The image of a swing-wing strike aircraft carving across the skies of New Zealand’s Southern Alps near Wanaka is rare. At the Warbirds Over Wanaka airshow in 2006, an F‑111C of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) swung its wings and roared past the hills in an air-to-air setup filmed from a helicopter with a stabilised camera.
With pilot Squadron Leader Craig Whiting and navigator Flight Lieutenant Susan Youngman at the controls, the video highlighted here presents the aircraft in sweeping flight around the mountainous terrain, capturing wing-sweep transitions and the dramatic terrain backdrop. Low-level passed with the vantage from the hovering helicopter, and the silhouetted shadow of the F-111 on the ground combine to deliver something memorable.
Technical features of the F-111C
The F-111C variant was specially selected for Australian requirements in 1963. Australia initially ordered 24 of them back to replace its older Canberra bomber in the strike role, however many delays meant that the initial tranche of six aircraft were only delivered to the RAAF in 1973.
Key features of the type included variable-geometry wings (often called swing-wings), which swept back for high speed and extended forward for take-off or landing. The swing-wing design allowed the aircraft to combine low-speed handling with supersonic capability.
The aircraft could fly at altitude up to around 50,000 ft and reach speeds up to about Mach 2.4. (with the exact service ceiling and speed can varying by configuration.)
The F-111C was also fitted with terrain-following radar enabling very low-level penetration flights, internal weapons bay that could carry bombs and missiles (including a Pave Tack targeting pod), and after-burning turbofan engines.
In Australia the type was known by the unofficial nickname 'Pig', derived from the Afrikaans word for Aardvark, which was the American term for the aircraft.
Service life and retirement of the RAAF F-111 fleet
The first six F-111Cs arrived at Base Amberley on 1 July 1973, and once introduced into RAAF service, the F-111Cs served for many years. An additional fifteen ex-US Air Force F-111G models were acquired by the RRAF in the early 1990s to expand the fleet. None of these aircraft ever saw combat in Australian service, but they did provide the RAAF with an independent long-range strike capability.
Later in its service life, the type understandably faced increasing maintenance hours per flight hour and aging issues, which contributed to its retirement. After service for around 37 years, the final RAAF F-111 operation came on 3 December 2010 when the last aircraft landed.
The aircraft shown in the video, A8-113, was delivered to the USAF and departed for service in Vietnam in 1973 where it flew 44 combat missions. After it's RAAF service life, the aircraft was repainted in its original South East Asia camouflage with 1 Squadron markings on the port side and 6 Squadron on the starboard side, and is now on display at the Darwin Aviation Museum.
Flight in the Wanaka region – a unique setting
Because the RAAF retired the type in 2010, any footage of flying displays is by definition historical, and this is probably almost unique as far as the RAAF 'Pigs' are concerned.
With the Southern Alps as backdrop and the leaf-covered hills of the Wanaka region, the F-111C is presented far from its usual high-speed strike profile in flat terrain or military regions. Instead, it is shown in a display environment, in manoeuvres around a helicopter camera platform.
The spectacle of a large supersonic strike aircraft flying around a helicopter in scenic terrain is unusual — the aircraft was not primarily built for scenic display, but this footage uses it in that mode, giving viewers both technical interest (wing sweep, after-burning turbofan, terrain-following capability) and aesthetic appeal (mountain scenery, aerial choreography).
Finally, for those who follow warbirds, military aviation history, or display flying, the F-111C holds a unique place — so seeing it in flight in this setting adds extra value.
Warbirds Over Wanaka
The Warbirds Over Wanaka International Airshow is held every two years (even-numbered years) at Wanaka Airport in the Central Otago region of New Zealand. Over several decades, with stunning scenery, and impressive display routines, this airshow has garnered an international reputation for being one of the world's best airshows.
Check out their website to see when the next airshow is:
www.warbirdsoverwanaka.com
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