F-111 Review
Contents
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3. SA license ML Goon anon meu gt WS 25 111 external payload of BLU 107 Durandal concrete penetration bombs Photo USAF Public Domain Walkaround We will be doing our test flight from RAF Lakenheath Suffolk England where the F 111 was operated by the 43TFW up to 1992 Our aircraft is 702390 an F 111F Fuselage My first impression of this aircraft is how large it was and it also takes me back to the times when use to see these aircraft on a daily basis flying over my house in Oxfordshire England Where they operated from RAF Upper Heyford which today is sadly only used as a car storage facility Starting at the pitot tube at the tip of the radome Virtavia have captured the distinctive shape of the F 111s nose cone which is a flat angled profile leading from the structure in front of the cockpit down to the curved lower profile See screenshot Moving aft along the belly of the aircraft we first come to a small antenna and almost directly behind that the strike camera housing Three quarters of the way back from the strike camera housing to the nose undercarriage bay there is another antenna Destinctive nose profile of the F 111 AARDVARK Superb Afterburner effects with variable nozzles dependant on power setting There are various variants of the F 111 represented in this package though most of the differences are in the armaments and additional sensor packs which replace the bomb bay The Rave
4. hot spots which allow you to get quick access to view control stick view kneepad view map view radio stack view ATC window and view GPS The external stores can be jettisoned but this is not animated There is a jettison switch on the left hand corner of the cockpit which simply removes the external stores All in all an excellent cockpit and panel combination Exterior Textures This package comes with eleven very high quality 2048 x 2048 liveries depicting aircraft from the USA and Australia Attention to detail in the texture set very good On the model itself it is almost impossible to find any texture distortions stretching etc All seem to have been very finely tuned to blend exactly with the part that they are to adorn Another very small negative point with the package is that in all areas the textures are just too clean and could have benefitted from some weathering and staining especially the landing gear and bays they are just a too clean when comparing the models with their in service big brothers But in saying that you won t see many better texturing sets than this one even if they appear to be factory fresh Top marks for textures O6 Available now by direct download http www virtavia com Price EUR 29 45 download Technical Requirements Recommended Flight Simulator X Acceleration SP2 no technical specification given tob a HI EL CORES r T ORI BLTICLE
5. Volume 1 Issue 2 ilot Your chance to win a copy of the Alabeo SU 26 Virtavia F111 Razbam Buckeye JustFlight DC6 FlyingStations Buccaneer JustFlight Viscount Sibwings Pitts Alabeo Sukhoi SU 2 6 and four other older releases the Vertigo Studios Hawk amp Hellcat Carenado P46T Malibu UK2000 Heathrow amp Gatwick Flying Stations Buccaneer Heathrow amp Gatwick Extreme Justflight DC6 amp Viscount gry P 4 Razbam T2 Buckeye Mia MICROSOFT Vertigo Studios Hawk r Hellcat ay Virtavia General Dynamics F111 Game or still a Flight Simulator shy OSX wina copy Jons Commercial and Frei 0000 Photo USAF Public Domain The F 111 s maximum practical weapons load was limited since the fixed pylons could not be used with the wings fully swept Tactical F 111s were fitted with shoulder rails on the four inner swiveling pylons to mount AIM 9 Sidewinder air to air missiles for self defense Australian F 111Cs were equipped to launch the AGM 84 Harpoon anti ship missile and the AGM 142 Popeye stand off missile FB 111As could carry the same conventional ordnance as the tactical variants but their wing pylons were more commonly used for either fuel tanks or strategic nuclear gravity bombs They could carry up to four AGM 69 SRAM nuclear missiles on the pylons Source Wikipedia http en wikipedia org wiki General_Dynamics_F 111_Aardvark under the CC BY
6. age the shaping as with the rest of the fuselage is well defined and very smooth Moving forward from between the exhausts is the joining area of the vertical fin The joint is smooth and linear with no bleeding or mesh issues The front of the fin has a spine running along the top of the fuselage of approx 2 meters in length Forward of this in line with the front of the wing is the upper anti collision light it is the same as that modelled on the belly On each side of the light there is a well defined grill which is part of the model and not just a texture From the light and grills we move forward towards the jettisonable cockpit module but before reaching that we encounter a VHF antenna and then the air to air refuelling port panel This is a closed panel which is opened when refuelling is required The panel is animated in the model via Shift 4 The animation is smooth and the detailing of the panel is very nice with structure and textures See left 3 There is an IFF antenna just before the jettisonable cockpit module The modelling of the jettisonable cockpit is very well defined with nice smooth curves good Animated air to air refuelling panel is well detailed Another unique feature of this aircraft is that it uses the main undercarriage door also as a speed brake Interesting concept Here is a dusk shot to show the nav light and formation lights but also there can be seen better details of the top flap sec
