I recall wearing a shirt in college that said:
USA 2
Libya 0
-Eric
Posted on 09/21/2006 11:22:56 AM PDT by BurbankKarl
CNN Pipeline #4 showing live feed of last USN F-14 Tomcat flight.
Crew is turning on engines now.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
How long before the first QF-14 flies?
Ha...
This feed coming from Richmond Airport....I guess they are taking it up and bringing it back to put in the museum?
I recall wearing a shirt in college that said:
USA 2
Libya 0
-Eric
Damn, it's a pay site.
You have got to be kidding.
I watched the entire Israeli-Hezbollah conflict on there....it is worth the $$$.
Plus, CNN has never been free.
VFA-103 Jolly Roger bump!
Cockpit closed.....ground crew saluting.
Rollout
Hands down, the best fighter plan ever built, carrying the best air to air missiles ever built, in my civilian opinion.
Single-handedly established our air superiority spanning three decades from the late 70s on. Conceiving a platform that could attack six targets at once from BVR was a brillant strategy. And the thing was durable as anything after initial kinks worked out.
How many "Last F-14 Flight" threads must we endure before that old thing finally stops flying? (Just kidding).
It seems that we get a "last flight" thread every other week.
If I'm not mistaken, Iran still has some Tomcats purchased by the Shah...not sure if, or how many are still flying.
Not even close when compared to the F-15 ;)
The F-14 was great, but naval aviation makes severe concessions for carrier-based aircraft. Big, heavy (huge legs, though). The Phoenix never shot down an aircraft in combat and could doubtfully do that against modern high-performance aircraft. It lacked the end-range maneuverability and speed against almost any fighter, as it was designed to take out cruise/anti-ship missile launching bombers. And a real maintenance hog.
I saw one of the "May Day" celebrations where they had FIVE flying together.
Remember that they've had decades of outside help in re-engineering all the basic systems, not to mention a possible injection of Russian and French avionics and fire control systems. I don't doubt that the Iranians could keep a number of F-14s flying, although the electronics wouldn't be even remotely American.
I do recall that not too many years back, there had been a bust of some US personnel selling avionics components to them under the table...no telling how much went over before they got nailed (I actually knew a few people involved in the investigation side, and have since come to know a family member of one of the people busted.). They may be more "American" than we might suspect.
Are you sure? What about the Gulf of Sidra? Were those Sidewinders?
Possibly.
If Iran gets modern Russian aircraft, the F-14 is a moot point. I'm really concerned about their access to modern Russian missiles, which are quite bitchin'.
Sidewinders and Sparrows, IIRC.
The Phoenix had legs, but really wasn't designed for dogfighting. It was designed to keep Russian bombers at bay as a "fleet defender".
Thanks for clearing that up....When I was six or seven, My dad took my brother and I to see Midway, and from that point on, I wanted nothing more than to be a naval aviator and fly for the US military. Unfortunately, my vision went south which disqualified me from flying military aircraft, so I simply joined the Army and jumped out of them instead...;-)
Same here.
I wanted helos but the vision was bad.
At the time (1985), I was considering a trip to Canada for Radial Keratotomy (very pre-LASIK), but the flight surgeon I spoke with said it would still be a no-go.
OTOH, a friend wanted to go SF and made the trip to Canada.
They never found out and he was SF for 15 years before joining the FBI. Flight physicals are definitely tougher than the SF version.
The reason there weren't many combat AIM-54 kills is because enemy pilots didn't want to mess with it! They turned and ran when the APG radar went on.
Perhaps I should have qualified: it terms of deterance, the combat range of the Cat was unmatched and gave us an unparalleled sphere of dominace when operating in an area.
Every time The Navy has rolled the switch at intercept, they've selected either the Sidewinder or the Sparrow. Both Libyan engagements saw absolutely no action from the Phoenix.
You said there weren't "many" AIM-54 kills. IIRC, there weren't ANY AIM-54 kills.
The APG radar is neat, but it's known for power, not precision. It was designed for range, with enough power to "burn through" the EW packages of larger enemy aircraft, while detecting, tracking and targeting the larger, slower-moving aircraft.
The "Slammer" was optimized for the F-15 as THE air superiority fighter (nobody has seriously considered the Tomcat superior in head to head comparisons). Long before the merge, the F-15 could bring this to bear. Even attempting a Phoenix shot against the F-15 would be foolish.
At the merge, the F-15 would absolutely RULE. It's got the thrust to weight AND the maneuverability to OWN the Tomcat.
I don't say this to belittle the Tomcat, but it wasn't designed as an "Air Superiority" fighter. It was purpose-built as a "Fleet Defender": The speed and legs to get it out there beyond anti-ship missile range, the radar to track/target and a long range missile to engage the primary threat - Russian bombers. And it could easily handle earlier generations of Soviet fighters in a tangle, but it's design precluded it from dominating the sky like the F-15C.
Are you saying the Eagle's ECM's and manuvering skills would defeat 2 incoming AIM's with no problem?
Not any two AIMs, but surely the Phoenix at any range. It doesn't have the maneuverability (partly due to its huge mass). And its active radar virtually guarantees that the F-15 is gonna see that thing as soon as it's lanched.
That leaves Slammers and Sidewinders these days, and both are masterful when deployed by the F-15C. Within those ranges, the F-15C has the more detailed and refined radar, which is 100% geared towards other fighters in every mode. Its sole mission is to take out other fighters, not bomber interdiction.
And when it comes to guns, I'd put cash on the Eagle every time. It's carrying much less girth and a better thrust-to-weight ratio. Imagine if they'd gone with the thrust-vectoring, canarded F-15 "Active" as an interim hedge against the F-22A.
Yes, that is great!
You know what the F-14 was named by general naval aviation?
The Aluminum Cloud
If we leave out the USN,the Phoenix hasn't seen any combat.But the Iranians have claimed numerous kills with the missile & the aircraft during the 8 year war with Iraq.Some websites put the number of Tomcat kills during that war at over 40,though it's hard to verify by any stretch.The Iraqis have claimed their own share of F-14 kills incl. a Mig-21 "pack" downing one!!!!!
About the AMRAAM's range-aren't the new series designed for the F-22As having a range of around a 100 miles???
I saw both over the years at Miramar.
Cool picture! On my hard drive, now.
Lucky you. I only saw the pictures. I'd like to see an old Corsair or Hellcat like that.
the f14d was equiped with the huges apg-71 radar set wich was a considerable upgrade ove the awg 9 radar system. in a fight with f-15s the tomcat usually reignes supreme.(depending on the aircrew) against the rapyor was a completely different story however.
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