F-14D Cockpit
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There are some visual deficiencies, and some details may be questionable… but this is an interesting watch:
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You know, the only reason I can be happy that the Tomcat is out of service is the hope that its retirement may be saving the taxpayer some money…
…but that belief is pretty much crap considering that Congress can’t figure out how to make a balanced budget anyway.
I miss the F-14.
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That Iranian F-14 video was really neat. I actually found myself watching the whole thing.
It also pulled up a lot of interesting videos on the right side, as well. Nice find!
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You know, the only reason I can be happy that the Tomcat is out of service is the hope that its retirement may be saving the taxpayer some money…
…but that belief is pretty much crap considering that Congress can’t figure out how to make a balanced budget anyway.
I miss the F-14.
i would like to think that as well, but the F-35 has shown us just how overtime and over budget can things get these days
the only thing why i may consider the F-14 retirement a good thing is that we may hope for detailed flight model and avionics data to be eventually released in public so we can have at the long last the F-14 simulator we deserve -
I’d not think so, considering that the Iranians still operate the Tomcat. So… I don’t think you’ll see much any time soon.
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Yeah, a number of air forces operates the F-16 and we have tons of data on it….but then again, none of those are a potential adversary…
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That Iranian F-14 video was really neat. I actually found myself watching the whole thing.
It also pulled up a lot of interesting videos on the right side, as well. Nice find!
That series is a three-part, if you didn’t notice.
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You know, the only reason I can be happy that the Tomcat is out of service is the hope that its retirement may be saving the taxpayer some money…
…but that belief is pretty much crap considering that Congress can’t figure out how to make a balanced budget anyway.
I miss the F-14.
The maintenance costs were easy to document and sell for retirement. What wasn’t was the extra maintenance for the arrestor gear and carrier decks and tankers that are launched and recovered 2x for every F-18 to try and equal one F-14 mission. Add to the fact that the F-18 was much less economical with the fuel it had-lb for lb than any F-14 variant. We didn’t save anything except elbow grease for he maintainers, and I’m sure they would have paid extra to keep the F-14 until at least 2012. MIDS, ROVER, JDAM,-amraam testing was always completed but never funded for installation- the jet was more than capable of sticking around.
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I think Tomcat was no more perspective regarding US focus on stealth. F-22, F-35, all new stealthy UAVs, upgraded Hornets with lowered RCS (Prowler version as well with shared components). I am not Tomcat expert, but what can u do with this lovely 20m2 RCS beast? Perhaps reduce it to Mig-23 RCS using advanced RAM coating…?
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i would like to think that as well, but the F-35 has shown us just how overtime and over budget can things get these days
the only thing why i may consider the F-14 retirement a good thing is that we may hope for detailed flight model and avionics data to be eventually released in public so we can have at the long last the F-14 simulator we deserveYou got it, What I would pay for a true F14 Simulator……Cat Forever
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I think Tomcat was no more perspective regarding US focus on stealth. F-22, F-35, all new stealthy UAVs, upgraded Hornets with lowered RCS (Prowler version as well with shared components). I am not Tomcat expert, but what can u do with this lovely 20m2 RCS beast? Perhaps reduce it to Mig-23 RCS using advanced RAM coating…?
In that case, why do we still have new F-15s rolling off the line? The Eagle is another huge aeroplane, and once the Tomcat reached the D model… one really has to wonder which one was the better aeroplane. If given a similar upgrade for the dedicated strike mission, the F-14 wouldn’t carry as much ordnance as the Mud Hen, but it would fly farther and faster at low level. Basically, you’d get almost everything you loved about the F-111 meshed in with a real fighter airframe.
…I ultimately have to agree with some of The Boresight’s perspective on the matter: the Tomcat was axed to make it seem like a real security concern was present from Iran.
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There was a patented payload launcher made for the tunnel between the engines that would have carried 10 500 lb class weapons easily. The area where the drop tanks are carried would have been dedicated to heavy 2000 class weapons- and the cockpit of the AST-21? The back seat was a solid touchscreen display….might sound familiar since it finally showed up in a fighter 10 years later…the F-35.
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In that case, why do we still have new F-15s rolling off the line? The Eagle is another huge aeroplane, and once the Tomcat reached the D model… one really has to wonder which one was the better aeroplane. If given a similar upgrade for the dedicated strike mission…
I think it is because it has foregin customers. Better chance for ground AC…? (perhaps molni would explain F-15 market success)
A total of 712 F-14s were built from 1969 to 1991.A total of 1020 F-15s fighters were built from 1972 to 1985.
A total of 236 F-15s fighter-bombers were built from 1985 to 2001.
(176 Japanese F15 1981–97, most under licence)
since 2001, the production continue for customers:
25 F-15I
61 F-15K
69 F-15S
24 F-15SGF-15SE is ment for customers I think.
But there was no relevant F-14 foregin customer. -
And there seams to be no need for a navy anymore; at least not on the scale of the 70’s
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Since this thread is all OT at this point anyway let me throw some spice into the eternal discussion of Cat vs. Bug.
If you go into this topic on the grounds of capability, technical specs, maintenance costs, airframe wear, RCS, range, age, payload, weapons capability, avionics or envelope you’re assuming the DOD and the NAVY decided on those grounds. While that might be an interesting discussion it’s missing the point.
This was a political decision as almost all defense procurement decisions have been since time and memorial. This program was systematically run into the ground to the point where one has to wonder what kind of super human efforts the Tomcat Tweakers came up with to have each and every 14 on the deck and ready whenever it was called upon. The spare parts situation was horrible because ALL F-14 tooling was ordered destroyed to name just one little fact.
