[3e] F-111

[Phaelen Bleux]

General Dynamics F-111 "Aardvark"
As The F-105 Thunderchief was reaching its retirement, Tactical Air Command began looking for its replacement. Featuring a number of firsts in aviation design, such as variable-geometry wings, terrain-following radar, and supersonic flight without afterburning ("supercruise"), the F-111 seemed destined to be a cutting edge aircraft. The design was plagued with problems, however, and the -B version for the U.S. Navy never even made it into service. Nevertheless, the F-111 saw service in Vietnam and the Gulf Wars, performing reliable in both conflicts. For most of its career, the F-111 carried the unofficial nickname "Aardvark;" this was made official just before the plane's retirement in 1997.
The F-111 has a crew of two (pilot and tactical navigator) who sit side-by-side in the cockpit. Instead of ejection seats, the F-111 features an escape capsule that holds both crew members. It features an internal bomb bay that can be configured for a number of payloads. The bay can be fitted with a 20mm Vulcan cannon (which was never used in any F-111) and two 750-lb. bombs. More often, however, the F-111F is fitted with the Pave Tack pod containing FLIR, laser rangefinder, and laser designator. This pod is only semi-retractable, leading many pilots to call it "Pave drag." (Some GMs may wish to consider this a loaded hardpoint in planes so equipped.)
The F-111 is equipped with eight external hardpoints as well. The outermost two have never been used. The inner two are only used for two 600-gallon drop tanks. The remaining four hardpoints can be loaded with GBU-12 Paveway II 500-lb. bombs, GBU-10 Paveway II 2,000-lb. bombs, GBU-24 Paveway III 2,000-lb. bombs, GBU-28 Paveway III 4,800-lb. bombs, GBU-15 EO-guided 2,000-lb. bombs, plus an assortment of other "dumb" bombs and cluster weapons. Fort self-defense, the F-111F routinely carries AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles.
The F-111F burns 909 gallons of jet fuel per hour at routine usage. A full (internal) tank of fuel costs $15,075. The F-111 has a range of 2,925 miles on internal fuel alone. Ordnance costs vary by payload.

General Dynamics F-111F
Subassemblies: Body +5, STOL Wings with Variable Sweep +3, 3 retractable small Wheels +1.
Powertrain: Two 15,151-lb. thrust Turbofans with Afterburners, 2,300-kWs advanced battery.
Fuel: 5,025 gallons jet fuel (Fire 13) in standard self-sealing fuel tanks (Fire +0).
Occupancy: 2 NCS.
Cargo: 0.

Armor
All: 4/20

Weaponry:
31,500-lbs. of disposable ordnance [Body/Wings:U].

Equipment:
Body: Long range radio with scrambler, navigation instruments, inertial navigation system, IFF, autopilot, 2-person escape capsule with airbags, 50,000-lb. brake parachute, refueling probe, terrain following radar, 60-mile radar (Scan 21), advanced radar/IR detector, HUDWAC, decoy discharger with 6 chaff/flare reloads, flight recorder, datalink, two small computers with terminals, dedicated targeting computer, 20-mile thermograph, 20-mile laser range finder, 20-mile laser designator, military GPS, 0.5 man/days limited life support, 1,500-lb. bomb bay. Wings: 8 hardpoints.

Statistics:
Size: 73'x63'x17' Payload: 26.25 tons Lwt.: 50 tons
Volume: 1,366 cf. Maint.: 5.3 hours Price: $14,265,585

HT: 12. HPs: 3,792 Body, 1,971 each Wing, 344 each Wheel.

aSpeed: 1650 aAccel: 6/10 aDecel: 38 aMR: 9.5 aSR: 5
Stall Speed: 157 mph. Take-Off Run: 1,040 yards. Landing Run: 1,000 yards.
gSpeed: 394 gAccel: 20 gDecel: 10 gMR: 0.25 gSR: 3
Ground Pressure Extremely High. No Off-Road speed.

