F111 Disposal - Article

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sprint

Indeed...... wasnt going to complain, I have a soft spot a mile wide for the Phantom's

---

I still have the scars from working on Spey Mk 202/203's. The aircraft was designed for a GE powerplant that slid in beautifully on a rail. The Phantom Spey however was larger in diameter, & hence went in on a special installation stand, that inched forward then up an inch etc, until you could get the mounts attached - once installed changing LRU's was an elbow bruising exercise, usually associated with an armpit full of JP4. As for ground runs, it was the only aircraft that I ever had to wear a leather body belt when setting up the reheat (afterburner), this was a precaution incase of reheat buzz.. ah happy days;)

I used to work with a fellow who's brother was killed flying an F1-11
I gather he was one of if not the youngest f1-11 pilot - something like that.

Anyway while we farewell the aircraft let us not forget the men who flew them.

RIP Mark Fallon, RIP all you fellas.

02.04.1987
Flight Lieutenant Mark Fallon
6 Squadron Tenterfield, NSW
F111 Crash whilst performing a bombing run

In Remembrance

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by VladTepes

I used to work with a fellow who's brother was killed flying an F1-11
I gather he was one of if not the youngest f1-11 pilot - something like that.

Anyway while we farewell the aircraft let us not forget the men who flew them.

RIP Mark Fallon, RIP all you fellas.

02.04.1987
Flight Lieutenant Mark Fallon
6 Squadron Tenterfield, NSW
F111 Crash whilst performing a bombing run

In Remembrance

---

.

Thanks VladTepes, I picked up after a few. Still makes me shiver as the night time at about 2.30am thinking of an F1 -11 incoming at very high speed at about Mach 2 on our ships radar off Jarvis Bay. He turned too tight on his inbound simulated bombing run on HMAS Hobart. They were just above the waves and only rolled over a degree or two too far. Saddly my time as Hobarts ships diver saw me picking up the remains of a 2nd F1-11 up near Newcastle. Sorry cannot shared details of that one for the sake of the families.

Mach 2 at low level in F-111? umm not in a blue fit I used to work on them in 1993/4 they were clearly towards the end of their service life then. The majority of the ones that ended up in the coal mine were probably the G's they brought off the US in order to keep the hours off the C's. We though the C's were rough till the G's showed up. Not particularly sad to see them go they cost a fortune to run highly unreliable never really ever lived up to the promise of the design and the C's were 10 years out of date buy the time they were delivered.

The only thing that really concerns me is the F-111 was the result of a joint strike fighter project, now where have I heard that term kicked around recently?

I saw one (remains) in a scrap yard near Archerfield in 2000. It looked like an ex USAF one given the camo paint. It was just the centre wing section which gave it away. I do have a photo somewhere....somewhere

Matt.

The C's ran the camo paint scheme up until the electronics update of the mid to late 90's, the G's were grey from delivery.