I remember doing my ppl in 08 at Caloundra QLD and hearing a radio call from a pair of pigs going coastal at 500’. Then a trio of tiger moths that were in formation said “should we let them know where we are” and the response from the pig lead was [in their best military voices] “To late, gone past” 😂 I’ll never forget it.

Fantastic guests. Great to hear the Aussie perspective overall and with the F-111. Well done, Jello and Team.

Such a memorable episode with lively, and incredibly knowledgeable subject matter experts (dump and burn, TFR, crackers, compressor stalls, modifications/ variants, and of course, the ejection capsule). I’m so glad you got these two matter of fact Aussie distinguished visitors on the show. Magnificent! At night, alone, low level, unafraid - this is the definitive F-111 podcast.

"It's not like landing on soft pillows". The description he used of what it's really like had me laughing my butt off. Whole new respect for the crews that flew the Pig

The F-111 was officially named the Aardvark at its retirement ceremony in 1996 by the USAF.

One episode worth mentioning is Operation El Dorado Canyon - the 1986 raid on Libya that was carried out by F-111Fs of the 48th TFW out of RAF Lakenheath and EF-111s of the 42nd ECS out of RAF Upper Heyford, in addition to carrier based A-6s, A-7s and the combat debut of a new jet - the F/A-18 Hornet

Great interview with some fellow Aussies. Still remember seeing the F-111 doing "Dump & Burns" at Air Shows from when I was a young kid through to my teenage years. I'm now closing in on 29 years of service & part of what lead me to the ADF in the early 90's was watching F-111's at those Airshows growing up. A great Aircraft ! Thanks for the podcast Jello ...& doing what you do mate.

Finally!!! My favorite plane! Been waiting a while on this one. Thanks for the heat videos and interviews!

35:29. Don’t think I missed that VB ringtone in the background 😂 doesn’t get much more Aussie than that. Loved the episode Jello, been eagerly awaiting the time where you’d have an Australian guest and you couldn’t have picked a better aircraft. I’ve watched the dump and burn at the fireworks display in Brisbane that they mentioned (appropriately named Riverfire, Jello, if you were interested) and it’s an impressive sight to see. Basically a second sun, they are. Absolutely loved every second, and was amused by your method of censoring the Australian vocab too. Keep up the good work!

My first job out of engineering school was at GDFW 1969-1973. I was in Engineering Liaison. Worked in final assembly, covering several asst departments answering squawks, questions about fit or effectively of parts. Loved it. Had a bicycle that took me from incoming receiving out to the flight line. My friends from college worked in the office at drawing boards. I lived in, on or under the planes every day. I had an apartment nearby and could see them fly in and out from my balcony. Also B-52s and KC-135s. (Even an SR-71.) I have seen most all of the exhibit planes. Dayton, Tucson, Udvar-Hazy (?). I’ve found a couple at airports, abandoned. Notably , one is at Battle Mountain in Nevada I think. Baking in the sun.

Absolutely the best one I have listened too.

Always loved the 111. Australians build some awesome Hot Rods as well.

Brought back a lot of memories - thanks! Nice podcast

This was awesome. All of these interviews are terrific and this just adds to that record. It was terrific to hear about the RAAF experience, especially given by such highly experienced senior officers. The more we can do to raise the RAAFs profile as our stalwart ally and friend in the growing turbulence of that area of the world the better. The RAAF has always punched above it's weight class and the nation should be justifiably proud. Congratulations on your 100! and thank you FPP team!

Great episode! One of my favorite aircraft growing up!

Great aircraft, great people and great allies I just wish they weren’t so good at Cricket and Rugby, excellent interview as well.

I'm a huge fan, we shared a short convo aboùt these great planes many episodes ago. I'm glad you got us Aussies to have a chat too. Much respect and thanks for your service Leo and Mero.

Thank you so much sir. That was bloody brilliant. What an aircraft the Pig was. My all time favorited. Awesome. More RAAF please. Thanks for sharing 👍👍🙃🙃

That brought back some memories. Thanks.

