A Question For Those Who Own The Tomcat

This is an honest question. I own the Hornet and was going to buy the Viper. I also own and love the WW2 planes. I'm the type who likes to specialize on one plane and learn it well.

For those who own the Tomcat and also the Hornet will be even better. Tell me why I should choose the Tomcat to specialize in?

I welcome all opinions.

Thanks.

As an owner of both, to me the Hornet is a great gadget that you spend most of your time playing with the smart weapons it has. It's awesome in that way, I don't regret owning it and I enjoy it, but it's soul-less in terms of how the actual flying feels.

The F-14 feels like you're flying the plane by the seat of your pants, the way Heatblur have implemented shake at different AoA is just amazing. If you like WWII planes, the F-14 feels more like one of those turned up to 11 than anything more modern like a Hornet, Eagle or Viper. It's raw power and it needs taming, that's something worth specialising in.

Because its challenging to fly, it doesn't have fancy gadgets like JHMCS, it doesn't have Fly-By-Wire to keep you from killing yourself with the wrong stick input you need to fly good ol stick and rudder. The Tomcat has alot of character, history, and its own culture. One of the biggest reasons I stopped flying the Hornet, and chose the F-14 over the F-18, is because the F-14 gives me raw feedback into how well, or how poorly I'm flying via the airframe buffet (shaking and rattling), that alone made all the other jets sterile to fly, this plane taught me how to actually fly and made me drop alot of the bad flying habits I had developed from when I flew the Eagle, Flanker, Mirage, and Hornet.

Basicly what Xenovia and VC said. If you enjoy WW2 aircraft, the tomcat will hit much closer to home than any FBW aircraft

It also has most of it's systems and weapons simulated, which prevents negative learning, and gives you much more to work with right off the start, even if in the end, the Tomcat will be nowhere near as advanced system wise when compared to other teen series aircraft

Got both the 14 and the 18 btw

Good stuff guys. I think the reason I could never really warm up to FBW planes is the disconnect I feel with them. I feel i'm just along for the ride but not contributing much.

I'm close to buying the Tomcat. I get my SS check on the 3rd. The Tomcat just moved to the top of the list.

More opinions are still welcome.

One thing you will want to keep firmly in mind is that while the JESTER AI is really, really impressive, it is still not quite going to give you the experience you can get from flying multi-crew with a friend. Some mission types (at the moment) are not possible or at least less feasible/realistic without a person in the back seat.

The other thing to keep in mind is that while it is a utterly fantastic plane to fly, it does have its limitations. It is a great fleet defense fighter that can easily take on bombers and even most fighters. Likewise, it is a solid precision strike platform using the LANTIRN and the LGB's. That being said, it doesn't do a whole lot beyond that. It is a old plane with old avionics. It just can't bring a lot to the air to ground table when compared to the Hornet or Viper (when both are complete).

Before anyone gets defensive. The F-14 module is my favorite. I love flying it. I love flying missions in it. It is a great aircraft and one that I will always have a soft spot for. That said, I have to be honest when talking about capability in comparison to other aircraft modules and when push comes to shove, the Hornet and Viper modules (again, when complete) will fit very well into a very wide variety of mission types that the Tomcat would struggle or be outright inappropriate for.

If you love the Tomcat as a plane and have a buddy to do co-op with, the Tomcat is fantastic fun. If you want to enjoy a iconic, beautiful, interesting aircraft, the Tomcat is perfect. If you want something that offers a lot of different mission types to learn and a lot of versatility, the Tomcat may not stand up well against other modules like the Hornet/Viper.

As far as the Viper module goes, I would hold off for quite a while before buying it. At the moment, it is INCREDIBLY incomplete and won't really offer much for those that really want to dig in until it is much, much further along. A person who is willing to learn a module will probably blow through what the Viper current has in a couple of hours at most. It needs a lot more time in the oven before I can suggest it.

Mike....Thanks for that. To be honest my first love is A2A. A2G is ok but not something I live for. I flew the A-10C for a long time trying to like it. I do like it but I found myself missing a good fight.

The Viper I know well from flying the other sim for over a decade. I'm in no rush to buy the DCS version.

The P-51 will always be my favorite. I've been a fan since I was a kid. It's the only real plane i've flown. My buddy owns one.

I think i'll enjoy the Tomcat.

My thoughts about the Cat.

I own FC3, F-5, F-14, Viggen, L-39.

I like all of them very much, really ... I do!

But I love the F-14 and the Viggen, not only due to the way they are implemented by HB.

The F-14 feels like one of the aircraft I am flying in real life (when wings are extended). It ist the exact opposite of sterile. I have to be careful with what I do, and I love the dynamics and its inertia. It is an understandable aircraft to me, and the aircraft talks to me in so many ways. As long I am able to listen and see, I am "safe". If I play around in a intentional and stupid way, the aircraft shows me the way > given by the direction of gravity this can only be down, with one wing having airflow on its trailing edge and on the other wing on its leading edge.

Currently I only fly the F-14, until the Viggen eventually is coming out of early access. Then the things will change slightly.

I cannot tell you anything about the F-18, but I feel no motivation for working into this aircraft, despite its amount of modern systems.

As I always say: HB aircraft are the only ones that have a built-in soul.

Two beasts in a sim, ... and I can fly them. What more can I ask for?

F-16? No.

