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Forty-seven years ago this week, the USAF/General Dynamics F-111A Aardvark tactical strike aircraft successfully swept its variable-geometry wings for the first time in flight. Company test pilots Dick Johnson and Val Prahl flew this test on what was the second flight of Ship No 1. (S/N 63-9766). Flying out of Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, Texas, the aircraft’s wings were swept through the full range of wing sweep (16 to 72.5-deg) without incident. This important milestone in the development of the all-weather, supersonic-capable, low-level penetration F-111A took place on Wednesday, 06 January 1965.
