Dunning Maj (1 results)

Condition: Modest wear, Very Good Plus. 1st Printing. 3 preliminary pages of typescript text, including a page written time-line of the aircraft's development, printed recto only. After 16 photographs, one typescript page inserted, "News Conference Personnel", followed by 3 photographs of the news conference. Laid-in a xerox extract of a column by Fred H. De Jong, supporting the aircraft's development & use [original publication source not identified]. 19 glossy b/w still photographs, 8-1/2" x 11". Landscape. The F-111 Aardvark was an "American supersonic, medium-range interdictor and tactical attack aircraft that also filled the roles of strategic nuclear bomber, aerial reconnaissance, and electronic-warfare aircraft in its various versions. The word 'aardvark' is Afrikaan for 'earthpig' and reflects the look of the long nose of the aircraft that might remind one of the nose of the aardvark. Developed in the 1960s by General Dynamics, it entered service in 1967 with the United States Air Force. The F-111 pioneered several technologies for production aircraft, including variable-sweep wings, afterburning turbofan engines, and automated terrain-following radar for low-level, high-speed flight. Its design influenced later variable-sweep wing aircraft, and some of its advanced features have since become commonplace." [Wiki] While the US transitioned to other aircraft in the late '90s, the F-111 continued in service with the RAAF until December 2010. As Mr. Cosby's introductory note states, "These photographs portray the sequence of events of 21 December 1964." No doubt only a limited number of these binders were made, mostly likely for visiting dignitaries, which makes this a rare promotional photodocumentary of the F-111A's first flight. At the time of cataloguing, we find no copies elsewhere in the market, nor listed on OCLC. Black flexible plastic, spiral-bound binder, gold lettering to front cover.