F-14 Development Update - Power!

Sad.

All F-14s in US museums either had their engines removed or starved of fuel to destroy them. No museum Tomcat will ever fire up again.

Yep...

At best, *BEST*, they could find a TF-30 to fire up outside of the aircraft, but that's it.

All F-14s in US museums either had their engines removed or starved of fuel to destroy them. No museum Tomcat will ever fire up again.

Not universally the case. The F-14D in the Smithsonian is in ready to fly condition (actually one of the criteria for inclusion) and the F-14A at the Valiant Air command did not have anything of the sort done to it.

The Valiant F-14A was flown in and parked, with 3 or 4 components removed (including the control stick). It has been there since ~2000 so I doubt it would start or run without a massive overhaul, but not all of the engines were "destroyed" per se.

-Nick

Running the engine outside the aircraft might not be the the best option. I am sure they can find a great set/gallery of engine sounds floating around on the internet. I doubt they would be able to find a working F110-GE-400 anyway.

If there is already an F-14 in favorable conditions and able for its engines to be fired up, then it is well plausible. The question is how they would be able to negotiate on terms of doing it.

You have any idea the cost of that? There’s plenty of audio out there floating around to clean up and use.

If there is already an F-14 in favorable conditions and able for its engines to be fired up, then it is well plausible. The question is how they would be able to negotiate on terms of doing it.

The cost to overhaul one of the privately held Tomcats, with the required permissions from the DoD/USN/Etc..could *easily* be in excess of $150,000...

It's not realistic.

The cost to overhaul one of the privately held Tomcats, with the required permissions from the DoD/USN/Etc..could *easily* be in excess of $150,000...

 

It's not realistic.

More like millions

And the Iranian ones don't have TF-30s anyway, they have flanker engines now or most of them do anyway.

More like millions

 

And the Iranian ones don't have TF-30s anyway, they have flanker engines now or most of them do anyway.

The AliCats still have TF30's, this has been confirmed for a long time now. They state they're "upgraded" TF30's, yet still Pratt and Wimpy's all the same.

My comment about $150,000 was an absolute best case scenario.

Sirius, do you know the reason as to why we don't see restored Tomcats flying anymore, at airshows and stuff? The government simply won't let you do that, regardless if you have the money or not.

That's out of the question.

Running the engine outside the aircraft might not be the the best option. I am sure they can find a great set/gallery of engine sounds floating around on the internet. I doubt they would be able to find a working F110-GE-400 anyway.

The only difference between a -400 and what's in a F-15K or a Block 30/40/50 Viper is a 50" extension that was added to help it fit the Tomcat airframe..otherwise it was the same.

The sound coming out of the rear of a F-15K etc would be very similar to a F-14B/D

The cost to overhaul one of the privately held Tomcats, with the required permissions from the DoD/USN/Etc..could *easily* be in excess of $150,000...

 

It's not realistic.

There are no privately held tomcats. All museum pieces are "de-milled" and on lone from the DoD. Their engines shouldn't be able to function as part of making them a museum piece. Its not a case of replacing a hose and adding oil.

Think about what it would take to get a car running that you've left in your garage (charitably) since September 2006.

Now multiply the cost and difficulty many times.

Even given best-case scenarios, nobody but the US military is going to bring back a Tomcat. If the US military did try, Dick Cheney would rise from wherever the hell he is and just quash it again.

Bottom line there are enough equivalents out there to get within the ballpark. I mean y'all actually think they'd fire up an old tomcat to get sound recordings you're dreaming. If they'd ever ALLOW them to do so, which no-one would, it would be technically and cost prohibitive for any institution who has a tomcat that has not been completely deactivated to bother with. Tomcats are museum pieces and scrap metal probably in your beer can currently. They where a maintenance nightmare when they where operational let alone after sitting for twelve years or more in a museum.

I love the Tomcat as much as everyone else but let's face it, even if they could take recordings of the magical surviving tomcat, would any of you who have never been close to a tomcat even know the difference ? Because unless you where working on them, flew them, or heard them daily. You would not, definitely not from a grainy YouTube video from twenty+ years ago as your only reference.

The only concern I have in terms of the sounds is capturing the uniquely asthmatic whine of the TF30's in certain flight conditions.

I grew up near NAS Point Mugu and due to my aunt working on base, and my dad being a local police officer with lots of contacts, I spent a good amount of time on base..

I'm very familiar with how the Tomcats sounded, both the TF30's and the GE Cats. When a GE powered Tomcat was overhead, you had to look up to see if it was a Tomcat or a Hornet. When an Alpha Tomcat was overhead..you didn't need to look..it was obvious.

