F-111 Final Flypast

[Spin]

well it seems it's finally here, Friday we see the last hurrah of this incomparable beast.

 

Program of events here: Pigs Tales :: Program

 

Coincidentally I'll be on leave on Friday so murphy willing I'll be stationed somewhere along the intended flightpath to wave my goodbyes.

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Sad to see them go. Does anyone know what there future is? Be a shame to see them broken up. Got a feeling it would be a wise move to just mothball them. They could come in handy if things continue to get ansie up on the peninsula.

 

 

[Spin]

I read 4 will be put on static display, the rest will be scrapped. There was a tender request earlier this year for the disposal.

 

I reckon you're right about mothballing them, wouldn't put anything past those loons.:black_eye:

 

 

[dazza 38]

RE- Mothballed -I dunno Guys, they were pretty worn out when i stopped working on them in 1998.They must realy be stuffed now. Maintenance is the real issue- example a R5 service took around 12 to 13 months per aircraft to complete.

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

Dazza, Apparantly because of some agreement we signed with the US when they were purchased, and because they still are a potentially potent weapon, they can only be scrapped not sold..............................................................Maj...

 

 

[Aussie Steve]

A sad day in aviation history. But also the dawn of a new era. The Pigs copped a lot of flak in the early days of there lives and turned out to be the best long range strike bombers besides "The Bone" (B1)

 

I,m sure that the Lightning II JSF will be a good thing once they hit the skys and some in service development come thru.

 

I,m going to miss the Pigs.

 

Well done to all who served with them and Thankyou for your professionalism and dedication that made them unique on our behalf

 

The King is dead...Long live the King

 

F-111 fire in the night sky | Fraser Coast Art and Theatre | Artists, Galleries and Festivals in Fraser Coast | Fraser Coast Chronicle

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

Here,here Aussie steve....................well done pigs.

 

 

[dazza 38]

Im going to miss them, I also miss working on them .

 

 

[Guest Andys@coffs]

In my first year posted to Amberley at 6sqn I had to work over the christmas break due to lack of leave. They sent me down to reseal deseal to operate the hydrolaser.... I took one look at the space where I'd have to work, and the fact that the water spray was so thick you could barely see what you were supposed to be doing with the dangerous beast and declared that it was almost a certainty that I'd suffer claustrophobia in there and as such thanks but no thanks!

 

I remeber using copious amounts of "spray and wipe" with rags to try and clean up the reverting goup that was used to seal all the tanks and was leaking out. That was my extent of dealing with goup. Framies and Sumpies however were always playing with it. Thankfully Radtechs didnt have much to do with it.

 

I would have liked to have gotten back to Amberley for the day, but it wasnt to be. I worked 111's from 86 to 91 before being posted to work on P3C's from 91-95.

 

Andy

 

 

[Spin]

Couple of photos here to remember them by....

 

F-111s on Gold Coast: Pigs do fly - Photo Gallery | Gold Coast Bulletin - Australia | goldcoast.com.au

 

 

[dazza 38]

Some nice shots there.Thanks Carl

 

 

[Foto_Flyer]

Not sure about the hours but it would be in the upper thousands as they have covered around 6 million klm's each! I was fortunate to be part of the media contingent to photograph the final flight from Amberley and at least one wouldn't start so they had to use a spare. In the end they managed to get 6 in the air, 5 doing the flypasts and the sixth doing probably one of the most impressive handling display's I've seen from an F111. The pilot was later telling me that they were pulling out all the stops as there was no need to worry about over stressing the airframe as it was the last flight anyway.

 

Apparently 4 will be going on static display (2 at Amberley, 1 at Edinburgh, and the 4th is at Pt. Cook already). The rest will be stored at Amberley awaiting disposal along with the "G's" that have been in "storage" since 2007. It was confirmed in no uncertain terms that there will be no private acquisitions of any of these flyable aircraft, they are to be scrapped! That's a shame, it would of been nice for at least one to be kept in flying order, although the cost of running it would of been astronomical! Private buyers can put their hand up for a non flying one but they will also have to cover the cost of "demilitarising" the aircraft as well.