F-14A

Any comments on when we might see the true tomcat in all its zone 5, pop stall ridden glory?

The future.

Soon™

After the A-6. So about two weeks.

Its nice that they are including the A, but i think most would have been more than content if Heatblur had only planned the B

Going from it to the Asthma Cat with its atrocious Tf30 engines is literal handicap request. would just be like an athelete asking to have someone beat them with a bat become a paraplegic, put in a wheelchair and play basketball ( or insert other preferred sport) against fully able bodied athlete.

But i no doubt historically accurate version to have on the Redforce team in the Persian Gulf Theater, and of course still a pretty sweet deal for you buck buying 2 aircraft variations for the price of one.

Going from it to the Asthma Cat with its atrocious Tf30 engines is literal handicap request. would just be like an athelete asking to have someone beat them with a bat become a paraplegic, put in a wheelchair and play basketball ( or insert other preferred sport) against fully able bodied athlete.

Uhhh.....seems a rather hyperbolic statement for a sustained turn rate difference of 0.5 deg/sec....

-Nick

Uhhh.....seems a rather hyperbolic statement for a sustained turn rate difference of 0.5 deg/sec....

 

-Nick

I suspect it is more about the engine stalls. There was an interview with an F-14 crew who'd spent most of their time in the F-14B model. The pilot had only about twenty or so hours flight time in the F-14A yet, he joked, he'd still occasionally have nightmares about double compressor stalls in the F-14A,and could still rattle off the whole restart process.

It sounded like it made an impression...

I suspect it is more about the engine stalls. There was an interview with an F-14 crew who'd spent most of their time in the F-14B model. The pilot had only about twenty or so hours flight time in the F-14A yet, he joked, he'd still occasionally have nightmares about double compressor stalls in the F-14A,and could still rattle off the whole restart process.

 

It sounded like it made an impression...

Yeah, all the F-14B aircrews do their initial FAM flights in the F-14A so they have to learn TF30 procedures. Of course that pilot and RIO never actually had a stall. :)

The only F-14 pilots who didn't get a flight time in the A were D pilots/RIOs.

Of our several F-14A SMEs, only one had a real compressor stall in all their hours of flight time. And the cause of that one was very predictable. So if you follow the standard precautions then pilots can keep out of trouble. Okie did a recent interview where he discussed it in detail and it is worth a listen since he had over 2000 hours in the F-14A, but also a lot of time in the B.

-Nick

All due respect to Heatblur, but I’ve gotta agree with some other folks - if the F-14D wasn’t an option, I think more content for the F-14B would make more sense than doing the F-14A

I want the F14A. Partly for the challenge of flying it, mainly because you can wear classy schemes like this and be historically authentic.

I dont get the fixation on the D. They didnt make that many, they didnt stay in service that long, and they didnt do anything significant but drop bombs. Yes, in an ideal world, it would be nice. Would I pay money for something that doesnt really do anything more significant than a B? No.

Well there is the historical aspect of having the A version along with the fact that the Iranians have the A model and that in itself makes it interesting to have the jet in a historical context for typically the red force.

As for the D, would be nice, but yeah the B is where it's at, and the mixture of being one of the most capable airframes in all of its verging between analogue and digital world goodness just makes it all the more compelling.

I want the F14A. Partly for the challenge of flying it, mainly because you can wear classy schemes like this and be historically authentic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I dont get the fixation on the D. They didnt make that many, they didnt stay in service that long, and they didnt do anything significant but drop bombs.

So what significant things exactly did the US A/B Tomcats do, if "drop bombs" isn't a thing? ...shot down two lybian MiGs, scare away a couple russian reconnaissance planes and flying TARP recon for other planes that could drop bombs more precisely, until they made the Bombcat work?

The Iranian F-14As is a different story, though, but for me personally I'd love a late D model in Iraq and Afghanistan scenarios. :)

So what significant things exactly did the US A/B Tomcats do, if "drop bombs" isn't a thing? ...shot down two lybian MiGs, scare away a couple russian reconnaissance planes and flying TARP recon for other planes that could drop bombs more precisely, until they made the Bombcat work?

The Iranian F-14As is a different story, though, but for me personally I'd love a late D model in Iraq and Afghanistan scenarios. :)

Its fairly clear (if the Osprey book is any guide) the F14A's contribution to Iran fending off Iraq was far more significant than we believed at the time. Its presumably part of the reason for the reluctance in getting rid of aircraft that must be an absolute nightmare to maintain. As far as the USN A model, I like the cold war. If you want a cold war maritime fighter, you really are down to the F14A. The B arrived pretty much when the cold war was winding to a close. So if you want to model the 1970's or the majority of the 1980's, you need the A. And I dont think its going to be that much of a step down from the B. At low altitude (whcih is the majority of what we are going to be doing on multiplayer) it accelerated faster than the B. And if you are any kind of skilled pilot, the relative lack of power isnt going to make that much difference. From the last patch we are down to using burner to maintain turns in the B anyway.

If you listen to Okie on the podcast, he actually thought the new engines were a waste of money. If you flew it right, maintained the energy, it wasnt a problem. id like to be as a good a virtual pilot as I can to fly it like that. A D, yes, it would be nice to model for all tastes. But does it offer anything a hornet doesnt other than twice the fuel? Not really. I gave up on flying the Hornet because I found digital flight models boring. The F14 is not that. Why would I want to step up to a D and throw away what is probably the most interesting thing about the F14? Just my opinion and respecting yours by the way. If only there was enough time to cater for all our tastes.