I mean yeah it would be Ideal but there's no aircraft surviving with the TF-30 in use, even the last F-111 was museum bound in 2013. Unless they hitch themselves to Iran and ask nicely to let them record the TF-30 for us I think your stuck with their interpretation of that engine. So, your at the mercy of the sound editors which are fantastic but you wont see an actual recording of a TF-30 in sim unless they get it from the above source.

I mean yeah it would be Ideal but there's no aircraft surviving with the TF-30 in use, even the last F-111 was museum bound in 2013. Unless they hitch themselves to Iran and ask nicely to let them record the TF-30 for us I think your stuck with their interpretation of that engine. So, your at the mercy of the sound editors which are fantastic but you wont see an actual recording of a TF-30 in sim unless they get it from the above source.

It's moments like these where I wish everyone could just get along, so we could get the sounds from the Persian Cats.

Other reasons as well.

The only concern I have in terms of the sounds is capturing the uniquely asthmatic whine of the TF30's in certain flight conditions.

 

I grew up near NAS Point Mugu and due to my aunt working on base, and my dad being a local police officer with lots of contacts, I spent a good amount of time on base..

 

I'm very familiar with how the Tomcats sounded, both the TF30's and the GE Cats. When a GE powered Tomcat was overhead, you had to look up to see if it was a Tomcat or a Hornet. When an Alpha Tomcat was overhead..you didn't need to look..it was obvious.

Just some more TF30 Whine n' Crackle!

It's moments like these where I wish everyone could just get along, so we could get the sounds from the Persian Cats.

 

Other reasons as well.

If everyone would just get along, there would never have been an F-14, or any other military aircraft, or any military organisation to begin with.

"When an Alpha Tomcat was overhead..you didn't need to look..it was obvious."

.....but you did anyways, because otherwise what kind of airplane nut would you be?

:lol:

"When an Alpha Tomcat was overhead..you didn't need to look..it was obvious."

 

.....but you did anyways, because otherwise what kind of airplane nut would you be?

 

:lol:

Quite right

"When an Alpha Tomcat was overhead..you didn't need to look..it was obvious."

 

.....but you did anyways, because otherwise what kind of airplane nut would you be?

 

:lol:

Can anyone tell me (because I am at work and too lazy to spend Google fu time) what I would have been hearing circa 1992 to 1995 out of Miramar? All Bs by then?

I looked up every time, and still wish I could see one in the sky just one more time. Also, feeling the vibration in your chest when they were really pushing the air was somethin else.

Can anyone tell me (because I am at work and too lazy to spend Google fu time) what I would have been hearing circa 1992 to 1995 out of Miramar? All Bs by then?

 

I looked up every time, and still wish I could see one in the sky just one more time. Also, feeling the vibration in your chest when they were really pushing the air was somethin else.

Between 1992 and 1995 you'd have heard A's, B's and D's.

by 1995 you'd have been hearing A's and D's as the Navy concentrated all F-14B's at Oceana in Virginia.

Originally the plan was for an F-14D pacific fleet for the Tomcat, with the B's on the east coast. However obviously the Navy didn't get their hoped full amount of F-14D's, and only got about 1/4 of the F-14B's they wanted.

Between 1992 and 1995 you'd have heard A's, B's and D's.

 

by 1995 you'd have been hearing A's and D's as the Navy concentrated all F-14B's at Oceana in Virginia.

 

Originally the plan was for an F-14D pacific fleet for the Tomcat, with the B's on the east coast. However obviously the Navy didn't get their hoped full amount of F-14D's, and only got about 1/4 of the F-14B's they wanted.

Everyone went to Oceana in 199? 7 maybe? All Tomcats were consolidated at Oceana when the Navy handed Miramar over to the marines.

Between 1992 and 1995 you'd have heard A's, B's and D's.

 

by 1995 you'd have been hearing A's and D's as the Navy concentrated all F-14B's at Oceana in Virginia.

 

Originally the plan was for an F-14D pacific fleet for the Tomcat, with the B's on the east coast. However obviously the Navy didn't get their hoped full amount of F-14D's, and only got about 1/4 of the F-14B's they wanted.

Everyone went to Oceana in 199? 7 maybe? All Tomcats were consolidated at Oceana when the Navy handed Miramar over to the marines.

By the way, a small curiosity about the F-14's "home base" :

Relating to the production of "Fleet Defender" PC sim, the manual mentions that the most of the producers research was made at NAS Oceana, (and not at NAS Miramar).

My doubt is; why was that ?

(Bearing in mind that NAS Miramar was much more iconic / famous, also thanks to the media.)