F 2328 General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark Aircraft

this is the seventh in a series of film reports covering the techniques and innovations employed in the production of the various f-111 aircraft the f-111 a f-111 see 111 Eve f-111b and the FB 111a recently introduced to the f-111 manufacturing process at the Fort Worth Division of General Dynamics there's a bank of four if they text numerically controlled core milling machines this equipment is the most advanced of its type now being used in the aircraft industry the machines are controlled by perforated the computer type tape which is developed by digitizer head fastened to one of the cutting head ways this digitizer traces a simulated part pattern and converts XY and z motion into a playback tape the perforations in the tape are then read by the control unit and are translated into electrical commands which positions the machine cutting head the word patents are loaded two at a time parts to be milled are Lord Rama semi automatically controlled overhead conveyor line as one set of beds as being made ready the machining process can be continued on another set of beds while finished parts are being removed from the third set the two synchronized cutting heads on abate X will machine two parts to identical dimensions cutting both on forward and return strokes operating on the Americal control the machine cuts compound contours of the honeycomb core material in sizes of up to four feet by 40 feet the machine can operate as feed for up to 300 inches per minute the tune head cuts the core material to a tolerance of plus or minus five thousandths the high versatility of the day text or milling machines their ability to cut two parts at once the automatic semi-automatic and manual modes of operation the compound contour of milling of complex parts the ability to program tapes automatically at the machine all under the direction of a single machine operators they're proven to be important additions to the f-111 manufacturing capabilities the FB 111 final assembly line has been completed during this reporting period this assembly line is located in the General Dynamics Fort Worth main factory building in an area called 120-foot Bay 15 assembly and work fixtures have been installed and are ready to receive VfB 111 aircraft three of the f bt 111 ATS are now in the line and six aircraft are expected to be in the line within the month the third production configured FB 111 a strategic bomber was rolled from the production line shortly after the close of the reporting period it is now in field operations being prepared for flight testing this bomber version shares the same basic utilized as the f-111 a tactical fighter but there are several important configuration differences the wingspan of the FB 111 a is 7 feet more than the span of the f-111 a having longer wingtips the wheels and brakes are larger and the landing gear has been strengthened to allow greater gross takeoff weights the engines are the TF 30-piece ovens these engines have a higher trust than the TF 30p threes that are in the f-111 a version the additional power accommodates the SAC higher gross weight and range requirements as far as the life force base Fort Worth Texas preparations are being made to receive the first of the FB 111 a mission simulators Kajol is to be the sights of these 40g care commands combat crew training squadron these trainers will allow the FB true members to fly every conceivable type of mission before taking an FB 111a along the simulators are you meet in that all activities of both crewmen can be simulated simultaneously throughout flight the simulators will clean the air crews and cockpit pre-flight from starting procedures normal and emergency in flight procedures navigational and instrument flight procedures additional simulators are being built force act Tactical Air Command and a training command in support of the FB 111a and f-111 a B and E training programs f-111 see number 24 was rolled from the factory during the middle of this reporting period this aircraft completes the sequence of 24 f-111s that were purchased under a government-to-government agreement between Australia and the United States the f-111 c-file quite similar to the united states air force tactical air commands f-111 a as the additional seven foot wingspan and strengthened landing gear that mark the sac FB 111 a cockpit arrangements in the f-111 sea crew area are the same as in the f-111 a with the exception that the right-hand flight control stick is removable the are double AF crew member and the right seat will function as the Bombardier weapons system operator navigators and radar observers the twenty-fourth f-111 see aircraft are now at the Fort Worth facility undergoing modification at the completion of this work the twenty-four f-111 see aircraft will be flown to Australia by our double AF crews there they will become a major source of strength and the contribution of the three worlds defense in that southeast area the first production therefore an 11 e manufacturing sequence number 160 entered final assembly in February 1969 it is the production break endpoint for an improved engine Inlet called triple plow to the fundamental feature of triple clawtooth is improved handling of the boundary layer flow approaching the end late' compared to the one unless of 111 a numbers 31 through 159 the engine Inlet is nearly 4 inches further outboard thereby minimizing the ingestion of low energy air from the fuselage boundary layer like triple plow one triple plow - uses low angle lamps or plows to divert much of the boundary layer around the inlet thus minimizing the internal drag associated with nothing boundary layer flow through the airplane the triple plow to boundary layer system has proved so effective that the splitter played previously needed to constrain this utilized boundary layer have been deleted with attendant savings and weight and drag the new Inlet provides roughly 10% increase in tau minimum flow area the enlarged chow accommodates the higher TF 30 t 