Design Notes:
Body is 1,080 cf; wheels are 54 cf; wings are 143 cf each. Wing volume was reverse-calculated from historical wing area. Structure is Extra-Heavy, Standard with Superior Streamlining. Armor is expensive metal. Electronic controls. Design Loaded weight is 113,977 lbs.; this was decreased 12% to the actual value. The design payload runs high; design empty weight was within 4% of the historical value of 47,481 lbs. Historical values for wing area and loaded weight were used for performance calculations. See p. VE160 for the effects of swept wings on performance. Design aSpeed is 1,327 mph, 1,705 mph with afterburner. Design stall speeds were 175 mph, or 157 mph with wings extended. The historical top speed, take-off run, and landing run are shown above. -32 mph to aSpeed per loaded hardpoint. Historical cost was $9.8 million in 1998.

Variants:
The F-111A (1967) featured two 18,500-lb. turbofans. It lacked many of the modern features shown above, including GPS, thermograph, INS, laser designator, and laser rangefinder. 141 built.
The F-111B was a failure to navalize the F-111. It was superceded by the F-14.
The F-111C were 24 -As exported to Australia.
The F-111D featured 19,600-lb. turnbofans and a high-maintenance and unreliable improved avionics package. 96 built.
The F-111E was similar to the -A, with a couple of minor upgrades. 94 built.
The F-111G were 51 airframes reworked for training purposes.
The F-111K was an order of aircraft for Australia that was canceled due to prolonged technical difficulties.

[rayk469]

Originally Posted by Phaelen Bleux

General Dynamics F-111 "Aardvark"
As The F-105 Thunderchief was reaching its retirement, Tactical Air Command began looking for its replacement. Featuring a number of firsts in aviation design, such as variable-geometry wings, terrain-following radar, and supersonic flight without afterburning ("supercruise"), the F-111 seemed destined to be a cutting edge aircraft. The design was plagued with problems, however, and the -B version for the U.S. Navy never even made it into service. Nevertheless, the F-111 saw service in Vietnam and the Gulf Wars, performing reliable in both conflicts. For most of its career, the F-111 carried the unofficial nickname "Aardvark;" this was made official just before the plane's retirement in 1997.
The F-111 has a crew of two (pilot and tactical navigator) who sit side-by-side in the cockpit. Instead of ejection seats, the F-111 features an escape capsule that holds both crew members. It features an internal bomb bay that can be configured for a number of payloads. The bay can be fitted with a 20mm Vulcan cannon (which was never used in any F-111) and two 750-lb. bombs. More often, however, the F-111F is fitted with the Pave Tack pod containing FLIR, laser rangefinder, and laser designator. This pod is only semi-retractable, leading many pilots to call it "Pave drag." (Some GMs may wish to consider this a loaded hardpoint in planes so equipped.)
The F-111 is equipped with eight external hardpoints as well. The outermost two have never been used. The inner two are only used for two 600-gallon drop tanks. The remaining four hardpoints can be loaded with GBU-12 Paveway II 500-lb. bombs, GBU-10 Paveway II 2,000-lb. bombs, GBU-24 Paveway III 2,000-lb. bombs, GBU-28 Paveway III 4,800-lb. bombs, GBU-15 EO-guided 2,000-lb. bombs, plus an assortment of other "dumb" bombs and cluster weapons. Fort self-defense, the F-111F routinely carries AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles.
The F-111F burns 909 gallons of jet fuel per hour at routine usage. A full (internal) tank of fuel costs $15,075. The F-111 has a range of 2,925 miles on internal fuel alone. Ordnance costs vary by payload.

General Dynamics F-111F
Subassemblies: Body +5, STOL Wings with Variable Sweep +3, 3 retractable small Wheels +1.
Powertrain: Two 15,151-lb. thrust Turbofans with Afterburners, 2,300-kWs advanced battery.
Fuel: 5,025 gallons jet fuel (Fire 13) in standard self-sealing fuel tanks (Fire +0).
Occupancy: 2 NCS.
Cargo: 0.

