I hated to see it go to a BombCat as opposed to CAP but it was getting too expensive to maintain, right? Kinda reminds me watching the Blue Angels move from F-4J's to A4-F's... like Heinemann builds a good brushwar Sandy... but seriously, the 18 is better? SERIOUSLY?
F-14 Questions Answered - Ask Away
- Thread starter Astro14
- Start date
Has the loss of the f-14's range affected how they orchestrate missions? I know the f-18 even with drop tanks does not match the tomcat. Unless I'm wrong drop tanks on the tomcat did not take up any weapons pylons. Is the radar in the hornet as powerful? I'm sure it has more options etc but is it as powerful an emitter? During the 80's were the Russians and Libyans truly afraid of the tomcats range ? Both Libyan encounters turned out bad for the Libyans.
Last edited:
Did the F-14 have any ASW capabilities??
And mine - we (Hatco) made the engine oil. /forums/graemlins/grin2.gif
Tom NJ
Ok, what is the "unclassified" top speed that a F-14 in any variant, that was unloaded/armed did fly? Also what is KIA and AOA that you mentioned in opening of your post? What was the ratio of kills to loss also Astro? What year did you first start flying the F-14 and what carrier were you on when you did this?
adam
adam
We just bought a farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwestern Virginia and it is located under three practice routes for F-15E Strike Eagles out of Seymour Johnson AFB. Apparently our mountainous terrain is similar to Afghanistan and we get fly overs nearly every day - we call it the "roar of freedom" and love it! I have been trying to get some pictures of them, but these puppies are fast! I managed to take this one with a 500mm lens but he was pretty far off by the time I grabbed the camera and dashed out the door. I'll keep trying for better shots.
Tom NJ
Tom NJ
Last edited by a moderator:
.
Thanks. I used to use your gear in the F-4G Wild Weasel. Maybe in the F-4C Wild Weasel too, but I think the electronic gear in that one was "steam powered" and pre-dated ICs
Last edited by a moderator:
AOA is Angle Of Attack. It is the angle between the airflow and the chord line of the wing. The chord line is a line drawn from the leading edge to the trailing edge of the wing.
KIAS is Knots Indicated AirSpeed. It is what Astro14 was reading from his airspeed indicator in the cockpit or his HUD (Heads Up Display). Other types of speed information such as True Airspeed and Ground Speed were probably available on his HUD, depending on the mode in use.
KIAS is Knots Indicated AirSpeed. It is what Astro14 was reading from his airspeed indicator in the cockpit or his HUD (Heads Up Display). Other types of speed information such as True Airspeed and Ground Speed were probably available on his HUD, depending on the mode in use.
Last edited by a moderator:
WOW...very cool Astro!
I always thought the F-14 was one of the most beautiful war planes, that and the F-4 my all time favorites. I do like the F/A-18s but maybe that's because we bought them up here.
What was the "official reason" for retiring the F-14s?
shell user, AOA is angle of attack and KIAS is Knots Indicated Air Speed, I beleive.
I always thought the F-14 was one of the most beautiful war planes, that and the F-4 my all time favorites. I do like the F/A-18s but maybe that's because we bought them up here.
What was the "official reason" for retiring the F-14s?
shell user, AOA is angle of attack and KIAS is Knots Indicated Air Speed, I beleive.
Was there a big performance difference between the TF30 and F-110-400?
Is there any difference in the sensation of speed going mach 1 and mach 2?
I was amazed at how large a F-14 is.
The F-18 is a beautiful bird.
F-111 didn't work (at all) for the Navy, it was decent for the USAF
F-4 didn't work for the Navy, it was quite good for the USAF.
I hope the F-35 works out for both.
Is there any difference in the sensation of speed going mach 1 and mach 2?
I was amazed at how large a F-14 is.
The F-18 is a beautiful bird.
F-111 didn't work (at all) for the Navy, it was decent for the USAF
F-4 didn't work for the Navy, it was quite good for the USAF.
I hope the F-35 works out for both.
Where did the phrase "Anytime Baby" originate?
Great thread Astro, and thanks for posting. I'm pretty far removed from the Navy now, but always considered the Tomcat to be my favorite naval aircraft of all time. And that's coming from a P-3 puke!
