This weeks F111 Retirement..

[juddy]

The retirement of the F-111 fleet marks a significant milestone in the history of Australian military aviation. The long range strike bombers have supported Australia’s national security by providing a potent strategic deterrent

F-111 A8-125 is taxied in for the final time by Air Combat Officer (Navigator), Wing Commander Michael Gray, Commanding Officer No. 6 Squadron, and No. 6 Squadron pilot, Flight Lieutenant Andrew Kloeden.





A8-126 performs the last dump and burn in history on the final day of flying the F-111.

[VladTepes]

those last 4 photos really epitomise what I will miss about the Pig. Great lines in flight AND a real crowd pleaser.

So sad that most will go to a metal recycler....

[juddy]

It would be nice to see one kept flying, with at least another 10 years airframe life on some of these and that very large wharehouse of spares, it should be done...

[VladTepes]

I mentioned this in another thread.
that's just the beginning of the associated costs.
training pilots for it / keeping currency on type.
maintenance costs
training mechanics / engineers in type.
actual flying costs when money shoudl be spent on hours for line aircraft.

etc etc and for what? a few firewrosk shows? Sadly not going to happen.

[juddy]

The uk did it with the Vulcan so it's possible
if the raaf put some support in it would be possible
even just for a few years, there's plenty of pilots
still out there who would fly it.

[VladTepes]

Yes we;; the RAF have more money for their historic flight as well as the political support for it.
Australia doesn;t think that way.. sadly.
I wish we still had some flying Mirages. Macchi's etc.

[JDNSW]

It is a pity to see them go - there is no real replacement. But the maintenance (labour) costs were getting too high, and this goes for keeping a historic one as well.

As far as Mirages go, my understanding was that they had all reached the end of their airframe fatigue life, having been used in low level operations for which they were not designed.

Don't know about Macchis.

John

[VladTepes]

Some relevant info re teh governments plans for the F111's.

QAM - Most FAQ

[3toes]

Yes we;; the RAF have more money for their historic flight as well as the political support for it.
Australia doesn;t think that way.. sadly.
I wish we still had some flying Mirages. Macchi's etc.

RAF Historic flight is centred around the Lancaster. It almost ceased to exist here under the last government as the wing spar needed replacement which required special funding. Without a significant public outcry it would have been grounded and the Spitfire and Hurricane sold off.

The Vulcan struggles each year to raise the £500k in donations it requires to cover maintenance. You only have to miss this target once and it will not fly again.

In 1990 Pakistan bought about 50 of the Mirage aircraft from the RAAF once they had been replaced by the Hornet. These airframes had plenty of life left in them and are still flying with the PAF recieving a major weapons / radar / systems upgrade under French guidance in 2000. They are due to be replaced late next decade by Chinese aircraft.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Thats a good link Vlad,,

The Museum author makes some valid points,,

if the Gov can demilitarize a few destroyers and a few Tanks, and GIVE them away,, why not a few F-111's?

Why do non- gov agency's have to pay such a huge amount? is the gov scared of their planes ( I gather the NON G models ARE ours???) becoming some sort of paying tourist attraction?

I've downloaded the pdf and after a mild plagiarism will forward it off to Shine.