Its fairly clear (if the Osprey book is any guide) the F14A's contribution to Iran fending off Iraq was far more significant than we believed at the time. Its presumably part of the reason for the reluctance in getting rid of aircraft that must be an absolute nightmare to maintain. As far as the USN A model, I like the cold war. If you want a cold war maritime fighter, you really are down to the F14A. The B arrived pretty much when the cold war was winding to a close. So if you want to model the 1970's or the majority of the 1980's, you need the A. And I dont think its going to be that much of a step down from the B. At low altitude (whcih is the majority of what we are going to be doing on multiplayer) it accelerated faster than the B. And if you are any kind of skilled pilot, the relative lack of power isnt going to make that much difference. From the last patch we are down to using burner to maintain turns in the B anyway.

 

 

If you listen to Okie on the podcast, he actually thought the new engines were a waste of money. If you flew it right, maintained the energy, it wasnt a problem. id like to be as a good a virtual pilot as I can to fly it like that. A D, yes, it would be nice to model for all tastes. But does it offer anything a hornet doesnt other than twice the fuel? Not really. I gave up on flying the Hornet because I found digital flight models boring. The F14 is not that. Why would I want to step up to a D and throw away what is probably the most interesting thing about the F14? Just my opinion and respecting yours by the way. If only there was enough time to cater for all our tastes.

The 2 decades of war on terror isn't really known for fighters dogfighting each other... ;)

So the scenario with Iranian F-14A fighting of invading Iraqi Jets and Bombers, is the most realistic "fighter. vs. fighter" combat I can think of. :)

Its not a less important task, I just find it a less interesting task than air combat. Which is after all, what they built the aircraft for. If I want to bomb something, I go crank up the Harrier. Which if nothing else, has a far wider ordnance selection than the Tomcat ever had.

Its down to personal taste. I want a cold war warbird so I can go to toe with Mig 21's and Mig23's. I cant see as easy a matchup with a D. Well, unless its the mythical Mig28.....

I want the F14A. Partly for the challenge of flying it, mainly because you can wear classy schemes like this and be historically authentic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I dont get the fixation on the D. They didnt make that many, they didnt stay in service that long, and they didnt do anything significant but drop bombs. Yes, in an ideal world, it would be nice. Would I pay money for something that doesnt really do anything more significant than a B? No.

Totally agree!!! flying the A will be a challenge, I cant wait for it :thumbup:

When we first got the news that HB was making the F-14A and B, I had hoped we were getting a late model F-14B(U) and a mid 80s F-14A. But after learning that we were getting an early F-14B/A+ Which, aside from the F110s and their instrumentation and a new RWR, is basically the same as the F-14As from that time, on the inside.

I’m now more excited for the F-14A which seems to be the most common and best known original tomcat. I actually would prefer the earliest possible A, with working gloves, IRST or even no nose blister at all.

I'm all about the F-14A. It was the proper Tomcat that made it a legend, it flew for both the United States and Iran, it flew in the 1970s and 1980s, and it poses a nice challenge!

Waiting also eagerly the F-14A to do some top gun fights against Mig-28's.

The 70' - 80' is my favorite era.

The F-14A is the Tomcat to me! It's engine problems is what makes the Tomcat unique!

Don't get me wrong. I am very interested in the F-14A, as well. What puzzles me is the perceived view of "dropping bombs" being a less important task. I mean the majority of "fighter planes" basically did bomb trucking, or flying circles most of their service life?

The 2 decades of war on terror isn't really known for fighters dogfighting each other... ;)

So the scenario with Iranian F-14A fighting of invading Iraqi Jets and Bombers, is the most realistic "fighter. vs. fighter" combat I can think of. :)

Not every air to air engagement will result in a dogfight. And I don't think it is a matter of bombing being viewed as less important, but because of the fighters were serving more as air support and protection against any foreign flying threats.

Fighters also don't necessarily have to attack specifically other fighters as well. It was given the main role of intercept to defend the fleet for just that purpose, and as things were seen to be needed such as ground attack, modifications were made. All of this is IMHO.

Its not a less important task, I just find it a less interesting task than air combat. Which is after all, what they built the aircraft for. If I want to bomb something, I go crank up the Harrier. Which if nothing else, has a far wider ordnance selection than the Tomcat ever had.

And, probably, like a twentieth of it's range. At least that's what it is at the moment in DCS since it literally stalls out of the sky if you throttle back past 90% RPM and it needs 80% RPM to get rolling if it has stores on it (the real thing does this at 29% when you just release the wheel brakes, it's even mentioned as advisory in the NATOPS). Flying that thing literally is like flying the Tomcat in reheat exclusively if you don't wanna be overtaken by a fully laden A-10. If RAZBAM ever fixes that, it might be a consideration... until then, the Tomcat is the only fast thing that has a TGP right now

And I want to get the A as well more than the D... lots more realistic and great looking paint jobs there, it's the true one and even those engine nozzles look far better. But I do fear the 40% higher SFC in reheat...

TF-30s AB does looks a lot better imo No question your in AB with F-14A even in broad daylight.

The thrust curves between the models are different.

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The thrust curves between the models are different.

 

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