1247 engine air close as well as the p3 and still has moderate margin for a further growth in airflow concurrent with the enlargement of the Tau the previous Carl translation system has been replaced by cow blow indoors these are free-floating eliminating the hydraulics pneumatics or electrical actuations required for towel translation plus the attendant control and warning systems in ground and takeoff or landing operation the doors float open as the engine pulls the endless ducts pressure below ambient thrust admitting additional air of relatively high energy as forward speed increases and duct pressure approaches ambient the doors close they are fully closed for normal cruising and higher speeds the first f1 Levendi aircraft designated as a 6-1 in the manufacturing sequence entered the assembly sequence of the General Dynamics Fort Worth facility during the last phase of this reporting period this Tactical Fighter will be the first f-111 to have a complete mark to avionics equipment package installed the mark tune is a new generation of advanced avionics that will allow the aircraft to achieve pinpoint navigation and improved weapons delivery accuracy mark 2 also provides a significant to air capability including the ability to attack at very low altitudes micro electronic circuitry is used extensively in these advanced avionics systems to improve reliability and to reduce power and weight continuous airborne system self-test and built-in ground test features assure accurate and dependable performance these advanced avionics systems include an attack radar inertial navigation system central digital computer complex and integrated this place that the Doppler radar and a storage management set with the mark two systems we f-111b will perform its practical mission more effectively than any other aircraft the norton division of united aircraft is the subcontractor for the f-111b integrated display set production of the ids is underway at the Norden assembly area core mods the basic electronic packages on the IDF module boards are here shown being assembled core mod represent a unique method of stacking integrated circuits and discrete components to the form individual electronic packages the components are pre arranged in the proper stacking order and are accurately positioned horizontally with the aid of a special alignment fixture the fixture assured that component leaves are properly placed on the core mod wafer matrix which contain threaded interconnections when stacking is completed the individual core mod assemblies are sent to the next stage of fabrication here a preassembled header with connector pins is attached to the core mod then additional pins are inserted into the core log to provide connection between the left and right sides of the wafers the cards are been prepared for slaughtering this process is accomplished on a newly designed and recently installed waves order machines fully operational the wave solder machine will be capable of handling entire module boards here's the core mods are attached to the rotating bolt in preparation for soldering once attached the core mods are directed through the waves order operations automatically first the bottom has three units passed through a flux bath which aids the fusing action of the Tartar then they are directed into the solder flow the temperature of this order is held to attend three degrees throughout the system this controlled environment assures our uniformity of joint unattainable with conventional methods after all components of the module boards have been assembled the entire electronic package is inspected and submitted for functional testing all integrated display sets must have a complete functional test before installation this will assure full and complete knowledge that each component in the completed avionics Hardware package will function as specified other f-111b avionics including the terrain-following radar and low altitude radar altimeter are basically the same as those in the f-111 a major configurations and modifications changes will follow those specifications that are being incorporated in the f-111 ii aircraft aircraft number 160 and on these would include the triple plow and led configuration as well as several other internal design modifications and improvements each is thus the f-111b is an all-weather advanced aircraft which with the mark two systems will it provide the best performance accuracy and dependability available in a high-performance aircraft during the six-month reporting period the production delivery rate for all f-111 aircraft has averaged seven shifts each month the total of aircraft in all Air Force configurations manufactured through the final assembly to the state numbers 162 this includes 136 of the f-111 a's 24 of the Royal Australian Air Force's f-111 C's and three of these Strategic Air commands FB 111 a strategic bombers the 231 eleven is expected to hear the assembly sequence during the next 30 days flights of all f-111 aircraft now totaled in excess of 12,000 over 27,000 hours of flight time has been logged during these flights over 2,000 flights have been supersonic with 700 flights at Mach 2 or above 8f 111 a aircraft were accepted and delivered to the Air Force during the last months of this reporting period the 430 Tactical Fighter Squadron 470 4th Tactical Fighter Wing Nellis Air Force Base Nevada received its first f-111 a in March 1969 two other squadrons there for 28 and the 429 have already been equipped with the sweep wing f-111 a aircraft as production acceptance and delivery of the f-111 aircraft continued to accelerate the highly satisfactory results that have been obtained with the f-111 especially in its operational role they note significant progress toward the modernization and strengthening of our missions air power

Channel: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives

Views: 10,998

Keywords: San Diego Air and Space Museum, Ryan Aeronautical, San Diego

Id: e8PmiXjlqlw

Length: 18min 45sec (1125 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 01 2016