Page 90 - History of War - Issue 30-16

OPERATOR’S HANDBOOK

“THEENGINE’SGREATSPEED
WASMATCHEDBYACLEVERCO-

ORDINATIONWITHTHEAIRCRAFT’S
AVIONICSSYSTEM,WHICHMEANT

F-111s had
a complex THEF-111COULDFLYATMACH1.2
avionics system
which included ATONLY60METRES”
communications,
navigation, terrain
following, target
acquisition and
suppression
of enemy air
defence systems

A Royal Australian Air Force F-111C performing
a ‘dump and burn’ at an air show. The fuel is
intentionally ignited using the aircraft’s afterburner
Above: Two powerful
Pratt & Whitney TF30
turbofan engines
power the F-111,
ENGINES delivering speeds of
The F-111 was powered by two Pratt & Whitney over 2,500 km/h
TF30 afterburning turbofan engines, which
made it capable of achieving a top speed of
over Mach 2 at 2,655 kilometres per hour.
When the aircraft had its maiden light on 21
December 1964 there were engine problems
including compressor surges and stalls. It
took the collaboration of the USAF, General
Dynamics and even NASA to ix the engine’s
faults with a major inlet design, but once it
was solved the F-111 became fearsome. The
engine’s great speed was matched by a clever
coordination with the aircraft’s avionics system,
which meant the F-111 could ly at Mach 1.2 at
only 60 metres.

90