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(Top) 1 Development 2 Testing 3 Specifications 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

General Dynamics–Boeing AFTI/F-111A Aardvark

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AFTI/F-111A Aardvark

AFTI/F-111A Aardvark in flight
Role	Research aircraft Type of aircraft
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	General Dynamics/Boeing
First flight	18 November 1985
Introduction	1985
Retired	1988
Status	In storage
Primary user	NASA
Number built	1 (converted from F-111A)
Developed from	General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark

The General Dynamics–Boeing AFTI/F-111A Aardvark was a research aircraft modified from a General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark to test a Boeing-built supercritical mission adaptive wing (MAW). This MAW, in contrast to standard control surfaces, could smoothly change the shape of its airfoil in flight.

Development[edit]

The AFTI/F-111A was part of the Advanced Fighter Technology Integration (AFTI) Program by the United States Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory and NASA, which was an extension of the earlier transonic aircraft technology (TACT) program to install a supercritical wing onto an F-111.^[1] Unlike the TACT program, AFTI utilized a mission adaptive wing, which, instead of standard control surfaces, could smoothly change the shape of its airfoil in flight.^[2] The concept was inspired by birds, which change the shape of their wings to adapt to new flight conditions.^[2]

By late 1981, Boeing had built a full-scale wing section and had received the variable-sweep actuator boxes from an F-111.^[2] The new wings were installed on the 13th service test F-111A (serial number 63-9778), which had previously been used in the TACT program.^[3] In November 1983, the systems for the MAW was powered up for the first time, revealing problems that delayed the program by five months.^[4]

The MAW of the AFTI/F-111A had four automatic flight modes:^[1]

Maneuver camber control, which adjusted the camber of the wings for maximum aerodynamic efficiency.
Cruise camber control, which adjusted the wings for maximum speed at any altitude and engine power.
Maneuver load control, which adjusted the wings for maximum aircraft load factor.
Maneuver enhancement alleviation, to cancel out the effects of gusts on the aircraft.

Testing[edit]

The first flight of the AFTI/F-111A took place on 18 November 1985.^[4] A total of 59 flights were conducted between 1985 and 1988, resulting in satisfactory results from the four flight modes during testing and showing a significant reduction in drag.^[1] Additionally, none of the aircraft's 46 rotary actuators failed during testing, however, its 16 power drive units (PDU) required 37 component or complete replacements.^[4]

As of April 2023, the aircraft used in the TACT and AFTI programs is in storage at the Air Force Flight Test MuseumatEdwards AFB.^[5]

Specifications[edit]

Data from Standard F-111A,^[6]^[7] Mission Adaptive Wing^[4]

General characteristics

Crew:2
Length: 75 ft 6.5 in (23.03 m)
Wingspan: 59.07 ft (18.00 m)
Height: 17 ft 0.5 in (5.19 m)
Wing area: 623.2 sq ft (57.90 m²) spread, 605.8 sq ft (56.28 m²) swept
Airfoil: Boeing Advanced Transonic Airfoil
Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-3 turbofan engines, 12,000 lbf (53 kN) thrust each dry, 18,500 lbf (82 kN) with afterburner

Performance

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c Calzada, Ruby (2015-08-20). "AFTI F-111". NASA. Retrieved 2020-06-24.

^ ^a ^b ^c Gunston, Bill (1987). The Great Book of Modern Warplanes. Salamander Books Ltd. p. 325. ISBN 0-517-63367-1.

^ Gibbs, Yvonne (2017-06-06). "Patch: F-111 Mission Adaptive Wing (MAW)". NASA. Retrieved 2020-06-24.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Smith, John W. (1992). Variable-camber Systems Integration and Operational Performance of the AFTI/F-111 Mission Adaptive Wing. NASA, Scientific and Technical Information Program.

^ "Aircraft Inventory List – FLIGHT TEST MUSEUM FOUNDATION". Retrieved 2023-04-10.

^ Gunston, Bill (1987). The Great Book of Modern Warplanes. Salamander Books Ltd. p. 328. ISBN 0-517-63367-1.

^ "General Dynamics F-111". www.joebaugher.com. Retrieved 2020-06-24.

