Tom's Cat
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I was thinking ctrl-f11. But it may be ctrl -F9, don’t remember which one cleared the HUD caution.
F11 is reduce Flaps which will lead to Flaps-Null in the final setting, F9 is ‘Set to Null’ regardless of where the Flaps are at the given time. F-11 is probably most equivalent to the cockpit switch I guess.
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In BMS as far as I know there is no real difference between the Tomcat variants, maybe someone from BMS can say sth more specific about this.
In RL the F-14A+ is the F-14B - only a question of different labels. There are F-14As, F-14A+ later called F-14Bs, F-14B ‘Upgrade’ (this is the socalled Bombcat) and F-14Ds.
Differences in terms of modelling would be a different AFM for A and A+/B/D variants. The AFM for the latter will of course only be partially accurate due to missing data and the unknown extent of a digital FCS in the D variant. It is based on the new vs. old engines which should make the biggest difference.
As for the composition of the airwing in 1993 in the Somalia theater of operations:
Squadron involved in Operation ‘Restore Hope’ was VF-213 with carrier air wing 11 aboard CVN-72 USS Abraham Lincoln. At that time VF-213 was the only Tomcat squadron with CVW-11, ususally it’s two but at that time the USN introduced the F/A-18C I guess that’s got sth to do with it.
Tomcats were all F-14A as VF-213 transitioned to the D only in 1997, the fourth squadron to receive the Delta version.
Interestingly, two years before the Somalia incident in the 90/91 cruise CVW-11 was the first airwing to cruise with SH60s replacing the SH-3 and F/A-18s replacing the A-7.
Very good information Stingray. Since the F-14A+ in BMS isn’t that different from the B, this is what I was thinking for my Somalia Carrier: 1 F-14B wing, 2 F/A-18A wings, 1 F/A-18C wing. Does that look resonable?
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Very good information Stingray. Since the F-14A+ in BMS isn’t that different from the B, this is what I was thinking for my Somalia Carrier: 1 F-14B wing, 2 F/A-18A wings, 1 F/A-18C wing. Does that look resonable?
Let me say again, A+ and B are one and the same. In BMS no matter what they’ve done the B is the A+ for all intents and purposes.
For the given timeframe the Tomcat would have to be an F-14A with the old engines and thus an F-14A in BMS.
Apart from that it would be era-specific and correct.
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F11 is reduce Flaps which will lead to Flaps-Null in the final setting, F9 is ‘Set to Null’ regardless of where the Flaps are at the given time. F-11 is probably most equivalent to the cockpit switch I guess.
There is also the alt-flap key command, but i am not sure if this is the cause of the RDC warning. As the flight model is designed to take into account the auto-flap feature of the Tomcat (controlled by the flight computer), i would recommend flying it this way. Alternatively in future, modding a manual flap feature could come in handy for added immersion.
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In RL the F-14A+ is the F-14B - only a question of different labels. There are F-14As, F-14A+ later called F-14Bs, F-14B ‘Upgrade’ (this is the socalled Bombcat) and F-14Ds.
I read on wikipedia that there were also F-14A ‘Upgrade’ - basically meaning a bombcat with old engines. I had thought the book “Black Aces High” also indicated VF41 was in F-14As flying ground attack and FAC-A (been a while since I read that though). Do you think this is correct or have I been mislead?
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Yeah, i think there were TF30 powered “bomb” cats as well. Though i don’t know how long they lasted into the 90’s or 2000’s……
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F-14A/B/C/D:
In 1973 one F-14A (BuNo 157986) was equipped with PW F401-P400 and designated F-14B Prototype. Tests were not satisfying and it was put into storage at Grumman’s Bethpage facilities.
In 1981 the same airframe was equipped with GE F101DFE engines. It could accelerate from Mach 0.8 to Mach 1.8 in under 90 seconds, launch from a carrier w/o the use of afterburners and climb in the vertical but the NAVY decided against it and the test program was terminated. In the same year a second F-14B prototype was built (BuNo 158630) but later converted back to F-14A standard.
In 1984 the original F-14B prototype was fitted with GE F-110 GE400 engines and testing proved highly succesful. This led to the production of the F-14A(PLUS), the NAVY later decided to redesignate all F-14A(PLUS) F-14Bs. The original prototype was part of the F-14A(PLUS) test program with the newer GE engines.
During the F-14B program Grumman also planned an F-14C, equipped with GE F-101DFE engines and upgraded avionics, improved radar and fcs compatible with A-6, E2C and F/A-18. All these changes were not put into production as F-14C but instead implemented in late production F-14A, F-14A(PLUS) and F-14D.