Armor
All: 4/20

Weaponry:
31,500-lbs. of disposable ordnance [Body/Wings:U].

Equipment:
Body: Long range radio with scrambler, navigation instruments, inertial navigation system, IFF, autopilot, 2-person escape capsule with airbags, 50,000-lb. brake parachute, refueling probe, terrain following radar, 60-mile radar (Scan 21), advanced radar/IR detector, HUDWAC, decoy discharger with 6 chaff/flare reloads, flight recorder, datalink, two small computers with terminals, dedicated targeting computer, 20-mile thermograph, 20-mile laser range finder, 20-mile laser designator, military GPS, 0.5 man/days limited life support, 1,500-lb. bomb bay. Wings: 8 hardpoints.

Statistics:
Size: 73'x63'x17' Payload: 26.25 tons Lwt.: 50 tons
Volume: 1,366 cf. Maint.: 5.3 hours Price: $14,265,585

HT: 12. HPs: 3,792 Body, 1,971 each Wing, 344 each Wheel.

aSpeed: 1650 aAccel: 6/10 aDecel: 38 aMR: 9.5 aSR: 5
Stall Speed: 157 mph. Take-Off Run: 1,040 yards. Landing Run: 1,000 yards.
gSpeed: 394 gAccel: 20 gDecel: 10 gMR: 0.25 gSR: 3
Ground Pressure Extremely High. No Off-Road speed.

Design Notes:
Body is 1,080 cf; wheels are 54 cf; wings are 143 cf each. Wing volume was reverse-calculated from historical wing area. Structure is Extra-Heavy, Standard with Superior Streamlining. Armor is expensive metal. Electronic controls. Design Loaded weight is 113,977 lbs.; this was decreased 12% to the actual value. The design payload runs high; design empty weight was within 4% of the historical value of 47,481 lbs. Historical values for wing area and loaded weight were used for performance calculations. See p. VE160 for the effects of swept wings on performance. Design aSpeed is 1,327 mph, 1,705 mph with afterburner. Design stall speeds were 175 mph, or 157 mph with wings extended. The historical top speed, take-off run, and landing run are shown above. -32 mph to aSpeed per loaded hardpoint. Historical cost was $9.8 million in 1998.

Variants:
The F-111A (1967) featured two 18,500-lb. turbofans. It lacked many of the modern features shown above, including GPS, thermograph, INS, laser designator, and laser rangefinder. 141 built.
The F-111B was a failure to navalize the F-111. It was superceded by the F-14.
The F-111C were 24 -As exported to Australia.
The F-111D featured 19,600-lb. turnbofans and a high-maintenance and unreliable improved avionics package. 96 built.
The F-111E was similar to the -A, with a couple of minor upgrades. 94 built.
The F-111G were 51 airframes reworked for training purposes.
The F-111K was an order of aircraft for Australia that was canceled due to prolonged technical difficulties.

Just FYI, you have a couple of errors in your writeup about the Hog. I flew the plane for close to 20 years, including two tours in Nam. Trust me, EVERY F-111A had the Vulcan mounted in the bomb bay. I used it more than once. Quite a few times more than once, in fact. Also, the inner-most hardpoints on the wing were usually loaded with 500 pound iron bombs on a real mission. Also, the plane would exceed 1,600 knots at altitude. I'm not at liberty to say how much more, at least not that I'm aware of. I believe that info is still classified. Anyway, for what it's worth, that's some info from a Hog driver. R

[Ed the Coastie]

I've loved the F-111 ever since I read Wingman by Mack Maloney and he described one being used to carry a small nuke. I don't care if it was fiction...it was a great scene.

[Melichor]

Originally Posted by Ed the Coastie

I've loved the F-111 ever since I read Wingman by Mack Maloney and he described one being used to carry a small nuke. I don't care if it was fiction...it was a great scene.

