Sat. Apr. 17/10 Pace51
Grumman F-14A Tomcat
Manufacturer: Grumman
Maiden Flight: December 21, 1970
Max. Speed: 2485 Km/H
Armament: One 20-mm Vulcan and 4 AIM-9 Sidewinder’s, + Either six AIM-54 Phoenix missiles or 6 AIM-7 Sparrow missiles.
Powered By: 2 92.97 kN Pratt & Whitney TF-30 Turbofans with afterburning capabilities
The Mach-2 capable F-14A Tomcat is one of the most famous aircraft in the world. It has it’s good points, and bad point’s, but most importantly, it’s hardpoints which carry some of the most expensive missiles in the world.
The F-14a carries the AIM-54 Phoenix missiles mentioned above. The special thing about these missiles is that they are high performance beyond-visual-range missiles. These are the longest ranging unclassified AAM’s in the world, having a range of a whopping 200 Km. In the nose of the Tomcat, a powerful Hughes AN/AWG-9 Radar rests. This radar allows the Tomcat to detect fighters and larger aircraft at incredible distances, and give the F-14A the ability to shoot down even Cruise missiles. However, don’t get excited about the AIM-54, especially if you live in the states. They cost 2 million dollars. Each. Though, the Tomcat’s are retired now. Sadly.
The first operational F-14A Tomcat squadron flew in 1972(The year team Canada beat team Russia, Yay Henderson!). The Tomcat’s were also used in the famous Top gun program. Remember the movie? As the commander there said to his pilots, “You’re the best of the best. We’re going to make you even better”. The top gun program was for the most daring, disciplined, and skilled pilots in the US. Famous pilots include:
Now, when an Aircraft carrier is at sea, especially in the 70’s, bomber’s are the biggest threat, because of their range and power. One bomber can carry enough firepower to level a carrier, although they don’t always fly with full bomb loads. The Tomcat had the speed, range, and firepower necessary to destroy bombers before they could reach the carrier’s. In fact, an F-14A can even take out sea-skimming missiles with the use of the Phoenix and other missiles. The Tomcat incorporates swing wings for superb low level performance and high interception speeds. The Tomcat’s used to be flamboyant an wear colorful tail markings, and other designs. Now, they come in trademark gray camouflage, which makes them trickier to spot.
A Tomcat is a team. The pilot and the Naval Flight Officer co-ordinate to use the Tomcat as effectively as possible. In 1981, Lt Muszynski and Cdr Kleeman were engaged by two su-22’s. They destroyed both. In 1989, a similar incident involving mig-23’s occurred. The F-14A Also cooperated with E-2C Hawkeye aircraft. Tomcat’s are able to engage up to six enemy aircraft at one time. Since they have long range “Fire and forget” missiles, they are extremely potent fighters.
Some flaws of the F-14A, other than the AIM-54 “Taxpayer’s worst enemy”, were the design of the TF-30 Turbofans. They are great for the economy, and yield a high performance, but have a moderate-to-low reliability. They sometimes cause more trouble than they’re worth.
Some Topgun movie facts:
The F-14A was the fighter in the movie
The Mig-28’s in the movie actually were Northrop’s. Mikoyan Gurevich never built a mig-28. The movie Top-gun used Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter’s with a black and red paint scheme as mig’s. However, in real life, the military’s “Aggressor” program function’s similarly. The program modified aircraft so that they would perform like Russian mig-21’s, mig-23’s, mig-29’s, and more. This way, the airforce pilot’s would be able to do target practice on jets with similar capabilities to the Russian jets, which were the main threat at the time, and today still are. However, in real life, these aircraft existed. A real mig28 never existed, only in Top gun.
Mig-28 (Northrop F-5) ^^^^^
F-14D Super Tomcat Stats
Manufacturer: Grumman
Max. Speed: 2485 Km/H
Armament: One 20-mm Vulcan and 4 AIM-9 SidewinderM’s.
Powered By: 2 102.75-kN
F-14... Discuss. Sorry if you were planning on discussing the weather.
