The Flying Pig! | Mike Crain Interview (Part 1)

In part 1, Mike Crain shares what it was like to fly the RAAF F-111 affectionally known as the "Pig", which includes some great stories and flying on exercise "Cope Thunder" in the Philippines.
Enjoy
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[@owenosborne9073]

I feel so lucky and privileged to have been at Williamtown for the F111’s final flight. What a truely awesome machine and so glad Australia chose it as complete deterrence for any potential attack of our lucky country. May we all remember her for what she was. The ultimate , graceful, warrior. Sure hope the JSF F35 keeps us safe for as long. Rest In Peace baby.

[@andrewcollins21]

I was friends with Michael at school. He was a boarder, and I recall his father coming to see him in his Jaguar. Michael was always talking about planes, and asked me many times to come with him to the Ballarat airport. He loved Army cadets, and none of us were surprised when he was accepted to the airforce. Glad to see he acheived his dream. Always a nice guy, and proud to have known him.

[@thefrecklepuny]

In alternate universes: "So Mike, what was it like to fly the Vulcan/TSR-2/A-5 Vigilante/Mirage IV?"

[@Seminal_Ideas]

Or Buccaneer. This would have been the ideal Canberra replacement for the Aussies.

[@D70Dug]

I was a photographer at Amberly in the 70s / RAAF Australia I got to photograph a WW1 pilot watching a dump and burn He had a tear in his eye, I stopped taking photos and asked if he was OK He simply quietly said "It's the first time I've seen a plane with flames coming out the back of it intentionally" I put my hand on his arm and we stood there for a while and let the others watch the show. Lest we forget

[@mikeF111]

Thanks Doug. Lest we forget.

[@v8revengemachine]

Great interview. It was seeing an F-111 perform a dump and burn at the age of 14 that sent to me into the depraved depths of avgeekery, truly an awe-inspiring machine.

[@Aircrewinterview]

Glad you enjoyed it, Adam.

[@ardvark1835]

Hi. I'm over Moyer to see this aircraft being covered . My Father was the top avonic's man on this aircraft , he was called the bear , as he rewrote the avionics manual for the ardvark, F111. When he was stationed at UPPER HAYFORD. In England. His base commander pleaded with him not to retire in 74 ,he served in the USAF. for twenty years , and worked on the 111, from 65 until 74 .

[@NoName-ds5uq]

I’ve been hanging out for this interview since the teaser! What a great story! I joined the RAN only months after Mike joined the RAAF. As a seamanship trainee I got to see F-111s dropping practice bombs on a Larne splash target we were towing 500 yards astern of HMAS Stalwart. Later I reckon I saw his instructor fly over Sydney Harbour during the bicentennial along with Hornets, Sea Harriers(from HMS Ark Royal), and many other fixed and rotary-wing aircraft… not to mention the 64 warships from around the world! But IADS really got my attention! I’ve taken part in that off the east coast of Malaysia. I don’t remember the UK being involved the year I was(I can’t remember but either ‘89 or ‘90), nor F-111s, but certainly RAAF F/A-18s. The one thing I recall is sitting in the ops room of HMAS Stuart at EMCON Sierra at a radar display showing nothing and hearing a roar overhead. Then, “Ops, GDP, two A-4s just passed overhead.” It just reminded me of the footage I’d seen of the Falklands not too many years before. Many thanks to you both! Can’t wait for the next part!

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers! Great to hear you enjoyed it.

[@jimbrown5268]

Great interview gents. Much appreciated

[@mikeF111]

Thanks Jim. Hope the second part is ok too. Cheers

[@matthayward7889]

Best make a cuppa now, don’t want to be disturbed for the next 34 minutes 👌

[@davidsmith8997]

Great interview!

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers

[@adammcintosh8556]

Great interview! So happy I saw the final public show of the Pig at Williamtown 😊

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers Adam. Ah you lucky man!

[@IngloriousGlueBombs]

Ah yes...that was a great airshow.

[@mikeF111]

Thanks Adam. Sorry I missed that last show.

[@HappyDuude]

Question for follow-up sometime -- Mike mentioned miles, Australia is on metric - is it that those systems were in imperial, and they just learned it that way?

[@mikeF111]

Nautical miles. Aviation standard.

[@benfurriel4519]

Outstanding interview. Ive always wondered why it was the F111. The primary mission was as a bomber. I thought perhaps the USAF preferred to fund fighters

[@Aircrewinterview]

Thanks Ben.

[@0MoTheG]

They always sell them as multirole, can do anything solution. Somehow always works.

[@lmj06]

it was marketed as the F-111 so it could get funding from congress

[@mikeF111]

Thanks Ben. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@0MoTheG]

At altitude the F-111 is fast but not faster than the F-4 or F-15, but lower it is faster than all the others?

[@JagdgeschwaderX]

Question, was the difference between Mach 0.95 and 1.05 such a big deal and if so why?

[@mvfc7637]

Flying close to Mach 1.0 produces flutter which makes the aircraft difficult to control and it only disappear’s once airspeed reaches Mach 1.1 and above.

[@mikeF111]

We were supposed to be subsonic as the shockwave can damage structures on the ground. The F111 is very controllable transonic. Some small pitch oscillations in the transonic envelope.

[@JagdgeschwaderX]

@@mikeF111 Thanks for the reply Mike.

[@JagdgeschwaderX]

@@mvfc7637 Thanks for the reply, good point

[@JagdgeschwaderX]

@Richard S I should have ben more specific but I was really asking from the pilots perspective. It sounds like he the difference between the two Mach numbers is barely noticeable which I was surprised about because I thought there would be a lot of vibrations or flight characteristic changes and popping in and out of those would be a big deal. I suppose it comes down the engineering of those aircraft. By the way there is a cool video of an F-111 flying over a base in Australia and blowing the windows out like you describe.

[@hoilst265]

Fun Fact: the Pig was designed by one of Australia's greatest songwriters. Not a joke.

[@mightyjimbo7681]

Good stories but no way did you have bigger parties than we did at Subic / Cubi!

[@mikeF111]

Just going with what the waiters said. It was a bit like the Great Santini 😂🍻

[@bensmith7536]

I dont know why he seems to struggle with answering, he seems to have difficulty describing his experiences .EDIIT: He relaxes, and talks freely. Perfect.

[@KRGruner]

The good ol' days...

[@mikeF111]

Enjoyed hearing your experiences Karl. Would have been great flying the Viper too 👍

[@KRGruner]

@@mikeF111 Thanks. And yes, flying the Viper was awesome, but I still have the Pig/Vark in my heart as something really special. Loved your stories! When I was flying at Mountain Home AFB, we had one Aussie exchange pilot, Paul Sawatski (spelling?), although no exchange WSO. This was in the 1981-1983 timeframe.

[@mikeF111]

@@KRGruner thanks for the kind words Karl. First time recorded interview. It’s not that easy talking off the cuff for over an hour without rehearsal.