Super Hornets & F1-11 flyover

[FenianEel]

Just saw them flyover in a big arc around Brissy town.
Awesome!!!:D
Sorry no pics, can't wait to see more of them, and see them up a bit closer.

Anyone else see them, or get some pictures?

[weeds]

i thought i seen a F111 this morning missing the hornett, maybe the hornett ran out of fuel

[QLDMIKE]

One of the best things I have ever done is stand at the end of the Amberley runway and have a F111 take off over me, lound and so very awesome.

Indonesia will be glad to see them disappear....

[VladTepes]

Yeah just saw em go past Brissy airport. Good stuff. A few f1-11's, a herd of Rhinos (not sure whether they were F18E or F variants - or both) and a Hawk.

[WhiteD3]

My guys are on the ASH site working and were told to bugger off before 1 PM so as not to be in the way. Guess the big wigs didn't want the place cluttered by all those low brow worker types:wasntme:

[VladTepes]

ASH ?

[WhiteD3]

ASH ?

Australian Super Hornets facility

[Pedro_The_Swift]

At Amberly tonight? based there?

Can someone explain to me why we are getting rid of the F111's?

[WhiteD3]

At Amberly tonight? based there?

Can someone explain to me why we are getting rid of the F111's?

No. Our company is putting in the automation system there.

I'm guessing but.....too old, too expensive to maintain and fly, availability of parts, not stealthy, incompatibility with current technology in terms of weapons/systems, etc.

[FenianEel]

At Amberly tonight? based there?

Can someone explain to me why we are getting rid of the F111's?

We're the only Air Force still flying them.
Costly and labour intensive to maintain, hard to upgrade, not suited to so called modern needs and operation etc.
Done pretty well considering they started flying the same time as Series IIA's were brand new at the dealers. :D

[Pedro_The_Swift]

so,, the Hornets can do everything an F111 can do,,
only much better??

[Chucaro]

so,, the Hornets can do everything an F111 can do,,
only much better??

I do not know about that, on the subject of planes, Brazil is going to give the final approval this week on which 36 jets are going to get.
The Hornest are the last on the list, appears that the Rafale, an ultra-modern semi-stealth omnirole fighter made by France's Dassault is the favorite followed by the Sweden's versatile and easily maintained NG Gripen by Saab

[Sprint]

so,, the Hornets can do everything an F111 can do,,
only much better??

probably cant haul the same payload.....

[Blknight.aus]

less payload and shorter legs on the hornet than the F111.

our northern nations aint gunna be getting support from us anymore.. just cant quite get there with bombs on. or we can get there but cant do anything....

the hornet boasts a more varied roll, and generally better performance than the f111 as well as being cheaper to maintain but I'd hate to be doing low level work with one. looks like its time to gyp the pilots who do the low level flying with the walkaround and "if theres no sticks or tree in the cowlings then you aint low level" line.

Not looking forwards to it the buggers are expecting do be doing up to 15 arrests per day when they start qualifying pilots. The barriers in for a workout which will be especially annoying since the northern is now an out of a pit install due to asbestos (that they've known about for at least 3 years) and its a mobile installation.. (we put that in last weekend)

[Pedro_The_Swift]

so,, we bought a fighter that can only fight close to home,,,

thats handy if Tasmania invades I suppose

[Chucaro]

Not only that! also we bought them fully assembled.
Brazil is more smart, they called a tender and the americans were prepared to give Brazil the same adventages than the French and the Sweden's offer to them.
For the 36 jets the daily, Folha de S. Paulo, published an unsourced report saying France was willing to sell the Rafales for a discounted 6.2 billion dollars -- down from 8.2 billion dollars -- plus another four billion dollars in maintenance over the next three decades.

The Gripen was priced at 4.5 billion dollars plus 1.5 billion dollars in maintenance, while the F/A-18s were valued at 5.7 billion plus 1.9 billion in maintenance.

Even so looks like that the French are going to win ;)

That means many of the components will be made in Brazil and also there will be other advanyages for the country as well.
Also the provider have to fully share the technology.

We keep loosing opportunities just to be a good mate of USA :(

[Disco44]

less payload and shorter legs on the hornet than the F111.

our northern nations aint gunna be getting support from us anymore.. just cant quite get there with bombs on. or we can get there but cant do anything....

the hornet boasts a more varied roll, and generally better performance than the f111 as well as being cheaper to maintain but I'd hate to be doing low level work with one. looks like its time to gyp the pilots who do the low level flying with the walkaround and "if theres no sticks or tree in the cowlings then you aint low level" line.