Here are my sources:
American military aircraft: A history of innovation- General Editor Jim Winchester
Fighter Aircraft by Francis Crosby
OH RIGHT PICS
Grumman F-14A Tomcat
Manufacturer: Grumman
Maiden Flight: December 21, 1970
Max. Speed: 2485 Km/H
Armament: One 20-mm Vulcan and 4 AIM-9 Sidewinder’s, + Either six AIM-54 Phoenix missiles or 6 AIM-7 Sparrow missiles.
Powered By: 2 92.97 kN Pratt & Whitney TF-30 Turbofans with afterburning capabilities
The Mach-2 capable F-14A Tomcat is one of the most famous aircraft in the world. It has it’s good points, and bad point’s, but most importantly, it’s hardpoints which carry some of the most expensive missiles in the world.
The F-14a carries the AIM-54 Phoenix missiles mentioned above. The special thing about these missiles is that they are high performance beyond-visual-range missiles. These are the longest ranging unclassified AAM’s in the world, having a range of a whopping 200 Km. In the nose of the Tomcat, a powerful Hughes AN/AWG-9 Radar rests. This radar allows the Tomcat to detect fighters and larger aircraft at incredible distances, and give the F-14A the ability to shoot down even Cruise missiles. However, don’t get excited about the AIM-54, especially if you live in the states. They cost 2 million dollars. Each. Though, the Tomcat’s are retired now. Sadly.
The first operational F-14A Tomcat squadron flew in 1972(The year team Canada beat team Russia, Yay Henderson!). The Tomcat’s were also used in the famous Top gun program. Remember the movie? As the commander there said to his pilots, “You’re the best of the best. We’re going to make you even better”. The top gun program was for the most daring, disciplined, and skilled pilots in the US. Famous pilots include:
Now, when an Aircraft carrier is at sea, especially in the 70’s, bomber’s are the biggest threat, because of their range and power. One bomber can carry enough firepower to level a carrier, although they don’t always fly with full bomb loads. The Tomcat had the speed, range, and firepower necessary to destroy bombers before they could reach the carrier’s. In fact, an F-14A can even take out sea-skimming missiles with the use of the Phoenix and other missiles. The Tomcat incorporates swing wings for superb low level performance and high interception speeds. The Tomcat’s used to be flamboyant an wear colorful tail markings, and other designs. Now, they come in trademark gray camouflage, which makes them trickier to spot.
A Tomcat is a team. The pilot and the Naval Flight Officer co-ordinate to use the Tomcat as effectively as possible. In 1981, Lt Muszynski and Cdr Kleeman were engaged by two su-22’s. They destroyed both. In 1989, a similar incident involving mig-23’s occurred. The F-14A Also cooperated with E-2C Hawkeye aircraft. Tomcat’s are able to engage up to six enemy aircraft at one time. Since they have long range “Fire and forget” missiles, they are extremely potent fighters.
Some flaws of the F-14A, other than the AIM-54 “Taxpayer’s worst enemy”, were the design of the TF-30 Turbofans. They are great for the economy, and yield a high performance, but have a moderate-to-low reliability. They sometimes cause more trouble than they’re worth.
Some Topgun movie facts:
The F-14A was the fighter in the movie
The Mig-28’s in the movie actually were Northrop’s. Mikoyan Gurevich never built a mig-28. The movie Top-gun used Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter’s with a black and red paint scheme as mig’s. However, in real life, the military’s “Aggressor” program function’s similarly. The program modified aircraft so that they would perform like Russian mig-21’s, mig-23’s, mig-29’s, and more. This way, the airforce pilot’s would be able to do target practice on jets with similar capabilities to the Russian jets, which were the main threat at the time, and today still are. However, in real life, these aircraft existed. A real mig28 never existed, only in Top gun.
Mig-28 (Northrop F-5) ^^^^^
F-14D Super Tomcat Stats
Manufacturer: Grumman
Max. Speed: 2485 Km/H
Armament: One 20-mm Vulcan and 4 AIM-9 SidewinderM’s.
Powered By: 2 102.75-kN
F-14... Discuss. Sorry if you were planning on discussing the weather.
Here are my sources:
American military aircraft: A history of innovation- General Editor Jim Winchester
Fighter Aircraft by Francis Crosby
OH RIGHT PICS
Last edited by pace51 (2010-04-20 11:25:05)