Grumman won a contract to upgrade the F-14A in 1984 which included the engines and
- Fatigue Engine Monitoring System
- ARC-182 UHF/VHF radio
- ALR-67 Threat Warning & Recognition System
- Direct Lift Control/Approach Power Control (DLC/AFC MOD)
- Hughes AWG-15 radar fire control system
- gun gas purge system
Production began in 1987 and in 1991 all F-14A(PLUS) were redesignated F-14B. All F-14As upgraded in this fashion have ‘Plus’ in the name. When the F-14D was put in production some F-14A/Bs received some of the same upgrades included in the D variant hence these F-14A/Bs carry the ‘Upgrade’ designation sometimes found in the name.
The F-14A(PLUS) had 60% more range, 33% more time on station, 61% improvement in rate of climb and didn’t need AB to launch.
The F-14D development began in the late 80s as well. To make a long story short, 37 F-14Ds were produced off the line and 18 F-14As were converted to F-14D standard known as ‘F-14D’. This means there ever only were enough jets for 3 deployable squadrons.
The F-14D included a wide range of system upgrades among others:
- AN/APG-71 Radar
- JTIDS
- ALR-67 and ALQ-165
- ASN-139
- IRST
- NACES Ejection seats
- Digital Avionics
- etc.
The F-14D is able to taxi within 5 minutes of a cold engine start with functioning systems, intertial nav and rear pit display work within 3 minutes.
The Upgrade program from F-14A to F-14B continued during the F-14D manufacturing and upgrade program hence the mixture of different versions especially during the 90s. VF-11 is the only squadron to have flown all three Tomcat variants.
BOMBCAT:
In December 1994 Lockheed Martin won a contract to develop a FLIR and stand alone laser designator solution for the F-14 in the form of a LANTIRN variant, installed as a pod system. The AN/AAQ-14 is not connected to the aircraft avionics, it instead sends images from the FLIR to the RIO’s PTID and the pilot’s vertical display indicator (VDI) in the F-14A/B or one of the two MFD’s in the F-14D. It includes GPS, ballistic tables and navigation aids. It cannot fly the aircraft to a pre-set target as is the case in the F-15 and F-16.
The first F-14B to test the system was BuNo 161608 from VF-103 - this is the famous operational ‘Bombcat’ or ‘FLIRCAT’ with the nose insignia.
LANTIRN ready squadrons were VF-2/11/31/32/41/102/103/154/211/213. All LANTIRN ready Tomcats are part of the ‘Upgrade’ program which integrated the D upgrades into A and B models and all these models carry the ‘Upgrade’ designation thus making them all ‘Bombcats’.
Since the mid 90s all F-14A/B/D variants had strike capability to different degrees.
The need for this arose during the transition time of phasing out A-6 and A-7 aircraft and the delay in going ahead full steam with the F-14 vs. using the F-18 to take over that role. We all know what happened in the end.
I read on wikipedia that there were also F-14A ‘Upgrade’ - basically meaning a bombcat with old engines. I had thought the book “Black Aces High” also indicated VF41 was in F-14As flying ground attack and FAC-A (been a while since I read that though). Do you think this is correct or have I been mislead?
To answer your question, it is possible that during the various upgrade programs some F-14As had the old engines while already having received some of the upgrades. In 1995 the NAVY planned to still have 24 TF30 powered Tomcats in the year 2004. As far as I know by that time there was no TF30 powered Tomcat actually left. I do not know the exact numbers and when they were phased out.
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The reason the F-14A+ was renamed F-14B was because the database used for supply and maintenance couldn’t handle the “+” to differentiate F-14A and F-14A+. Funny thing is, 10 years later, F/A-18As were upgraded to C equivalency as the F/A-18A+ and later the F/A-18A++(has APG-73 radar). Incredibly silly, lesson was never learned.
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Good day !
I’ve been trying to dig thru this thread, but its crazy long and gets derailed quite often. Id just like to know if there is a cockpit avalbile for the 14A (or B?) Ive seen pictures of it floating around but never a source.
Thanks!
EDIT: While I was browsing google, I did come across this vid (
) by *********************. Anyone here tried it? -
Good day !
I’ve been trying to dig thru this thread, but its crazy long and gets derailed quite often. Id just like to know if there is a cockpit avalbile for the 14A (or B?) Ive seen pictures of it floating around but never a source.
Thanks!
EDIT: While I was browsing google, I did come across this vid (
) by *********************. Anyone here tried it?Please Check post #1136 in this thread, you’ll also find an overview of the ‘clutter’.
