⚠️AvMS Ep. 31 F-111 Rotating wing glove and Slats #aviation #aviationgeek #blender3d

⚙ The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark is a retired, supersonic, medium-range fighter-bomber. Production models of the F-111 had roles that included attack (e.g., interdiction), strategic bombing (including nuclear weapons capabilities), reconnaissance, and electronic warfare. Its name “Aardvark” comes from the long-nosed, insect-eating African animal.

⚙ 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 multirole carrier-based fighter/long-range interception variant intended for the United States Navy, the F-111B, was canceled before production. Several specialized models, such as the FB-111 strategic bomber and the EF-111 electronic warfare aircraft, were also developed.

⚙ The F-111 entered service in 1967 with the United States Air Force (USAF). In the meantime, the Australian government had ordered the F-111C, to replace the English Electric Canberra then used by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The F-111C entered service with the RAAF 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-111s 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 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amid post-Cold War budget cuts, the USAF elected to retire its F-111 fleet during the 1990s; the last F-111Fs were withdrawn in 1996, while the remaining EF-111s also departed in 1998.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 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.

⚙ Aircraft slats are movable panels on the front edge of an aircraft’s wing that extend forward and downward to increase lift during slow-speed flight

⚙ A wing glove is the fixed, highly swept forward section of an aircraft wing where it meets the fuselage

☝🤓 if you designed an intersecting slat on a movable wing
then just move the unmovable fixed part of the wing that it intersects with

Let Me X-Plane

This is the F-111 (triple one)
F-111 (one eleven) Aardvark
and it was designed to carry heavy payloads on short runways so required the entirety of the leading edge of the wing to feature slats, but the slats themselve intersected with the fixed wing glove

so engineers came up with a rotating wing glove

#warthunder

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