KerbalX

Description

Vark Vark Vark

The F-111 Aardvark is a retired supersonic, medium-range, multirole combat aircraft manufactured by General Dynamics. Production models of the F-111 had roles that included attack (e.g. interdiction), strategic bombing (including nuclear weapons capabilities), reconnaissance, and electronic warfare (EF-111 Raven). The name Aardvark was derived from perceived similarities of the aircraft to the animal: a long nose and low-level, terrain-following capabilities. The word aardvark originated in the Afrikaans language, as a contraction of earth-pig, and this was the source of the F-111’s nickname of Pig, during its Australian service.

Developed in the 1960s by General Dynamics under Robert McNamara’s TFX Program, the F-111 pioneered variable-sweep wings, afterburning turbofan engines, and automated terrain-following radar for low-level, high-speed flight. Its design influenced later variable-sweep-wing aircraft, and some of its advanced features have become commonplace. The F-111 suffered problems during initial development, largely related to the engines. A fighter variant intended for the United States Navy, the F-111B, was cancelled before production; it was intended for aircraft carrier-based roles, including long-range interception, and was replaced by Grumman’s F-14 Tomcat. Several specialized models, such as the FB-111A strategic bomber and the EF-111 electronic warfare aircraft, were also developed later on.

The F-111 entered service in 1967 with the United States Air Force (USAF). The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) also ordered the F-111 and began operating the F-111C in 1973. As early as March 1968, the USAF was deploying F-111s into active combat situations; the type saw heavy use during the latter half of the Vietnam War to conduct low-level ground-attack missions, flying in excess of 4,000 combat missions while incurring only six combat losses in the theater. The F-111 also participated in the Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm) in 1991; the F-111Fs completed 3.2 successful strike missions for every unsuccessful one, better than any other US strike aircraft used in the operation. RAAF F-111s never saw offensive action, but were deployed periodically as a deterrent, such as for the Australian-led International Force for East Timor.

Being relatively expensive to maintain amid post-Cold War budget cuts, the USAF elected to retire its F-111 fleet during the 1990s; the last F-111Fs were withdrawn in 1996 while the remaining EF-111s also departed in 1998. The F-111 was replaced in USAF service by the F-15E Strike Eagle for medium-range precision strike missions, while the supersonic bomber role has been assumed by the B-1B Lancer. The RAAF continued to operate the type up until December 2010, when the last F-111C was retired; its role was transitioned to the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet as an interim measure until the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II became available.

This KSP recreation of the F-111 Aardvark was designed mainly for functionality, although it was made to look as accurate as possible to the real thing. Such is the case with the cockpit, which was chosen for looks. While the F-111 had a side-by-side configuration, this recreation had to employ a tandem crew configuration. Handling and maneuverability are decent, but activating the RCS action group will activate the J-404 Panthers’ thrust vectoring.

This F-111 recreation contains working variable-sweep wings, which are locked in place by quantum struts in the small gap between the wing root and the fuselage. Toggle AG6 to unlock, and then after swinging the wings, toggle AG6 again to lock them. DO NOT UNLOCK THE WINGS DURING A TURN OR WHILE THE FLAPS ARE DOWN (AG3 to toggle). The flaperons on the wings double as spoilers (AG4).

AG5 toggles the air brake, which is also the main landing gear door. Toggle AG5 to open the door, extend the gear, then press AG5 again to close the door. Reverse order to retract the gear.

The F-111 also contained a specialized ejection system where, instead of jettisoning the canopy and launching ejection seats, the entire cockpit section came off as an escape pod, and such is the case with this recreation. Toggle the abort system AT FULL THROTTLE to initiate the ejection system. The ejection pod is powered by 2 Vector engines, which explains the full throttle situation.

And as a last addition, the F-111 includes a zippo mode that is commonly used at air shows, where fuel is dumped while the afterburners are lit, creating a long tail of fire. As such, another, scaled-down Vector is included in the tail. AG8 toggles this. Also, as per usual, there is an AI pilot toggled by AG10.

This configuration carries no weapons, only flare countermeasures (AG7).

A mod aircraft called F-111 Aardvark. Built with 215 of the finest parts, its root part is fighterinlinecockpit.

Built in the SPH in KSP version 1.5.1.

Details

• Type: SPH
• Class: aircraft
• Part Count: 215
• Mods: 8
• KSP: 1.5.1

Mods

• Airplane Plus
• BDArmory
• Infernal Robotics - Next
• Procedural Parts
• QuantumStrutsContinued
• RemoteTech
• Squad (stock)
• TweakScale - Rescale Everything!