There is no dedicated F-14A pit in development at the moment. There is a B and a D pit, both out but unfinished.
There’ll be an update on the status of both pits shortly.
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Stingray, will your first page F-14 skin collection remain compatible with future releases of any updated F-14 models?
One more refrence question, which F-14 models were equipped with the glove vane as pictured below:
Does he glove vane appear in any of the BMS models?
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The skins are not compatible as the old model has about the number of polygons in total that one wing has on the new one.
Brightside is much of my original artwork and recreations can be applied almost one to one so once the main texture set and weathering is complete pumping out the skins will be relatively easy.
Glove Vanes:
All F-14s except the D were built with glove vanes. They were later disabled and/or removed from the glovebox. Officially due to high complexity and maintenance cost (read man hours), unofficially because it is said that no one on the US side (Navy, Grumman, VX squads) ever got them to work properly.
The system was supposed to generate additional lift ahead of the center of gravity to relieve the nose heavy characteristic at supersonic speeds. They could be extended manually by the pilot with wings swept back full or the FCS automatically engaged them at above Mach 1 and later above Mach 1.4.
Rumor has it that the Iranians have figured out proper deployment procedure for these vanes throughout the envelope and have been using them on Tomcat since during the Iran/Iraq conflict. As no other fighter platform has had more air-to-air engagements in modern history than the Iranian Tomcat it could well be that this experience enabled them to finally get the system to work right. Who knows.
I did see glove vanes extent on F-14As in FF and I do believe also in BMS (same model so who knows). Given the complexity the AFM already poses I would redirect the question of implementation feasibility in terms of F-14A flight model and performance to the FM gurus (Topolo, Mike Metcalf, et al).
Stingray, will your first page F-14 skin collection remain compatible with future releases of any updated F-14 models?
One more refrence question, which F-14 models were equipped with the glove vane as pictured below:
Does he glove vane appear in any of the BMS models?
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Unbelievable! Thanks for sharing man.
The reason the F-14A+ was renamed F-14B was because the database used for supply and maintenance couldn’t handle the “+” to differentiate F-14A and F-14A+. Funny thing is, 10 years later, F/A-18As were upgraded to C equivalency as the F/A-18A+ and later the F/A-18A++(has APG-73 radar). Incredibly silly, lesson was never learned.
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I hereby explicitly state that I do not wish to distribute any of the models in question (pit or external) and I do not represent Nizmo or EBS in any sort or affiliation.
Raise your right hand and said “I swear”.
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Raise your right hand and said “I swear”.
After all the shit that went down here you seriously expect me to do a 180 and suddenly post material here that almost lead to the deletion of thousands of valuable posts regarding F-14 development/information?!
I know you have to adhere to your despotic moderating style but there is no need to ride a dead horse over and over again. Before I even begin to talk about a pit or model related to the F-14 rest assured I’ll triple check my move with you before I make it.
BMS isn’t the first and won’t be the last dev group around this leaked flight sim in our lifetimes Dee-Jay
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despotic moderating
Guilty. And I take the responsability of this, no problem … (it could be worse you know.)
We are giving the conditions for posting here (what is made outside of og this forum is not our concerne ;)) … then we are just trying to stay straight in our shoes. Just don’t do the same mistakes than Nizmo or Cemil, this is the only thing we are asking.
For the rest, I have the faith in you as you never disapointed anyone here, as long as you stay honest (which is the most important IMO, ATM, I have not reasons at all to think otherwise) we will support you to the end.Take care and good luck in your project.
Many ppl here loves the F-14.
BMS isn’t the first and won’t be the last dev group around this leaked flight sim in our lifetimes Dee-Jay
Fortunately … because BMS can die anytime. Who really knows.
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I just threw that in cuz I saw it in your sig :D.
Your comment is appreciated! Thanks.
Just don’t do the same mistakes than Nizmo or Cemil, this is the only thing we are asking.
For the rest, I have the faith in you as you never disapointed anyone here, as long as you stay honest (which is the most important IMO, ATM, I have not reasons at all to think otherwise) we will support you. -
I just threw that in cuz I saw it in your sig :D.
Yeah right! I forgot about this one actualy. (… in the moderation team I assume the role of the bad guy, you know, like in movies, there is always the good cop and the bad cop (Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, Riggs and Roger, Tom & Jerry … etc … )
Whatever …
Make place for the Cat …
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personnaly Dj, i believe that in the mod team, you’re the kindest guy
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@Red:
personnaly Dj, i believe that in the mod team, you’re the kindest guy
WAT’A’F!!! SHHHHHHHHT! DO NOT SAY THIS!!! :shock: