F-111 belly landing

There's a video of that on the internet, including interviews with the crew. FWIW, that airplane (which was an RF-111C recce bird) never flew again -- cannibalized for parts for the rest of their F-111 fleet.
 
Ron Levy said:
There's a video of that on the internet, including interviews with the crew. FWIW, that airplane (which was an RF-111C recce bird) never flew again -- cannibalized for parts for the rest of their F-111 fleet.
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Ok, that's just cool to watch. I had to watch it three times!! :thumbsup:
 
Ron Levy said:
There's a video of that on the internet, including interviews with the crew. FWIW, that airplane (which was an RF-111C recce bird) never flew again -- cannibalized for parts for the rest of their F-111 fleet.
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Thanks
 
Yup yup the good ol B-111 (that turkey was a "fighter" like I'm a female gymnastics medalist....). I'm conflicted on that ghastly egress system, but given the entire time I flew the Buff I did so on parts-expired hot seats (it's even worse now), I guess rather eat my chicken wing box while waiting to get schwacked at the 'Flag on something with burner cans I could go roll through some canyons afterward. :D
 
I really liked the capsule. We were always flying really fast, and I would rather take a chance on a hard landing than jump into a 500knot wind.

Also, I didn’t have to wear a poppy suit over Greenland, and we could get our story straight on the way down.
 
I flew a little bit with a former RAAF -111 driver. Great dude. Didn't have to do any of these things, but talking to him fulfilled my childhood airshow dreams of flying that plane. It sounded pretty cool......you guys did some cool stuff before your analog became digital if you know what I mean. FB-111 was very cool too
 
The ‘Vark was pretty cutting edge on a lot of things. Took a bit to sort out a some of it’s foibles, but when it was done, a very capable a/c. When I was in Flight Test, I still had one flying test work until about 1994.
 
Had a couple landing incidents in my time in the F-111. Blew the right main tire on landing rollout on weapons training deployment to Zaragoza Spain. It made getting out on the right side much easier--didn't have to jump down, just stepped over the canopy rail. Had the hook come down uncommanded on a low level--just had to land over the approach end barrier and stop before the departure end barrier. Most USAF jets with hooks can't raise them once they're down. Another crew lost a main wheel on landing at Moron Spain. It closed the runway for a time until they could get a crane or air bag to lift it off the runway. We had to divert to Rota.
The escape capsule was a mixed blessing. Great for overwater missions where the water is cold like the North Sea. The capsule was not so great in rough terrain. One F-111 wing commander was paralyzed after a hard landing in the capsule after an ejection.
 
Always liked the 111. Got to sit in one once. I used to see FB-111s out of Plattsburgh AFB flying around where I grew up in northern NY state. Fast and low, they would appear out of nowhere and be gone before the roar was done rattling your head. :) It was a common occurrence. I remember several times as a kid, out hiking, being on some peaks with awesome 360 views, and seeing 111s skimming the earth well below the mountain tops, at speeds which just seemed too fast to believe. Must have been one hell of a ride!
 
JimNtexas said:
I really liked the capsule. We were always flying really fast, and I would rather take a chance on a hard landing than jump into a 500knot wind.

Also, I didn’t have to wear a poppy suit over Greenland, and we could get our story straight on the way down.
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Have a a fellow USN friend who is I think the only guy to have combat time in both the EA-6B and EF-111. He loved the capsule and not having to wear all the survival gear. He hated the ALQ-99 that was three generations behind the Prowlers.
 
Witmo said:
Had a couple landing incidents in my time in the F-111. … Most USAF jets with hooks can't raise them once they're down. …One F-111 wing commander was paralyzed after a hard landing in the capsule after an ejection.
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I think the hook data is no longer valid. I know the Eagles and LGPOS’s can raise the hook. Raptor can but usually don’t and I’m not sure about fat Amy.

I knew a few Strike Eagle guys that had to punch from the Vark and they all had severe back issues from the landing.
 
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Saw an F-15E blow a tire at Bagram once when I was walking out to the ramp in the morning. I was like, wow, looks a chocolate donut flying up into the air. They dropped the hook and took the long field gear. Massive headache for ATC with one runway and a constant stream of arrivals. Anyway, wasn’t til a couple years later reading a story in Flying mag that a lot of times due to ordnance bring back and high DA at Bagram, they’re touching down at 210 KIAS. Gotta be hard on tires.
 
EvilEagle said:
I think the hook data is no longer valid. I know the Eagles and LGPOS’s can raise the hook. Raptor can but usually don’t and I’m not sure about fat Amy.
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Alright, Eagle and Raptor I know. LGPOS and fat Amy?
 
SoonerAviator said:
Fat Amy/Battle Penguin is the F-35
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I was somewhat guessing that, but couldn't figure out the reference.

I'm also assuming the LGPOS is the F-16, its the only front line AF fighter not named. I just can't figure out the acronym.
 
midwestpa24 said:
I was somewhat guessing that, but couldn't figure out the reference.

I'm also assuming the LGPOS is the F-16, its the only front line AF fighter not named. I just can't figure out the acronym.
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Google provided me with an old forum post from 2008 says "Little Gray POS" and that it was for the F-16.
 
Yeah I assumed LGPOS was something like gray pos, just didn't know if it was little or large, lol.
 
Hook retraction on the -16 is grunt powered.....no fun on a wet ramp or hangar floor.
 
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