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The F-111 Aardvark
The F-111 Aardvark was an all-weather attack aircraft, capable of low-level penetration of enemy defences to deliver ordnance on the target. It was also the first production aircraft to feature variable-sweep wings (also known as swing wings). After a troubled development, the F-111 entered service with the US Air Force in 1967. It flew in Vietnam, Operation El Dorado Canyon, and the first Gulf War before its retirement in 1998. The F-111 continued to fly with the Royal Australian Air Force until 2010, where the aircraft was dubbed ‘the pig’.
Maintaining the F-111 Aardvark
What was maintaining the F-111 like?
Royal Wesley, former USAF F-111 environmental control systems specialist, explains on Quora;
‘Very tedious. I worked the Environmental Control System (air conditioning, pressurization, oxygen, anti-g suit, radar cooling). Each aircraft has its own little pains and it was no exception. Where modern aircraft were designed for ease of maintenance the F-111s design engineers seemed to have never heard of that concept. In many areas access to system components required extensive tear down which added to downtime.
‘While working on my own systems I couldn’t help but notice issues some others had. The engines really sucked, not from a performance standpoint but containment of turbine blades. In the three years that I worked that jet all of the engines in the Wing (my 111 service was done at Nellis AFB near Las Vegas) were completely disassembled and inspected 3 different times for turbine blade separation twice causing catastrophic damage to the rear of the aircraft.’
Noise pollution
Wesley continues;
‘It was very noisy. Way beyond the normal jet noise pollution.
‘No health issues at all that could be called service related. [At Nellis] there is a mountain parallel to the runway that we called sunrise mountain. I believe this reflected some of the noise on takeoff. I have never heard an F-35 up close and personal, but if it is as loud as the F-111 was, there will be some serious hearing issues after service.
‘We had one crash on landing. Parts including a burning tire bounced onto the line and fell smoldering among two rows of mission ready aircraft. The jets weapons bay was easily available to anyone who wanted to acquire a souvenir. We called it a triple threat. It bombed them, strafed them, or fell on them. But she looked so sexy.’
The F-111 didn’t have a name during its service
Wesley concludes;
‘Many have never heard the 111 called Aardvark. This aircraft was unique in that it didn’t have a name during its service. It was named at the time of its retirement.’
Photo credit: Sgt David S. Nolan / U.S. Air Force