This was entirely possible (at least in the late 80's and early 90's). We often scored training sorties for FB-111s doing a single synchronous release against a target. The same scenario that B1-Bs were using.

It would have been nice if the OP had included FB-111s and EF-111s.

[Pomphis]

Originally Posted by Phaelen Bleux

Two 15,151-lb. thrust Turbofans with Afterburners
Fuel: 5,025 gallons jet fuel (Fire 13) in standard self-sealing fuel tanks (Fire +0).
Occupancy: 2 NCS.
1,500-lb. bomb bay.
Body is 1,080 cf;

Some questions. I did an F-111 long ago and had a significantly larger body.

Engines = 129.208 cf + 129.208 cf Access Space
5,025 gallons = 753.75 cf
2 NCS = 60 cf
1,500 lb bomb bay = 45 cf

Those components alone add up to 1,117.166 cf.

Did you put some fuel tanks into the wings ?
Is there a rule somewhere lifting the access space requirement for powered propulsion systems outside of pods (VE2/15) ?

I used a Heavy Cheap Frame and DR 8. Is aMR 9.5 realistic ?

[adm]

I am not sure about why people are impressed with the F-111s ability to carry nuclear weapons. Much smaller fighters, such as the F-104, the F-18, or even the diminutive A-4.

[Phaelen Bleux]

Originally Posted by Pomphis

Some questions. I did an F-111 long ago and had a significantly larger body.

Making me dig in the archives! :)

Engines = 129.208 cf + 129.208 cf Access Space

Plus another 12.9 for the afterburners. I did not include Access Space. My only defense for that is to say that in the WWII MVDS (which is how I began to orient on building aircraft), access space for aircraft engines is significantly smaller. The real reason is that I did not realize the rule about access space for a long time.

5,025 gallons = 753.75 cf
2 NCS = 60 cf
1,500 lb bomb bay = 45 cf

These all match.

Did you put some fuel tanks into the wings ?

Yes. 250 cf.

Is there a rule somewhere lifting the access space requirement for powered propulsion systems outside of pods (VE2/15) ?

Well, no, other than the MVDS defense above.

For a long time I missed those 2 sentences buried at the beggining of VE. I finally realized my mistake via Vehicles Light, which was dividing component weight by 25, not 50, in order to automatically include Access Space in the volume.

I used a Heavy Cheap Frame and DR 8.

Modern jet fighters are supposed to use an Extra-Heavy frame (p. VE18). If I puffed up Volume (e.g., structural weight) , I would have to reduce Armor to match historcal EWgt, so your DR might work better.

Is aMR 9.5 realistic ?

No idea. Given that it is a derived gaming stat, I'm not sure how to justify it other than by comparison to other aMRs.

[cosmicfish]

Originally Posted by Pomphis

I used a Heavy Cheap Frame

Bad choice. Aircraft frames are very strong, very light, and very cheap. I would not make commercial planes less than Expensive, and combat jets are generally Advanced. And both will usually be Very Heavy.

Heavy Cheap is more appropriate to a truck.

[Whitestreak]

OK, as a former aircraft maintenance person in the USAF, I can promise that there is no access space for aircraft engines.

Aircraft engines are maintained while the aircraft is on the ground. Depending upon what is being fixed, access panels are removed (these are either part of the aircraft skin or they are fitted in someplace like the bomb bay, which require the aircraft to be on the ground) or the entire engine is removed from the aircraft and is sent to an engine maintenance shop.

[Pomphis]

Originally Posted by Phaelen Bleux

Modern jet fighters are supposed to use an Extra-Heavy frame (p. VE18).

I used Heavy and Cheap to get the weight right, because my impression was that the F-111 was not a dogfighter and therefore should get a low aMR, and to get a lower price.

Originally Posted by Phaelen Bleux

No idea. Given that it is a derived gaming stat, I'm not sure how to justify it other than by comparison to other aMRs.

Given my impression that the F-111 was not a good dogfighter I wanted a low aMR compared to other fighters.