Quote:
Originally Posted by raymo
Brendan, If the F18 did everything better and easier, how could the 111 be
the best strike weapon we ever had? 
Oh! and if you want REAL noise I challenge any body to have experienced more decibels from an aircraft than I did at Farnborough.
A black painted Canberra flying test bed fitted with Olympus engines which gave the aircraft almost triple the power that
it got from the normally fitted Avons passed me on take off at a distance of about 50 metres. By chance it unstuck almost directly opposite me, and as soon as the tail had enough ground clearance, about 6 or 7 metres, it stood on its tail and climbed precisely
vertically, and disappeared int the clouds. The noise made all of my insides vibrate like crazy, and I couldn't see properly because of my eyeballs jumping around.
raymo |
Ha fair point...the answer is Range and TFR. The F111 could fly 3 times the radius range + (Jakarta and back on internals, just from Tindal) than that of the F18 and do it at 200ft or lower and faster. Well maybe not fuel burn at Low Level is high
It could fly low to hide from radar then pop up and release then low again and nick off. Pavetack made it a surgical strike weapon. I worked Pavetack and electro optical for some time. Standing next to one or working one them ...was some old tech but everything was beautiful and made to last. Compared the F18....looked like it had a use by date.
The FA18.....range 1/3 the F111 yet the F18 could easily out turn and climb. The F18 also had nighthawk LTDR (I came from pavetack to run nighthawk) .....and the Brick was designed for different purposed and could do them very well.
The M61 was removed from the F111 in later years...after one shot its nose apart. Given it was not a fast turn rate acft it was silly to have this.
I loved the old Mirage and PIG but the F18 killed them all in every metric except grace. My heart lies with the Mirage and PIG.
As for noise hmmm Ive been at the rear end of Mirage & F18 full AB runs but never F111. Most of these F111 was done at test cell into a water dampener. The occasional runs at engine run used to Shake objects off our walls 2Klms away.
My Guess the F111 wins on noise but the low freq noise of the Mirage Turbojet was awesome standing 2 ft from the coal flaps. I did a few F18 twin full AB standing next to the cowls pretty good as well. Maybe that's why my ears have some tinnitus...hahaha