[mkvb]

Oh yeh bring em on.No 1 or 6 squadrons RAAF will do.Would prefer it done in early Nam colours but hey I'll buy anything.I would suspect they would be popular with many ozzie collectors so how about it Mr Modelmaker sir..

[SKUNKY]

Originally Posted by FormerViperDriver

Well, duh...

Very nicely articulated,FVD!....
Hey, is it true that the a/c commander's control stick doubled as a bilge pump in the event the jettisoned cockpit came down in water?

[FormerViperDriver]

Originally Posted by SKUNKY

Very nicely articulated,FVD!....
Hey, is it true that the a/c commander's control stick doubled as a bilge pump in the event the jettisoned cockpit came down in water?

Yes indeed, that is true; you know your stuff, Skunky. The ejection capsule was designed to float (and it does, it's been "operationally tested," though not by me...) and there was a pin you could insert at the base of the stick which made it into a bilge pump if needed. The capsule was also nice in the sense that we never had to wear the rubber anti-exposure suits (nicknamed "poopy-suits") which are required in "normal" ejection seat aircraft when flying for any length of time over bodies of cold water (we had to wear those in the F-16 in Korea during the winter months only, if flying over water which was quite often there). In the F-111, the suits were stored in the capsule, and we practiced putting them on inside the capsule during our yearly "egress training" refresher course. It wasn't easy, but it was preferable to wearing the things during the whole flight (they were hot and uncomfortable).

By the way, since the sticks moved together, you could use either the aircraft commander's or the WSO's stick to pump, if I remember well. Only the EF-111 "Spark Vark" did not have a stick on the WSO (right) side (well, in the EF he was called an EWO).

FVD

[CKS1]

An F-111 C for me please.

Cheers CKS1.

[mustangdriver]

It is an awsome bird that is still in service in some places.

[FormerViperDriver]

Originally Posted by mustangdriver

It is an awsome bird that is still in service in some places.

Only Australia, and not for much longer (2010 retirement. The Aussies are getting 24 Super Hornets to replace it while waiting for the F-35).

Too bad. It was a cool jet, albeit not nearly as famous as some others... But very hard on the maintainers.

FVD

[mustangdriver]

At the NMUSAF in Dayton, we have an F-111 from Vietnam, an FB-111 from the cold war. and an EF-111 "Spark Vark". All very cool looking birds.

[RockJock]

Wouldn't interest me.

[mkvb]

Originally Posted by FormerViperDriver

Only Australia, and not for much longer (2010 retirement. The Aussies are getting 24 Super Hornets to replace it while waiting for the F-35).

Too bad. It was a cool jet, albeit not nearly as famous as some others... But very hard on the maintainers.

FVD

As far as I know 6 squadron will be keeping theirs until 2020 so we will still see them about for awhile.As for the F-35 thats still up for debate.Aussie government seem to be draggin their feet on this one.From what I hear they won't make a final commitment until next year.

[SKUNKY]

Thanks for the confirmation on the stick/pump inquiry,FVD...The F-111 has always been a favorite of mine..Another aircraft that doesn't ever seem to get it's due recognition, even in the plastic model world..I do remember building a 1/72nd Revell kit of it back in the late '60s. They gave the option of building it either as an Air Force F-111A, or the dumped Navy F-111B. Then Aurora came out with one in a less accurate looking, larger scale which I also had to have..I remember both kits featured operating retractable landing gear.

I would love to see one in diecast, but as I said before, I'm not going to hold my breath!