On Sun, 27 Jul 2003 04:01:40 GMT, "Steven P. McNicoll"
wrote:


"The Raven" wrote in message
...

Presumably so as the F-111 was going to be used as a carrier aircraft.
Note
that F-111's have tail hooks. Australian air aircraft still have them
although the pilots aren't trained for it.


I'm sure Australian F-111 pilots are trained to use the tailhook, just as
their USAF counterparts were. USAF tactical aircraft have been equipped
with tailhooks for quite some time. I imagine the F-111B tailhook was a bit
more substantial than that on the F-111A/D/E/F/G though.

I remember USAF F-4s occasionally used their tailhooks in emergency
situations, but the deployable arresting barrier (imagine a big tennis
net with vertical fabric strips, with the aircraft running into it)
quickly became the preferred method of stopping a brakeless Air Force
bird; far less damage to the airframe, and the landing gear were less
likely to collapse (meaning you could probably tow the bird away in
one big piece instead of sweeping it off the runway).

___
Walter Luffman Medina, TN USA
Amateur curmudgeon, equal-opportunity annoyer