The Phantom and the Tomcat were both designed to be interceptors , to protect the " bird farm " . Using them for any thing else was outside their design criteria .
Originally Posted by WyrTwister
The Phantom and the Tomcat were both designed to be interceptors , to protect the " bird farm " . Using them for any thing else was outside their design criteria .
As a kid I had a huge model F14. It was almost 2 feet long. So cool and boy did I want to fly that thing. I also had a book on the development of F14. I only remember a couple of things about it. One being that the F-111 was a precursor and large wing area which gave it a low stall speed and the use of titanium to fabricate the joint which allowed the wings to sweep back. It was pretty heady stuff for a 10 yr old.
While the B1B Lancer was used in a different role, I also wonder how much, if any, of Rockwell's Wing-pivot design (and Lessons Learned) was incorporated into the Tomcat?
It's a shame the government never spent the money for an upgraded F-14 and retired the aircraft.
I was surprised the F-14 was dropping laser guided bombs towards the end if of its career.
The last time I saw a Tomcat was at the Ft Lauderdale Air & Sea Show and the F-14 put on an amazing show. We were on the pier and Maverick made some low passes over us. ðŸ‘