I always thought that no airshow was complete without a F-14 demo flight, especially while underway. As a shooter on Forrestal, I got to see many. Comparing a Hornet boom to a Tomcat boom is like comparing a firecracker to a cherry bomb. I never got to see a Super Hornet demo at sea though. It's a large jet like the Tomcat.
IMO, along with lots of speed and agility for a large aircraft, the pheonix misslie system is what set it apart from other interceptors of the era. It could track (radar) and shoot down six targets up to 100 miles away.
Anyways, I hope the rest of your career goes well for you and keep us updated with how/what you are doing.
I always thought that no airshow was complete without a F-14 demo flight, especially while underway. As a shooter on Forrestal, I got to see many. Comparing a Hornet boom to a Tomcat boom is like comparing a firecracker to a cherry bomb. I never got to see a Super Hornet demo at sea though. It's a large jet like the Tomcat.
IMO, along with lots of speed and agility for a large aircraft, the pheonix misslie system is what set it apart from other interceptors of the era. It could track (radar) and shoot down six targets up to 100 miles away.
Anyways, I hope the rest of your career goes well for you and keep us updated with how/what you are doing.
Last edited by a moderator:
Prefer not to talk too much detail about my career...spent a lot of time doing BFM...but my real specialty was carrier Ops...
Have to second that opinion...the F-4 was a great airplane. Built by McDonnell exclusively to meet the Navy's requirement for a Mach 2 fighter, it was so much better than the "Century Series" fighters in service that the USAF bought it...so did dozens of other countries, some of whom still fly it...
We had several MiG kills with the F-4 in Vietnam, including one Ace...I would have to say that's proof that it worked for the Navy...looking at the Israeli number of kills with that jet, I would have to say that it worked for everyone..
Last edited by a moderator:
There is really no sensation of speed going supersonic...no "boom"...the jet slows it's acceleration a bit during 0.95 to 1.2 IMN (Transonic drag rise) then starts to pick up again until about 1.5 IMN when the total drag is getting really high...I've seen it fly 1.8IMN in level flight with TF-30s.
I did once look back over my shoulder (we were "bravely" egressing the fight and being chased by an F-16N) while flying at 1.4 IMN (about 800KIAS) at 10,000 feet and I could see the air density change in the shock cone...it was like looking through distorted glass...and it took me a minute to realize what I was seeing, but it was a ring around the airplane, a distortion behind us (from my vantage point) that was staying in the same place...
Interestingly, the top speed of both the TF-30 and GE-110-equipped airplanes are about the same (has to do with compression ratios in the engines as well as inlet performance)...but the F-110 gets there a LOT faster...
The TF-30 was a stop-gap engine...it put out 20,000# of thrust each in the early versions (the P-412)...but that engine had a bad habit of throwing turbine blades out in a catastrophic failure...so the "improved" TF-30 P414A had shielding around the turbine, and was de-rated to 17,000# of thrust to allow the engine to survive the demands of fighter pilots (throttle slams, high-G, high AOA, and for some of us...high AOA and high yaw at the same time...). With those de-rated engines, I've seen the speeds that I described....largely due to the effectiveness of the big intakes, that managed airflow at high speeds....the faster you were going, the more power the engines had (note that airliners lose thrust at high speed, the Tomcat gained thrust...and the wings came back, reducing drag...)
With the F-110s, the jet was simply awesome...they put out nearly 23,000# of thrust...but as the jet went faster, that number went up to 32,000#...each, in a jet that weighted 42,000# empty...it would accelerate in a 60 degree climb with lots of ordnance...it would accelerate going straight up if it was clean...pretty cool to have 90 degrees of pitch and watch airspeed increase...
And, yeah, it's a big fighter...bigger than anything else with reasonable fighter maneuverability...in the hands of a pro...it could fly slow, maneuver tight, and eat lesser airplanes...but the pilot, really, really mattered in the Tomcat...it would not respond well to rough input or poor decisions...but once you learned its sweet spots, and how to manage the dark side of high AOA, you could get behind nearly anything...C model Hornets could fly slow, but with drop tanks, they could not add energy like the Tomcat, so you could beat them up quite well in a fair fight...it was fun..
Last edited by a moderator:
Remember that in 1969, it was totally space-age and futuristic!
Titanium welding techniques had to be invented, integrated circuits were developed, boron and carbon fiber were first used...wild, heady stuff!