External links[edit]

Flight Test Results From a Supercritical Mission Adaptive Wing With Smooth Variable Camber, NASA

v t e Convair and General Dynamics aircraft
Manufacturer designations	(numbering continued from Vultee): 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 108 109 110 111 112 115 116 117 118 200 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8/8-24 9 11 21 22 23 24 27 30 31 48 240 300 340 440 540 580 600 640
Bombers	B-36 XA-44 XB-46 XB-53 B-58 YB-60
Fighters and attack aircraft	XP-81 XF-92 F2Y F-102 XFY F-106 Charger
Civilian transports	37 58-9 110 240 300 340 440 540 580 600 640 880 990 5800
Military transports	XC-99 C-131 / R4Y / T-29 R3Y
Experimental aircraft	Kingfish NB-36H X-6
General Dynamics	RB-57F F-111 F-111B F-111C F-111K EF-111A AFTI/F-111A F-16 F-16XL X-62 VISTA Model 100 Model 1600 YF-22

v t e Boeing military aircraft
Fighters/attack aircraft	PW-9/FB F2B F3B F4B F5B XF6B XF7B XF8B XP-4 XP-7 XP-8 XP-9 P-12 XP-15 P-26 P-29 XP-32 818 F-15E F-15EX YF-22 F-22 AV-8B F/A-18E/F EA-18G
Bombers	YB-9 XB-15 B-17 Y1B-20 B-29 XB-38 XB-39 YB-40 XB-44 B-47 B-50 B-52 B-54 XB-55 XB-56 XB-59 B-1
Piston-engined transports	C-73 C-75 C-97 C-98 C-108
Jet transports	C-135 C-137 CC-137 YC-14 C-17 C-22 VC-25 C-32 C-40 CT-43
Tanker-transports	KB-29 KB-50 KC-97 KC-135 KC-137 KC-10 KC-46 KC-767
Trainers	PT-13 PT-17 PT-18 PT-27 XAT-15 T-43 T-45 T-7
Patrol and surveillance	XPB XPBB XP3B P-8 EC-135 EC-18 E-3 E-4 E-6 E-8 E-10 E-767 737 AEW&C
Reconnaissance	NC-135 OC-135B RC-135 WC-135
Drones/UAVs	YQM-94 CQM-121 MQ-18 RQ-21 MQ-25 MQ-27 MQ-28 X-50
Experimental/prototypes	AFTI/F-111A Bird of Prey Phantom Eye Phantom Ray Skyfox X-20 X-32 X-36 X-37 X-40 X-45 X-48 X-50 X-51 X-53 YAL-1

USAAS/USAAC/USAAF/USAF fighter designations 1924–1962, and Tri-Service post-1962 systems

1924 sequences
(1924–1962)

Pursuit (1924–1948)	P-1 P-2 P-3 P-4³ Curtiss P-4 Boeing P-4 P-5 P-6 P-7 P-8 P-9 P-10 P-11 P-12 P-13 P-14 P-15 P-16 P-17 P-18 P-19 P-20 P-21 P-22 P-23 P-24 P-25 P-26 P-27 P-28 P-29 P-30 P-31 P-32 P-33 P-34 P-35 P-36 P-37 P-38 P-39 P-39E P-40 P-41 P-42 P-43 P-44 P-45 P-46 P-47 P-48 P-49 P-50 P-51 P-52 P-53 P-54 P-55 P-56 P-57 P-58 P-59³ XP-59 P-59 P-60 P-61 P-62 P-63 P-64 P-65 P-66 P-67 P-68 P-69 P-70 P-71 P-72 P-73² P-74¹ P-75 P-76 P-77 P-78 P-79 P-80 P-81 P-82 P-83 P-84 P-85 P-86 P-87 P-88 P-89 P-90 P-91 P-92
Fighter (1948–1962)	F-38 F-39 F-40 F-47 F-51 F-59 F-61 RF-61C F-63 F-80 F-81 F-82 F-83 F-84 F-84F/J F-84H F-85 F-86 F-86C F-86D/G/K/L F-87 F-88 F-89 F-90 F-91 F-92 F-93 F-94 F-95 F-96 F-97 F-98 F-99 F-100 F-100B F-101 F-102 F-102B F-103 F-104 XF-104 F-104S NF-104A F-105 F-106³ XF-106 F-106 F-107 F-108 F-109² F-110 F-111 F-111B F-111C F-111K AFTI/F-111A EF-111A
Pursuit, Biplace	PB-1 PB-2 PB-3
Fighter, Multiplace	FM-1 FM-2
Non-sequential	F-24 P-322 P-400

Tri-service sequence
(1962–present)

Main sequence

F-1
- F-1C/D
- F-1E/F
F-2
F-3
F-4
- F-4K/M
F-5
- G
F-6
F-7
F-8
F-9
- F-9F–J
F-10
F-11
F-12
- F-12C²
F-13¹
F-14
F-15
- F-15E
- F-15EX
- F-15J
- F-15 STOL/MTD
F-16
- F-16XL
- NF-16D
F-17
F/A-18
- F/A-18E/F
- EA-18G
F-19¹
F-20
F-21
F-22
- YF-22
- FB-22
F-23

Non-sequential

F-35
- F-35I
- X-35
F-117

Covert designations

Related designations

FV-12

¹ Not assigned • ² Unofficial • ³ Assigned to multiple types
See also: "F-19" • 1919–1924 sequence

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