Aero42 Cover_V 24/02/14 11:03 AM Page 1
• POINT COOK: 100 YEARS & CENTENARY AIR SHOW • 1964 ANSETT AIR RACE • 787-9 TESTING ISSUE 42 APRIL/JUNE 2014 Aust $10.95 NZ $10.99 (inc. GST)
RAAF F-111s
Where did they go? Top Cats
Falcon 20
Grumman jet fighters Bizjet with flair
Narrowbodies
NEO MAX CSeries
Aero42 F11 Disposals_V 26/02/14 9:57 PM Page 22
22
F-111 DISPOSALS | STORY: RON CUSKELLY
Preserving
When F-111C A8-109 shut down its engines at Amberley on 3 December 2010, it marked the end of an era for the Royal Australian Air Force as 37 years of F-111 operations came to a close. What followed was a remarkable story of the preservation of many of Australia’s ‘Pigs’.
Aero42 F11 Disposals_V 26/02/14 9:57 PM Page 23
F-111 DISPOSALS
FRIDAY, 3 DECEMBER 2010 was a grey day in southeast Queensland as were the aeroplanes themselves and the mood of the gathered F-111 community who knew that this day would come eventually. It was characterised as a day of celebration but no, it was a sad day and tears were shed. It is often stated that the reason that so few WWII aircraft survive is that in the post-war years the public was no longer interested in old aeroplanes. As that doyen of Australian aviation heritage preservation, the late Harold Thomas, once explained to the writer, it went much deeper than that: “They hated them”. But it was different with the F-111. This aeroplane had never dropped a bomb in anger (except on a seized North Korean drug running ship!) and it was genuinely loved by those who flew and maintained it. Not to mention the public, who marvelled at its
beauty, brute power and of course the show-stopping ‘dump and burn’. It’s hardly surprising, therefore, that there was widespread interest in preserving as many RAAF F-111s as possible. By the time the final day came around, it was already decided that three F-111Cs would be preserved on RAAF bases in addition to the F-111G which had been delivered to Point Cook in May the previous year. There was also the tantalising prospect of three so-called ‘Heritage Reserves’. Several museums expressed interest in acquiring an F-111 but there were obstacles in the form of International Traffic in Arms regulations and the presence of hazardous materials. Some argued that as Australia paid for the aeroplanes we should be free to do what we liked with them, but it wasn’t that simple. >>>
‘The Final Mission’ logo worn by the F-111 Disposal Team, complete with vultures over an F-111 carcass. Ron Ninnis/AHSNT. Main: ADF
23
Aero42 787-9_V 26/02/14 9:57 PM Page 46
46
787-9 DOWN UNDER
Br
isb
an
e to Al
ic
e Sp
rin
gs
Down Under The second of three Boeing 787-9 test aircraft (ZB002/N789FT) visited Australia and New Zealand in January as part of its certification programme, the Australian segment of the trip based at Alice Springs in the Northern Territory where heat tests were carried out.
Aero42 787-9_V 26/02/14 9:58 PM Page 47
787-9 DOWN UNDER
Aucklan
47
d to Bris
THE AIRCRAFT TRAVELLED via Auckland where it was shown to the media and representatives of Air New Zealand, the launch customer for the 787-9, the first stretched variant of the airliner. After a number of delays to the 787 programme generally, Air NZ is now scheduled to receive its first aircraft in July this year. The visit was important to both Boeing and Air NZ from a PR point of view. The 787-9 will enter service with the airline initially on the Auckland-Perth route and 10 are on order. Overall, 26 customers had ordered 402 787-9s at the time of writing. ACROSS THE PACIFIC ZB002’s arrival at Auckland in the gathering darkness on 4 January marked the 787-9’s international debut and its longest flight since the test programme began last September with the maiden flight of the first 787-9.
bane
ZB001/N789EX takes off on its maiden flight on 17 September 2013. Boeing
ZB002 first flew in November and for its journey to New Zealand flew direct from Seattle’s Boeing Field to Auckland International Airport, a distance of 6082nm (11,265km). The flight took 13 hours and 49 minutes to complete. As the only 787-9 test aircraft fitted with elements of a passenger interior in addition to test racks and instrumentation, Boeing uses ZB002 to test the environmental control system and other aspects of aircraft performance. >>>
Inset top: 787-9 ZB002/N789FT arrives at Brisbane on 5 January at the start of its Australian test flights. Next stop Alice Springs. The aircraft was flying in from Auckland where it was shown to launch customer Air New Zealand and the media. John Freedman Main: Soaking up the sun at Alice. ZB002 cooks in the heat before its next test flight. Allison Bone
Aero42 Grumman Cats_V 26/02/14 9:55 PM Page 50
50
GRUMMAN JET CATS | STORY: STEWART WILSON
Top Cats
Grumman’s Jet Fighters
For six decades, Grumman was the premier supplier of fighters to the US Navy, from the FF, SF, F2F and F3F biplanes of the 1930s through the famous Wildcat, Hellcat, Tigercat and Bearcat of the World War II era. The ‘cat’ theme continued post-war with the new generation jet fighters, and it is them we look at here. THE GRUMMAN JET FIGHTERS – Panther, Cougar, Tiger and Tomcat – equipped US Navy and Marine Corps units almost continuously between May 1949 when the first F9F Panther was delivered and September 2006 when the F-14 Tomcat was retired. There was a gap between retirement of the F11F Tiger in 1961 and the arrival of the Tomcat a decade later, but during that period Grumman combat jets were still a major part of the US Navy’s Order of Battle through the A-6 Intruder attack bomber. One of Grumman’s naval jet fighters never entered production. The F10F Jaguar with its variable geometry (‘swing’) wings flew as a single prototype in 1952 but never progressed further than that. Intended for production, it was cancelled mainly due to problems with its engine but the technology it incorporated was put to good use later.
PANTHER The chain of events which led to Grumman’s first production naval jet fighter began with the G-75 (military designation XF9F-1) night fighter project of 1946 powered by a quartet of 1500lb (6.7kN) thrust Westinghouse J30 turbojets mounted in side-by-side pairs in wing nacelles. The use of four engines was necessary to achieve the desired power, and although this configuration was considered less than ideal, a contract was placed for what was designated the XF9F-1 in April 1946. The concept changed for the better when US Navy evaluation of the 5000lb (22.2kN) thrust Rolls-Royce Nene led to it being built under licence in the USA as the Pratt & Whitney J42. Availability of the Nene resulted in the much more practical singleengined Grumman G-79 straight winged naval day fighter, prototypes
Aero42 Grumman Cats_V 26/02/14 9:55 PM Page 51
GRUMMAN JET CATS
Left: A Panther of US Navy squadron VF-71 aboard the USS Bon Homme Richard over Task Force 77 in 1952 during the Korean War. Panthers from 24 USN squadrons flew operationally in the conflict. Above: The sun sets on the last of Grumman’s naval fighters – an F-14B Tomcat aboard the USS George Washington in November 2003. By then, the Tomcat was less than three years away from retirement. Photos: USN
51