Just awesome and funny. Thanks Jello, Leo and Mero! Proud RAAF Techo right here!

A very cool, beautiful looking airplane, used to love watching them flying low level across the UK countryside!

Fabulous aviation interview. 😎

Love your podcast. I can't believe I just found it . Here is hoping you find a OV-10 Bronco pilot to have on

One of my favourite episodes for sure! The best part was the one when "Leo" explained his callsign. I was walking in the city when listening and laughed out loud, probably other people thought I was a bit retarded:)

I was an Instrument and autopilot tech from 1971 to 1974 on the F111D at Cannon AFB and an FTD instructor on the F111A at Mt Home AFB from 1977 to 1980. When I was an instructor at Mt Home a technician came to me with a Yaw AFCS computer under his arm. He wanted me to prove it bad because the I level people found no problem with it. I ask him what was the reported problem. He said the pilot reported that the stabilators showed a split on the touchdown. I told him that was not abnormal if one wheel touches first which would probably happen in a crosswind. They believed that they had duplicated the no problem problem by turning on the autopilot mode and noticing the control surfaces slowly split after a while. They changed the Yaw computer because it has the autopilot engagement logic in it. They believed they fixed the no problem problem because they didn't wait the 3 minutes for the roll gain to go to maximum. The roll autopilot has a feature that causes the wings to level if it is engaged within 2.5 degrees of level. If you turn the roll autopilot on while on the ground, it will try to level the wings if they aren't exactly level, which would be normal due to tire pressure or strut pressure or ramp not level. When the automatic gain is at maximum which takes about three minutes with the flaps and slats up, you will see a movement or split of the elavons. I don't know how my explanation was received by the maintenance chiefs but the guy I talked to gave me a look of disgust. I thought this whole thing was a great example of pilots not understanding the stability augmentation system (SAS) and the maintenance folk didn't either. I have been bummed out since because I thought I had done a good job teaching the maintenance folks. Apparently I didn't do a good job teaching too.

A lot of people clamored to have Jeff Guinn as the guest, myself included _I think having two air marshals is slightly better for the profile of the show lol_

Very much enjoyed that segment, well done 👍

F111 - cool, thank you for the podcast its so fun to listen to

Remember during one of the 'MAJOR ADEX' aircombat exercise and seeing a RAAF F-111 over pulau Tioman ( an island over the east coast of Malaysia ) in a RSAF Superpuma in the early 1990s. One word ' impressive ' 👍

My family would holiday at Evans Head , a small coastal town in northern New South Wales , Australia , when I was growing up. There is a bombing range just south of the town . We would regularly see F111s screaming along over the water , parallel to the coast at low altitude. One of my most vivid memories was watching the wingtip vortises as one pulled some low level G's on terrain following approach to the range as it rolled over the crest of a hill. There was such a strong local connection to the aircraft that one was donated to the local aircraft museum when they were finally retired .

Great podcast!

Thanks so much for this. I was thinking of asking you guys of doing the F-111 and thought RAAF would be best choice since we flew them so long, but looks like many others had already asked as well!

Cartridge start systems were very common...The B-52 still uses it...As a kid, we had EB-57s on the base and they used the cartridges to start. Made quite a cloud of smoke ( used black powder ). AWESOME interview!

So I’m a Paul Hogan enthusiast from my childhood, I’m walking into the house finishing up the podcast and say “right Leo Wanker! That’s funny”. My wife starred at me.p strangely. I guess she needed context

Fellow Aussies rejoice!!!

Great podcast. Incredible how you can get such great guests

Having someone as high up in the Australian AF thanking public service and First Responders world wide really touched me! As a Police Officer in south Texas and as the son of a Tomcat and Phantom Rio, Cheers Gents! May you never tie the record for flying the lowest!

What a timing..today i revisited your f14 episode..and immediately after that..you uploaded this one 😋😋

This is my favorite aircraft, I cant wait to listen!

Great show Jello, we don't often get to hear from our military people, really enjoyed it 👍 😀

F-111! Looking forward to listing to this one!