To understand what happened look at the deck of any CVN in say 1980, the entire airwing with the exception of Sikorsky Seahawks and Boeing Vikings was designed, tested and built by GRUMMAN. This company had an expertise second to none when it came to aircraft operations at sea, it went back more than 50 years. It is legendary when it comes to American Engineering, to just name three other prominent designs:
The Grumman Fire Engine
The Grumman Mailtruck
The Grumman Gulfstream II, company now called GULFSTREAM AMERICAN (!)Look at the deck today, is there any role the 18 doesn’t cover? It’s ridiculous. This whole thing was killed by Dick Cheney while his wife sat on the Board of Directors of Boeing. And now take a guess which company these two invested almost all their money in…what a lucky turn when all these 18 orders came in. It’s so blatantly obvious it isn’t even funny anymore.
The DOD, the Department of the Navy and the executive branch with their revolving doors have completely discredited themselves to the point where an F-35 can’t fly in the rain, has an arrestor hook that rips off as soon as any pressure is put on it and an F-22 that is so overpriced that any further discussion of its capability is futile.
As far as the export goes, the point of the F-14 was to be a long range missile/bomber interceptor against the Soviet development of extremely long range bombers with high velocity air to sea missiles. It was the primary line of defense of the most capable weapons platform of the US - the aircraft carrier against the primary opponent the USSR so it’s like Lukas said, there was no market for it.
The fact that it later on successfully converted to a day and night, all weather, supersonic, long range fighter/bomber while retaining its fighter capability is testament to just how good and over-engineered this plane was. And that is what’s so great about it. But that still doesn’t have anything to do with the dissolution of the F-14 program, the destruction of all the tooling and the high speed destruction of every single (with the exception of maybe 10) F-14 airframe at AMARC. That was all ‘Iran Big Boogeyman’ propaganda, as Thaeris hinted at. The rest is just profit seeking - unfortunately.
Just my 2 cents, sorry there are no flight envelope, range, speed, payload, RCS or maintenance cost comparisons I love the fact that America was once capable of creating such a fine example of machinery along so many countless that followed and preceded it until they realized that you can make more money when you build something that eventually breaks down so that you have to buy a new one. Don’t repair it, replace it, that is today’s slogan.
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PS: mykinge…where art thou?
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To understand what happened look at the deck of any CVN in say 1980, the entire airwing with the exception of Sikorsky Seahawks and Boeing Vikings was designed, tested and built by GRUMMAN.
???
A-7 Corsair, A-5 Vigilante (retired the recon variant in 1980), F-8 Crusader (recon variant was used in early '80s), and F-4J/S were not Grumman manufactured…
Look at the deck today, is there any role the 18 doesn’t cover? It’s ridiculous.
No, it is not ridiculous, it is cheaper…
Didn’t you notice that the number of used “first line” tactical fighter / strike fighter / attack AC types in USAF are also much lower as were in 1980…? What are currently used? F-16C/D, F-15C/D, F-15E, F-22A, A-10C. (A-10A will die soon if has been died.) That is all. In the '80s there were four (!) variants of F-111s (A,D,E,F + SAC FB-111), EF-111A, different A-7s, F-4E, RF-4C, F-4G Wild Weasel, etc. were used. 100% same case what happened in US Navy. Until F-22 arrived F-16/F-15/A-10 fulfilled all the roles which were done by all F-111s, A-7, F-4s…
F-14s may had better capabilites in some area but the price translated into $ were simply to high. If we follow your aspect it is insane that USAF gave up its own SOJ capabale tactical aircraft the EF-111 and phased out the F-111Fs in middle / late '80s. With same strike loadout the F-111F combat range was much bigger than F-15E’s. Same case the A-6E vs F/A-18, combat radius of the Intruders were bigger comparing Hornets. But there are other factors which had to be considered…
BTW also a funny thign the US forces over Afganistan and Iraq provided the long CAS CAPs with very expensive supersonic fighters, A-7 would be able to provide CAS much cheaper and longer as supersonic fighers…The DOD, the Department of the Navy and the executive branch with their revolving doors have completely discredited themselves to the point where an F-35 can’t fly in the rain, has an arrestor hook that rips off as soon as any pressure is put on it and an F-22 that is so overpriced that any further discussion of its capability is futile.
I do not know where came the info that F-35 cannot fly in the rain… The quite old report stated the the rate of wearing the special paint in rain in higher as expected, but it not a “showstopper” issue…
Any figther aircrfat would be so expensive as F-22 if only 187 were maunfactured… Just try to estimate how big would be both the program and flyaway cost of F-14s if less than 200 were built… You can pick any 4th generation fighter if you wish the result would be quite the same…BTW the flyaway cost of F-14 on current USD level quite comparable with F-35 or F-22. In the early '70s the unit price of F-14 close or slightly above 20 M USD, today this means about 85-95 M USD. Ups…Capabilies of F-14A in many aspects were behind even comparing with an F-16A in the '80s, especially in dogfight. F-14 was a very, very expensive toy…
I have to say there are too much emotion around F-14 too many people simply cannot accept why should “die” the F-14… Was a handsome fighter? Yes, many people called as the most sexy jet. (IMHO with max. wing sweep setting it is ugly to my eyes.) But this dose not mean it worth to keep in service… Both F-14 and F-111F/EF-111 had variable sweep wings which emerged, it is a dead end in aviation. It has to much impact the life time of airframe and had to many issues.
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I have to say there are too much emotion around F-14 too many people simply cannot accept why should “die” the F-14…
I guess it also has to do with the fact that a lot of fast-fighter enthiousiasts started out with that movie no one here takes seriously anymore