7. g plate The resolution of the gauge textures is very high with almost no blurring even at maximum zoom A great many of the systems have functionality but due to the limits of FSX there are too many options that the basic simulator cannot handle The supplied user manual gives a good clear insight into the working aspects of the instruments switch panels HUD and other equipment within the cockpit It would be difficult to detail all in this review therefore during the flight test we shall be looking at the basic aircraft functionality and flying characteristics leaving the detailed use of the systems for the user to discover As for the structure of the cockpit it is also very well modelled and detailed The canopy frame is structured with a lot of detailing right down to the air vents handles piping air ducts and canopy actuators all are very well modelled and textured The side wall structures of the cockpit side consoles center console rear center console control stick instrument panel cover standby compass and even the crew seats are all modelled to a very high standard including the texturing The only part which is a very very small negative in the cockpit is the rear view mirrors which do not appear to change or show anything They are always sky blue even when flying through thick cloud and rain There are four or five cockpit views available depending on the aircraft selected Also available on the panel are some sim
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9. n model however does have two rear facing exhaust vents on each side of the fuselage next to the bomb bay mounted electronics pod Two large side mounted antennas below the wing and in line with the main gear Four bliste Photo of Real F 111 Wing Glove Bomb bay doors have V profiles to allow for the dropping of free fall nuclear weapons The doors also hinge to allow ground clearance for ordinance loading Rear Warning Antennas All Moving Tail Wing Glove the real aircraft there is a very well defined slit line where the wing moves On the model its not so well defined but itdoesnt really spoil the fact when the wingis moving de ECM Antennas Immediately behind the nose undercarriage bay is the bomb bay which has two doors each having a V shaped front profile These doors also hinge in the middle giving ground clearance for ordinance loading See screenshot The profile allows for large free fall nuclear weapons to be carried The bomb bay doors are animated via Shift ES There animation is smooth and linear The door actuating mechanism at the rear of the bay is also Rear strakes one on each side animated Internal bay detail is good created using textures and some structure for the ordinance mounting and door actuators A short distance behind the bomb bay is the ER belly anti collision light which is nicely modelled See and has a reflective gt tex
10. tion and the side mounted antennas which only appear on the Raven model ees a i bee di Landing Lts and Nose gear detail Wing extends forward from the glovewane to just behind the cockpit above the engine intake Second navigation light position both sides Intake Probe Glove vane Undercarriage The undercarriage of the F 111 is slightly unconventional as both the nose and main gears are on the aircraft centerline The main gear is of a heavy construction which when extended has its wheels sitting just outside of the fuselage side profile The main gear is very well detailed as is the main landing gear bay which has very nice texturing as well as the actuation devices piping and structure Animation of the main gear is very nice with the main gear being pulled inwards before being retracted forward into the bay All animation is smooth and sequential being very similar to the real aircraft retraction extension very well done indeed The nose undercarriage has been given the same treatment detailed mechanism bay texturing and animation Cockpit The cockpits of these models are to say the least exceptional With five dedicated panel layouts beautiful instruments control panels consoles HUD etc this has to be among one of the best panel representations I ve seen for a while The gauges are very well reproduced with the effect of depth between the glass and the indicatin
11. ture Next moving aft is the main undercarriage bay which will be discussed later Further aft between the engine exhausts is a fairing for the arrestor hook Also in this fairing is the tail skid which extends retracts along with the undercarriage The hook fairing covers all but the hook end and when the hook is selected Shift Q the fairing opens in the form of two doors and then subsequently the hook is extended down with the doors staying in an opened position The arrestor hook is simply modelled and textured On each side of rear b i fuselage just on the curve from the belly to the side E o fuselage is a strake See right Moving upwards between s the two engine exhausts is a titanium section which is very nicely modelled and textured At the rear base of this section is the Fuel Dump Valve and outlet See On the outboard side of the engine exhausts on both sides is a fairing which contains ECM antennas This fuselage fairing is also the point at which the All Flying Tail actuation and pivot system are housed See Main Screenshot Left Forward of this fairing on the top section of the side fuselage is the wing glove the object of this device is to seal the opening into which the wing folds when the wings are extended or partially extended The real aircraft has a well defined slit in this glove where the wing moves but on the model its not so well defined Moving onto the top surface of the fusel
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