F-5? Really a nice aircraft, well implemented, but ... no.

F-15? Wow, what a performance! But ... no.

MiG-29? Oh yeah babe! But ... no.

Su-27? Man ... thats got something! But ... no.

Does this answer your questions in any way? I hope ... :)

Thanks, Viper. :)

I actually prefer the 18 over the 14. Like others have said, if you do MP with a buddy, the 14 would be fun. But the 14 is old tech and limited unlike the 18. Note that in SP, the sim is such that when you are RIO, the AI pilot only flies and can't fight. As pilot, you can't do radar (except ACM) or lantirn (LGB) stuff. That has to be done as RIO. So you have to move betw pilot and RIO to enjoy the sim fully, and program your Hotas accordingly. I personally prefer single seat workload.

If you like A2A, why not consider the M2000? Seems like a good A2A plane.

I like old stuff. I hunt for elk and bear with an old flintlock muzzleloader. I know a modern scoped 30-06 is a better choice but the old flinter is more fun and challenging. :)

It's a beautiful plane and it's got a good mix of the old and the new.

It's a cross between the crude early jet fighters and the new high tech ones. It has the old style, but still has enough technology in it to be able to fight and defend itself against the more modern stuff.

I find the F-16 and F-18 to be interesting, but at the same time rather boring, because everything is so automated. That's why I almost exclusively spend my time with the F-14. It's the right plane for me.

I'm sure i'll feel the same way when I fly it. :)

I'm sure i'll feel the same way when I fly it. :)

Should get it if you haven't already. Worth every penny.:smilewink:

I like old stuff. I hunt for elk and bear with an old flintlock muzzleloader. I know a modern scoped 30-06 is a better choice but the old flinter is more fun and challenging. :)

You seem like a man with good taste.

I have the Tomcat, Hornet, and Viper....do yourself a favor and get the Tomcat and never look back. I love aviation and all aircraft, but for the virtual aviator in us, the Tomcat is incredible to fly and experience. It's that good and makes me smile every time I fly it. Oh, and change your avatar...

LOL..........I better look around for a Tomcat avatar.

How's that?

How's that?

It get's the Heatblur official stamp of approval! :)

I just changed it Mike. How's this one?

Should get it if you haven't already. Worth every penny.:smilewink:

Totally! Get the Turkey!!!

I just changed it Mike. How's this one?

still approved, 100%! :D

Well, I didn't want to gush over the "cool" factor but I definitely love the look and feel of the old-school cockpit as well. And everything in it seems so well placed, it's a cockpit that fits like a glove for me. The F-14 is one of the few planes in which I feel genuinely satisfied flying an uneventful sortie, just because of how nice it is to sit in (I use VR as well) and immersive to operate. The other would be the MiG-21.

Hornet challenges:

1. Remembering the avionics management steps required at any given moment to accomplish the mission

2. Fuel!

3. Energy/AoA management - it's easy to get slow very quickly in the Hornet thanks to the carefree handling but not so easy to get fast again

4. Throttle response - or more accurately lack thereof! The lag between your demand for more power and the downright laissez-faire attitude with which the Hornet responds is the most challenging part of getting back aboard the boat

Tomcat challenges

1. No G-limiter - flight control systems will not restrict your surface displacements to keep the jet within structural limits. Ham-fistery, particularly at higher airspeeds will be rewarded with many broken things...

2. High AoA handling - you'll soon discover what those pedals down by your feet are for! And fighting years and years and years of instinctively ingrained behaviour by trying not to use any lateral stick when attempting to accomplish rolling manoeuvres above 18 units AoA will definitely bamboozle you!

3. No AMRAAM - used to breaking defensive away from your target when your Slammer goes pitbull in a medium range fight? Not any more! If you're outta Phoenixes, then you'll be throwing Sparrows and you gotta track that sumbitch all the way in....

4. No stand-off Ground attack - when you're A2G in the Cat you're more likely to be in the WEZ of the ADAs at your target. Better plan your attack axis carefully and/or coordinate with friends

5. You are the system integrator! No SA page in the Cat, so you have to reference the radar/RWR and keep the threat picture mentally (though the datalink and ground stabilised TID helps...)

6. AWG-9 - at the one moment a powerful and indispensable ally and at others a frustratingly limited and expensive piece of ballast; know and understand what it's good at and colour your tactics to make the best of it (i.e. don't point it towards mountains looking for that low level pop-up group AWACS just called and expect to see owt..)

7. That's One Big Pussy, or "I Taut I Taw a Puddy Tat!": most of what you face A2A is smaller than you and harder to see; you, on the other hand, are flying something with the lifting area equivalent to two tennis courts. If you lose sight of him, he ain't lost sight of you!

8. In(ish) the Groove: Hornet goes where your velocity vector is pointed; the Cat goes where it's inertia is taking it. No secondary surfaces will move automatically to keep the plane going where you pointed it; flying down to the carrier this really shows and requires deliberate but precise coordinated control inputs when making corrections cos it is super easy to over do it and end up looking like a tribute to Cougar's freaked-out approach from the Topgun movie.

That said, I like the Hornet but I love the Tomcat. Must be a masochist!

Self-torture is fun.

Thanks for your post DD.

For those who own the Tomcat and also the Hornet will be even better. Tell me why I should choose the Tomcat to specialize in?

I welcome all opinions.

Thanks.