I was on a cope thunder exercise at Elmendorf back in 97 or 98. There was an aussi squadron there flying these. They were some great people.

In the USAF "Dump and burn" was called "Torching" and there was no restriction on it. No danger bc the pressure it comes out was too strong for the flame to blow you up. An old FS/CC of mine did it low over water at night and caused the F15C trying to intercept him to abort the intercept

Great interview

F-111 was a beast for sure. One of my fav's! I never realized it didn't have a VNe, but was limited by temps! Amazing. Also didn't realize that it was designed to fly at Mach 2+, whereas a lot of aircraft if you go fast, the crew chief would be doing a bunch of inspections and scheduling the engines out much sooner. But just a normal day in a -111. It's replacement, the F-15E, I believe can't get near those speeds persistently if at all.

As an American who grew up in Oz in the 70's and 80's, I know exactly what "right Leo Wanker" means. Hoges is an irreverent genius.

Wonderful, really been looking forward to this.. Gotta love the super fast, low level strike aircraft! (AJ 37 Viggen next? ;))

What fantastic guests

I used to watch these things coming and going from the now defunct Plattsburgh AFB in northern NY.

great podcast. My perspective is as bomb nav tech, Lowry AFB training, F-111F originally at Mt Home Idaho, tdy to Nellis on F-111As, tdy to Takhli for last of linebacker II, pcs to Cannon F-111Ds.

Great memories seeing dump and burns in a number of places around oz.

CLASS

I'm enjoying the episode. I was just thinking that it might be nice to have a sort of "Part 2", with a US Specific Perspective, focusing on US Specific aspects, ranging from the EF-111, to the FB-111 which was used by SAC, before being replaced by the B-1Bs in SAC and were transferred to TAC, for "conventional taskings". There's also always the 2-4 crews who would be sitting "Pad Alert" in England, loaded with nukes, for "if/when" the Soviets came West.

I love that accent. If I weren't an American, I'd like to have been born an Australian.

Come onnn' Jello, stop horsing around. You had those Aussie's in your hand, you needed to have them fess up. Are they responsible for harassing our Navy with those TicTac thingies???? They're pranksters. LOL Good interview. They have a retired F111 at a airport here in Florida up by Melbourne, Fl. I was surprised how big it is, it's a very cool aircraft. It's huge. It had some sort of Indian bonnet logo on it, if I remember correctly and painted in a camouflage scheme.

This was really cool to hear. Such an amazing aircraft. Fun fact: My Dad has more hours in the F-111 than both these guys combined lol

Hello sir, I am an aspiring fighter pilot in the Air Force and if you had the time I’d like to ask your for some advice. I think I have my route planned out for how I want to become one. But I would love some advice from someone who really did it

As far as the A10 being called a fighter, I saw an engagement when 2 F15s jumped 2 A10s during a Danish exercise- one A10 simulated shot down, one F15 sim shot down… it can defend itself

An F-111 flyby is also on the Golden Record on Voyager, so you could say the F-111 is also one of the only aircraft to make it to space. There is also a good video on the F-111 Simulator and the journey it took to get it operational, definitely would have been interesting to hear Leo or Mero talk about it. Been waiting for this one. Loved listening to this, need to have more of us aussies on the show. I used to hear pigs flying during primary school, The teachers would occasionally need to wait until they passed to continue teaching, not exactly ideal next to Amberley Airbase where the pigs were stationed haha. I still remember a large formation flight with all the super hornets nearly a decade ago. Soon after seeing them all pulled apart on the back of a truck on the way to get buried. Sad day. Thankfully quite a few airframes remain in museums, the Heritage Museum at RAAF Amberley has a really good setup. Good show mate!

Wikipedia summary of that character that inspired Davies' callsign: "Leo Wanker: an inept daredevil stuntman". It fits. In a similar vein, does anybody know if there has been a "MacGyver" callsign in the US?

YES! finally a RAAFIE

I believe the F-111 was very briefly shown dropping napalm in the 1985 film Red Dawn.