Not looking forwards to it the buggers are expecting do be doing up to 15 arrests per day when they start qualifying pilots. The barriers in for a workout which will be especially annoying since the northern is now an out of a pit install due to asbestos (that they've known about for at least 3 years) and its a mobile installation.. (we put that in last weekend)
Hey Dave,
You forgot to mention the noise they will make going over your place especially the night flying to keep the individual pilots records up to date.
Apparently they are a lot noisier then the F111's
John ( disco 44 )

[Captain_Rightfoot]

I understand the f111 are old but I like the idea of going in to one of those graveyards in the US and picking up some low-mileage replacements. :)

[Blknight.aus]

Hey Dave,
You forgot to mention the noise they will make going over your place especially the night flying to keep the individual pilots records up to date.
Apparently they are a lot noisier then the F111's
John ( disco 44 )

1.5 times noisier than the pig on average AND they do most things in pairs....

which is going to make a fouled arrest on the cable very interesting if its the first plane that fouls it.

[VladTepes]

Where to start...
Pedro - main problem with the F1-11's is that the airframes are shot. Other problems include the fact they were designed for a mission that largely no longer exists.

F1-11's
are faster
carry a heavier bomb load (oh sorry gotta be PC... payload)
have a longer range
way cooler looking
can do a "dump and burn"

F-18E/F
Multi-role (fighter bomber / ground support)
Much better "handling". (Remember the F111was not designed for air combat at all)
Cheaper to maintain and commonality with existing F-18 (non-"super" versions) = cheaper training.

In 2014 we will have (in theory at least) taken delivery of our F-35's.

The F-35 is all sorts of good things and will ultimately replace all the F-18 aircraft in our inventory.
Interestingly though it's only a single engine aircraft... surely there's a downside to that somewhere !


Still it's my firm opinion that given that the majority of flying our air force does is at airshows we should have specified "ability to do a dump and burn" as the main criterion for any replacement. We've been dudded !!!!

[3toes]

1.5 times noisier than the pig on average AND they do most things in pairs....

The Phantoms they had for a couple of years before the F 111s were delivered were a lot noisier. When on standy with engines running the noise had windows shaking in their frames all over the base. In comparison the F111s were quiet.

[3toes]

Does the F 18 E/F carry what I always considered the most important in the F 111 range - the harpoon ?

After all whoever wants to land has to cross a lot of water to get here and this was a weapon which seemed to be the well suited to the job.

[Chucaro]

This week will be interesting in Brazil and for for Boeing as well
The americans sent the Carl Vinson to Rio with the Super Hornets on deck to do a demo in Brazil.
Here are couple of clip about the F18 and the aircraft carrier.

YouTube- Video: F-18 Super Hornet Launch, USS Carl Vinson at Sea

YouTube- F-18C landing on USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70)

[Chucaro]

This is interesting: :eek:
U.S. Grounds 104 Hornets After More Cracks Discovered (http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4537356&c=AME&s=AIR)

[Sprint]

looks like its time to gyp the pilots who do the low level flying with the walkaround and "if theres no sticks or tree in the cowlings then you aint low level" line.

one recon pilot in WWII was known for having a dimpled skin on the lower rear section of his planes fuselage..... low level flying in the desert = apparently a lot of rocks get thrown up by the prop wash!

[Gooseneck]

When the F1-11 was bought we thought in terms of airplanes. Now we think in terms of systems (and outcomes). The Rhino is a great aircraft that works well with our current and future capabilities.

Building the aircraft here would take longer and we wanted them ASAP.

The F1-11 deserves it's retirement.

[Disco44]

The Phantoms they had for a couple of years before the F 111s were delivered were a lot noisier. When on standy with engines running the noise had windows shaking in their frames all over the base. In comparison the F111s were quiet.
As an Ipswichite I remember the Phantoms,Canberra'a,Meteors and the Lincoln.The Lincoln was still flying in the 50's when my family returned to Ipswich after being away for a few years.You talk about the Phantom rattling windows the Lincoln,when low flying,was the grand Daddy of them all for breaking windows not only on the base but in all of the Ipswich suburbs bordering on or near the Amberley base.But the Great Grand Daddy was in the late 50's when the yanks in their Voodoos broke the sound barrier twice. After the destruction caused by the sonic boom, which has to be heard to be believed, breaking the sound barrier was banned over the Australian mainland soon after.