How come the Navy doesn't use a boom like the AF?
Originally Posted By: tom slick
How come the Navy doesn't use a boom like the AF?
Originally Posted By: Astro14
Falling leaf mode was no joke. We lost a few Hornets to that...and the boldface (immediate response memory items) addressed it in departure recovery... The F-14 had wing rock. It would oscillate in roll above about 20 AOA. The longer you stayed there, the worse it got.
Originally Posted By: DeepFriar
After looking around I think I've answered my question in one respect. IRST has been widely used by the US for quite some time but less emphasized on USAF aircraft unless pod mounted or so it appears. Sorry to have put noise on the channel before looking on my own.
Originally Posted By: DeepFriar
I've always wondered why we were so slow to employ IRST. The 14 long had the TV sensor IIRC but it always seemed to me to place us at a disadvantage. Was it thought that cueing by Hawkeye/other made it redundant?
Originally Posted By: lubricatosaurus
Trivia from "Modern Marvels":
Always wondered why they'd chosen such a stupid name for a great jet like that. WWII-era had Grumman Iron Works Wildcat, Hellcat, Bearcat, Tigercat, then Panther, Cougar, Tiger, so maybe Tomcat should have been SaberCat or something, dunno, less politically correct I guess.
Compared to a sabre-toothed cat, a tomcat is pussyfootin' around. Would have been cool to have this logo, maybe a profile on the vertical tail or near the alpha vanes on an F-14:Originally Posted By: Win
At the Vet I worked for in college, Tomcats could be a fearsome critter. You didn't want one stuck on you.
Originally Posted By: lubricatosaurus
Always wondered why they'd chosen such a stupid name for a great jet like that. WWII-era had Grumman Iron Works Wildcat, Hellcat, Bearcat, Tigercat, then Panther, Cougar, Tiger, so maybe Tomcat should have been SaberCat or something, dunno, less politically correct I guess.
The F-14 was designed to shoot down multiple air targets, large USSR or Chinese formations of early cruise missiles or manned jets. Not much affect on Vietnam issues. As for Top Gun air-to-air dogfighting skills, that could have been emphasized sooner in the war, regardless of the airframes used (Crusader, PhantomII, SuperSabre, F-5).Originally Posted By: spasm3
The f-14 came out as the vietnam war ended. I have to wonder what would have been the effect if the jet had reached production a year earlier, would have been interesting.
Originally Posted By: Jetronic
But what if you're in a zero, and the other guy in an F-14. Would you try to vary your speed and manoeuvre in such a way that the f-14 can't keep you in his gun sights? Low altitude aswell I suppose. I imagine from seeing the above scene that's about the only advantage you would have...
Originally Posted By: Jetronic
that's how the allied fighters attacked messerschmidt jets aswell, but it doesn't quite work if the enemy is low to the ground. Besides that technique is used on a faster opponent, not a slower one