I did read in an aviation publication, that just days prior to USAF retirement of the F-111, the Air Force did officially name the plane Ardvark.

B-52 Bomber Cartridge Start "Cart-Start" - KZfaq You'll notice that ALL EIGHT engines are started simultaneously! This was a necessary specification so that the B-52s could start and be ready to taxi in the event of a scramble for a subsequent MITO ( Minimum Interval Take-off ) as a part of Strategic Air Command's contribution to SIOP ( Single-Integrated Operation Plan ), This is why the F-111 had the cartridge start system for the FB-111A that was operated by two Bomb Wings ( Pease AFB and Plattsburgh AFB ).

From the Wikipedia articles about the F-111 and the F-111C, I got the impression that the 20mm gun system was not usually carried because it took up space in the weapons bay.

F-111 is a beast.

The f-111 is in red dawn briefly in a couple scenes!

44:09 Did he just imply that people have been getting handsy in the F-111 cockpit? 🤣

"Gavin? Who the hell is Gavin? Get that changed." LOL

And I always thought the 'dumb and burn' was a type of heat seeker decoy lol

That’s really interesting about the threats they trained to

This episode pairs best with Fosters that was made by 2brothers from NewYork , than sold the brewery to locals and came back home. Aussies are great in 2things, 1 put shrimp on the barbie, 2 belly landing F111

wondered where what disclaimer went.

For those who don't know the equivalent ranks Air Marshal is a OF-8 3 star Air Vice-Marshal OF-7 2 star

You should see "Smoothie" at Ford Island in Hawaii

“Bomb Nav” 1976-82, launch and recovery (Big “D”/Little D”) last 3 years of that. Loved the job still consider it high point in my life. Sad it’s gone. Ps. In the USAF it’s called “Cart Start” and the aircrew was not let near them as far as I know… Pss. We also called them “Pigs” and we had a pig feeding on record at MHAFB when the squat switch and or lock pin failed and when the engines were shut down the nose wheel collapsed. The joke was, don’t put corn at the parking spot.

Yeah Aussies !

waiting for the picture of the ejection capsule.....ok ill go look it up.. "id seen it before, not my kids though"

There was an airshow I used to frequent in country NSW at Temora airfield, at one of the shows the Pigs were going to demonstrate. They were flying in from Amberly and were due at a certain time, as the time approached the entire crowd was scanning the horizon trying to spot them.... utterly pointless, the 2 ship came in that fast and low they buzzed the airfield before it registered in our brains, followed by their glorious sound, miss seeing the Pigs but time waits for no man, or airframe.

Has Jello snuck in another bomber month on us?!

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE OI OI OI

😮 Did I miss something or was this the first episode where they didn’t have the “doesn’t represent US DoD/counterpart” disclaimer?

huh, cool

The F-111C was an amazing capability for Australia. The aircraft from Australia to American Samoa, to Hawaii to the mainland, all internal fuel, no bags/no in-flight refueling. Impressive

My sister-in-law's boyfriend was a USAF tech providing maintenance to Aussie F-111's out of McClellan AFB back in the early 90s. By then they had become a real maintenance burden for the Aussies, but it sounds like they could do some things the F-18s would struggle with today. But they definitely were a product of the Cold War arms race.

First time ive heard F111 called ugly

Have you heard of the story about how a Raven unofficially “killed” a Iraqi Mirage F.1 with the help of an F-15C during the Gulf War? Also I know that the Aardvark did appear in the James Bond movie Octopussy where one of the scenes was at RAF Lakenheath, a then USAF Aardvark now Eagle base.

Being exclusive owners is fun, trust me, we Tomcat owners know...

also one thing wrong in this is finding a max G on the internet, either im blind or its unavailable, ive heard of pilots doing 11G with the wings swept back but ive never heard a max G also as far as i can tell there is no G gauge in the cockpit

Robotic bianary overload... 111 111

Four bananas later...😅🤣

Well, this is jolly good. Da pig was good. Now we have f all.