Flying the F-111A/F Aardvark | Karl Gruner (Part 1) 

I was TDY to Europe on a Staff Assistance Visit in 1986 and one of our stops was in the UK at Mildenhall. I was with an 06 Colonel, ex F4 Vietnam fighter pilot, and we were driving back to Ely, where we were billeted, late one night. The road to Ely went from Mildehall and past the end of the runway for Lakenheath. We heard what sounded like a mass launch with planes flying right over us and my colonel looked at me and said "those birds are loaded." He could tell just from the sound. We found out later that they were F-111's on the way to bomb Libya.

Flying 100 to 250 feet above the deck, at high speeds .... that takes a sharp mind and heavy concentration. No wonder you had two crew for that aircraft. The photo of Karl standing next to the bird really reveals the size of that beast. Great interview gents.

Flew one with the RAAF. Outstanding ground attack bomber. Operational from 1970 to 2010, ending with the G model. Boeing upgraded ours to carry French as well as US Cruise missiles. Nothing came close to its versatility and mach 2.4 speed and 55,000ft ceiling.

A lot of people say the F-111 looks ugly. To me its a beautifully shaped aircraft. Reminds me a lot of the Tomcat. Mind you I also love the Buccaneer.

A FB-111A pilot from Plattsburgh AFB told me they would go to Nellis AFB for Red Flag. He said if F-15's tried to jump them all they had to do was hit the burners and go low. They could easily out run the F-15's.

How did they convert to right hand drive for flying in the uk??

Amazing interview. Thank you both so much. The Vark was always my favorite bird. This meant a lot to me to hear the stories.

I knew a guy that had his favorite coffee cup from when he was in the airforce. The "F-111 replacement project" or the Night hawks. He even got recalled from retirement due to desert storm.

The F-111Cs used to buzz my little town when I was a kid. Fucking ears ringing...

I love this channel and the interviews. This guy is awesome, you could chill and listen to his story’s for hours and not get sick of it! He explains everything to were u can see it in your head and he keeps you interested. What a amazing career he had and what awesome experiences it must have been for guys like him living it ! These guys lived the life and have the most amazing memories they keep for life.

I was at 12th AF when it still had 111s at Mt Home and Cannon AFBs. Pilots said the first great leap of faith was their first night auto-TFR descent. The went from 10,000 ft to 200 ft AGL in about 60 seconds.

yo, more F-111 interview's, thanks, i love learning about the Vark

My dad was career USAF and was stationed at Mountain Home AFB while I was in high school. Three of my friends' dads were F-111F pilots.

RAF Lakenheath YESSSSS man I enjoyed my time there, too sir!

Thanks!

loving the big cat behind him!

Good stuff!!

My aunt married one of them colonial types (USAF, weapons section I think they ,called it the shop ) and I use to spend every school holiday in the vicinity of or on RAF Lakenheath both in the f111s time but also when they swapped to the f15s, I prefered the F111s sound, look and flying style.....

Bravo Karl! Même si je n'ai pas tout compris on sent bien la passion que tu as eue pour ton métier, c'est une grande chance de pouvoir accomplir ses rêves (en fournissant les efforts qu'il fallait bien sûr...).

Wonder if Karl ever crossed paths with Chris Bodgan, the only other F-111 pilot I've spoken with (well, mostly listened to since he was a 3-star at the time)? The F-111 was an amazing airplane and probably would have been even more spectacular if they had not wasted so much time and money trying to get it fly off boats. Great interview

I had two WSOs who quit flying each after a really bad airborne emergency which I resolved after a massive command directed cluster f#$k.

If the frame were was moved over the pip window window would look like another frame on the wall.

LOL @ Mike looking like 'ckin Mario in the bottom left! :-D

The dude broke his thumb skiing. Even on his down time it was still doing full on hard core activities! Didn’t hit 1000 hours not by sitting on his arse🤣👍

the general dynamics f-111e the fighter bomber aircraft was develoment for vietnam air war. the russian equivalent istheoleg-suknoi su-24_fencer. widely used inconficts. from afghanistan to ukrainie.

Something funny about this plane, it’s actually got the same name as the A10 “Warthog” which is just the English name of the Aardvark.

Fuck imagine me in that beast........the 111

"pre-strike recce" = let the enemy know your coming.?!

♥️

I laugh every time I hear someone call the F-111 a "fighter". Karl even used air quotes when he called it a "fighter" in the interview. The Aardvark is an interdiction and strike bomber and should have been designated a B-111, or perhaps A-111 depending on how you define an "attack" aircraft. If a plane doesn't carry forward firing weapons that can shoot down an opposing fighter, then it isn't a fighter. Someone is bound to say, "But it could carry AIM-9s!" True, but hanging AIM-9s on a Nimrod does not make it a fighter either. I contend that a plane must also possess the maneuverability and performance to reasonably engage an adversary fighter to be called a "fighter". The ability to run away very fast or pull 7 Gs for a few seconds (while bleeding away all your energy leaving you a sitting duck) isn't enough performance to be a "fighter" IMHO. The reason the F-14 Tomcat was developed is because the F-111 could not function as a fighter. I don't mean to bash on the F-111. It was an effective all weather strike bomber aircraft. But just because the USAF put a "F" designation on it does not make it an actual fighter.

"Only 4 or 5 g’s”

Did the pod eject downward at any stage chaps?

Is he a German ?

He has a LOT of French accent to his speech...