In article ,
(Jeremy Thomson) writes:
I put the 'use' in quotes becuase I believe TFR modes on radars have
been around since the 50's.
But was TFR ever SOP for aircraft such as the F105?
Did pilots ever train for TFR flights in the Thud?
There was a TFR mode for the A4, but it was dangerous to use in a
cross-wind because the radar only looked a couple of degrees off the
center line.

Well, as for the F-105, Ed Rasimus really should do the talking.
That said, the F-105, and the F-104G, which basically had the same
system, had, IIRC a Terrain Avoidance Mode", rather than a Terrain
Following Mode. The processing that went along with this mode
presented any targets that jutted up abpve a "Clearance Plane" - an
imaginary flat surface radiating out from in front of the airplane,
and which could be adjusted to provide for differnt cruise altitudes.
It wasn't coupled to the Autopilot, though, so it wasn't automatic -
the pilot had to make any altitude changes or course diversions
necessary.

As for crosswinds being a hindeance to teh A-4s TAR set, I'm not so
sure. In order to be crabbed a significant amount at 400 kts would
require a hurricane. (crab angle's going to be related to teh ratio
of teh component of wind velocity that's at roght angles to the
airplane's course, and the speed of the airplane. The faster you go,
th eless crab is required.

My pick for the first use of TFR in combat would be the F-111.

And you'd win! The Texas Instruments TFR on the F-111 was the first
fully automatic TFR to be developed. It took a lot of debugging, as
well.

Did the Brits use TFR on the tornadoes in Desert Storm?
IIRC the pilots of tornadoes used night goggles douring the low-level
missions.

They did use TFR, but that doesn't preclude looking out of the window.

It might have been possible to fly low level without using the radar.

It can be, as long as you're not doing a whole lot else.

--
Pete Stickney
A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many
bad measures. -- Daniel Webster