:

 

[Humperdinkel]

Never mind, the replacements are MUCH better :rockon:

Sadly Kaz thats not the case , they are new but that where it ends The Govt have chosen the WRONG plane to replace it :spank:

 

[Wolfman]

Sadly Kaz thats not the case , they are new but that where it ends The Govt have chosen the WRONG plane to replace it :spank:

I did read about the replacement planes, and their unsuitability, but for the life of me, i cant remember exactly which planes the Government is purchasing???

Humpy???

:thumbup:

 

[REO Scorpio]

Oh, man...the Aardvark...I loved that plane when I was growing up and was still entertaining the idea of attempting to become a USAF pilot. Had a book that had a chapter devoted to it.

That bird was well-ahead of its time. A lot of things we take for granted on interceptors came from the development of the f-111. I didn't realize they were still in service down under. It's going to be one of those things that governments try to replace but will just end up spending twice as much and will need two panes to fill what was once completed by one.

Scorp

 

[REO Scorpio]

I did read about the replacement planes, and their unsuitability, but for the life of me, i cant remember exactly which planes the Government is purchasing???

Humpy???

:thumbup:

Just looked into it...is it true they are going to go with F-18 Super Hornets? That's another good plane...

 

[mponder]

That is the military way, find all of the issues, fix them, train the crews until they perfect, then replace it with somthing with more issues.

 

[Humperdinkel]

I did read about the replacement planes, and their unsuitability, but for the life of me, i cant remember exactly which planes the Government is purchasing???

Humpy???

:thumbup:

As a stop gap replacement that have bought 24 Super Hornets , which for jumping off a carrier deck as a pure fighter are wonderful but fall well short of what we need in a strike aircraft....

The long term replacement is the F-35 LightningII , which is still being developed , failing to meet expectations & horribly close to having the whole program cancelled :spank:.... Even if it does make it to prodution it is not the aircraft for us , short range , small weapons load & a single engine which the Aussie govt learnt long ago with our Mirage's doesnt work :spank:...

Military aviation is my hobby so i'll could keep going & going but i'll shut up before I bore people

 

[Humperdinkel]

That bird was well-ahead of its time. A lot of things we take for granted on interceptors came from the development of the f-111. I didn't realize they were still in service down under. It's going to be one of those things that governments try to replace but will just end up spending twice as much and will need two panes to fill what was once completed by one.

Scorp

The F-111 Aardvark or Pig as we call it can still do things that todays 5th gen fighters can only dream of :thumbup:

Unfortunately the govt is doing exactly as you say mate , wasting money replacing something that cant be replaced...... Thats why the USAF keep the B-52 going & going & going , there will never be a plane that does what it does as well as it does so keep upgrading it & keep her going :thumbup: its proven to be far more cost effective than 2 or 3 different types of replacement aircraft...

 

[chaskell27]

The long term replacement is the F-35 LightningII , which is still being developed , failing to meet expectations & horribly close to having the whole program cancelled :spank:.... Even if it does make it to prodution it is not the aircraft for us , short range , small weapons load & a single engine which the Aussie govt learnt long ago with our Mirage's doesnt work :spank:...

Dare I ask what happened to the F-35 Lightning I ?

 

[REO Scorpio]

The F-111 Aardvark or Pig as we call it can still do things that todays 5th gen fighters can only dream of :thumbup:

Unfortunately the govt is doing exactly as you say mate , wasting money replacing something that cant be replaced...... Thats why the USAF keep the B-52 going & going & going , there will never be a plane that does what it does as well as it does so keep upgrading it & keep her going :thumbup: its proven to be far more cost effective than 2 or 3 different types of replacement aircraft...

Too true. It's the planes that fill a niche that can truly last.

Otherwise, big contracts and bureacratic favoritism wins out, and in the end, the guys on the line have to accept mediocre tools. Now I'm harping...

At any rate, it is an end of an era and sad to see it pass.

 

[Humperdinkel]

Dare I ask what happened to the F-35 Lightning I ?

The F-35 is a new aircraft but the Lightning II part of it comes from the classic P-38 Lightning which was one of WW2's great planes :thumbup:

Somehow they think this

Has evolved into this :shakehead:

 

[Wolfman]

I just love Military planes....not quite an enthusiast, but as i get older i gather more and more interest....Humpy, you can talk about Military planes all you like Buddy...you got my attention, every time!

Have got a feeling that in Tassie, early next year, i might be privvy to a decent blurt about Military planes from Mr Humpy at some point...probably over a few cold ales, looking out over a picturesque scene, after a decent days riding...

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

 

[Humperdinkel]

I just love Military planes....not quite an enthusiast, but as i get older i gather more and more interest....Humpy, you can talk about Military planes all you like Buddy...you got my attention, every time!

Have got a feeling that in Tassie, early next year, i might be privvy to a decent blurt about Military planes from Mr Humpy at some point...probably over a few cold ales, looking out over a picturesque scene, after a decent days riding...

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

You paint a wonderful picture for Tassie mate :thumbup: God I hope they sell Rum down there If not I guess Cascade will hafta do....

As for military aircraft , that is my hobby or as Kel calls it my obsession I can talk Bikes , planes & fishing till the cows come home :thumbup:

 

[Humperdinkel]

Just because she is the best EVER [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XINQ8XNTXiE&feature=related]YouTube - F-111 Capability[/ame]

NSFW contains some language but so cool it has to be shared [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8124lhm6d7o]YouTube - F-111 Low Pass[/ame]

 

[Humperdinkel]

Some will be interested in the last several pages :thumbup:
Defence Newspapers | Air Force

 

[Disco]

Was happy that I was in the city centre just as they flew over last friday.

Sad sad day, especially for the pilots.

 

[andysadd]

We Brits just lost our Harriers, So I know how you all feel, Wont be the same at an airshow without these beauties hovering around