F-111s Downunder - 7 more saved to go to civil museums

[Liberator]

Great news in Australia today as the government announced that 7 extra F-111 will now be able to be saved all going well in the future and be allocated to civil museums ......with not so over the top limitations as once expected.
Still there will be constraints on access to parts and covering needed but the good news is more F-111 will be seen around Australia making the tourism potential better for museums.

This sensible and overdue decision, will be a resounding welcome to the main well established aviation museums who can now hope they get allocated a F-111C and can meet the conditions. Some may have to build new building to house a F-111 maybe...

My warbird mate has known about this allocation news story for a while but couldnt say much - now i see why

Phil

[Fouga23]

Great news!

[JOHN MILLER]

[ErrolC]

Great!

Media Realease
http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/2011 ... t-museums/

30 September 2011

Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare today announced that up to seven retired F-111 fighter jets will be made available to Australian aircraft museums and other historical organisations.

The iconic F-111s were the front line of the Australian Defence Force for almost four decades.

Following their retirement in December last year, aircraft museums and historical organisations around the country expressed strong interest in displaying the F-111.

“I’ve met with museum operators around the country and I understand how important it is that as many Australians as possible have access to this piece of Australia’s aviation history,” Mr Clare said.

“I have therefore decided that up to seven F-111s will be made available to Australian aircraft museums and other historical organisations.”

The aircraft will be loaned to museums so that Defence can continue to manage the risk of hazardous material in the aircraft like asbestos and will be subject to a number of conditions to ensure the safe preservation of the aircraft.

These include:

Housing the aircraft in a completely enclosed facility;
Ensuring members of the public are prevented from climbing into engine intakes and exhaust ducts;
Limiting, controlling and supervising public access to the cockpit;
Preventing the public from opening aircraft panels;
Supervising public access to the wheel well and weapons bays;
Completing specified preservation maintenance; and
Meeting Commonwealth auditing and reporting requirements.

As the aircraft were produced in the United States, organisations selected to display the aircraft will be subject to the approval of the US Government under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.

Interested organisations will be asked to respond to a Request for Offer which will be released by Defence later this year.

F-111 aircraft will also be preserved at the following RAAF Bases across Australia:

RAAF Base Amberley, QLD (two aircraft);
RAAF Museum at Point Cook, VIC (two aircraft);
RAAF Base Edinburgh, SA (one aircraft); and
RAAF Base Wagga, NSW (one aircraft).

“The F-111s were affectionately known as ‘Pigs’ because of their ability to hunt at night and fly low in the weeds thanks to their terrain-following radar,” Mr Clare said.

“They were perhaps best known for their fiery dump and burn exhibitions at air shows around Australia.

“They could fly at two-and-a-half times the speed of sound and when they retired were still one of the fastest strike aircraft in the world.”

[Keith Gaff]

While it's an interesting development I don't think it will be getting the private museums in Australia too excited. There are few if any museums with the space to immediately house an F111 or the spare cash to build a hangar to house one. The logistics of moving one of these beasts by road are formidable and expensive and these aircraft are at RAAF Base Amberley in Queensland, thousands of miles from most potential recipients and in Australia the military does not deliver.

Regards,

Keith Gaff

[1969read]

There is plenty of room at Darwin next to the B-52 Jason

[Keith Gaff]

Hello Jason,

Having the room is one thing; having the money and the expertise and the equipment to dismantle and move one of these things is a horse of a whole other colour.

Keith

[cco23i]

OUTSTANDING! From an old "Ardvark" chief.

Scott

[JDK]

All credit to the people at the Queensland Air Museum who led a push to try and get one for themselves; and were ruled out originally. I hope that this change of policy means they can complete the challenge of getting one on display there.

[CDF]

No connection to the group, just passing on the details

The F-111 Preservation Group was formed in 2002 in order to facilitate the preservation of an ex Australian Serving F-111 Aircraft/Airframe for historical, cultural and educational purposes.

Too many times in the past have the worlds greatest serving aircraft ended up a rarity in the world, due to the hasty actions of the scrappers torch and the lack of early action taken to ensure that such incredible aircraft are available for future generations to admire as a physical masterpiece, rather than on the pages of a book.

Unfortunately, the F-111 looks to so far be falling into this category, with minimal and restricted museum access in the United States, and a distinct lack of capable hands to ensure that organisations in Australia will be able to preserve this important piece of Australian air power history.

The F-111 Preservation Group has been set up to ensure the aquisition and preservation of an F-111G/C aircraft in the best circumstances, by providing an alternative to the scrapheap and countless skilled experts on hand to restore and maintain an F-111 aircraft upon its disposal by the ADF.

http://f-111preservation.org/

[CDF]

Local TV news had some coverage tonight of the F-111's going into landfill west of Brisbane, hard to tell how many exactly. Will see if I can find a link to post

[Rocketeer]

The Cold War Air Museum at Lancaster Munincipal Airport should really take advantage of this opportunity and bring a Texas native F-111 home. There isn't another city in the U.S. that has more people who built, flew, and serviced F-111s.

[CDF]

Dump no burn: F-111s are buried at Swanbank Industrial Park. Picture: Channel 7 Source: Supplied

F-111 fans are outraged many of the iconic RAAF fighter jets have been dumped at a landfill site near Ipswich.

A RAAF spokesman confirmed to Ipswich News on Thursday that 23 of the planes had been dumped at the Swanbank landfill site.The jets had been located at RAAF Base Amberley, near Ipswich, before being decommissioned late last year.

The F-111s have been replaced by the Super Hornets, with the final four being delivered from the US to Amberley with a spectacular flypast over southeast Queensland in October.The US Government had placed tight restrictions on how the planes were be dismantled or preserved with several earmarked for museums around Australia.Two are expected to be on show at RAAF Base Amberley at its Heritage Centre.``It's just the hulks of the planes (that were dumped),'' the RAAF spokesman said. ``They saved the ones they could.'' Ipswich Councillor Paul Tully expressed his outrage about the dumping on his Facebook page.

``Fifty years of Australian history down the drain as the RAAF dumps F-111s down disused Ipswich coal mine at Swanbank,'' he posted.Related comments included: ``What a waste! You would think these would be saved for a museum or at least if they were being thrown they should be offered for public interests.''Another wrote: ``If the RAAF didn't want them, I am wondering if ICC (Ipswich City Council) were happy to take them and all the costs associated with restoration and display.''

Meanwhile, Federal Member for Blair Shayne Neumann has encouraged organisations to apply for one of seven F-111s left to be loaned to museums and other historical organisations.He said Defence Materiel Minister Jason Clare had released a Request for Offer for the jets.``This is a fantastic opportunity for local historical organisations to be able to display these iconic aircraft which protected our skies for nearly four decades'' Mr Neumann said.

``The Australian Government is loaning the aircraft so as many Australians as possible have access to this piece of our aviation history.``The loans will be subject to a number of conditions to ensure the safe preservation of the aircraft, which are outlined in the Request for Offer.''

The RAAF spokesman said a service for all involved with the F-111s, including the families of airmen lost in crashes, will be held at the memorial garden near the front gate of RAAF Base Amberley at 9am on Friday, December 2.

For more on the offer, which closed on March 28, visit www.tenders.gov.au with reference DMOASD/Other175/2011.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/questnews ... 6204896564

[Fouga23]

Why the hell would they bury them? At least they could have offered the escape pods for sale! If I would live in Australia, I would get my shovel out in a heartbeat!

[CDF]

According to the above article (now with a video link), 23 buried, 7 on loan to museums