The end of an era

[Mr. Sandman]

F-14 final flight. I loved this plane. This was probably the best Navy fighter ever built. Amazing record. I worked at Grumman in the 70's as a college kid when this was being flight tested one summer. I was standing near the runway when it did a fly-by for the workers. What a sight. It came by low and pretty slow, the wings started to fold back and he hit the afterburners...flames came out of the exahust like a giant blow tourch and the plane went nearly straight up like a thundering rocket. It blew some windows in the nearby neighborhood.
The next pass was at an awesome speed that scared the livin sh*t out of me. Yep, it was expensive but worht every penny IMO. This plane was the foundation of navy fighters for 30 years and the envy of the world. Whos says americans can't built good stuff.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...y-tomcat_x.htm

[JohnR]

I'm not an expert by ANY stretch but just a fan of "systems" here is my opinion of what was arguably my favorite aircraft (built probably 50 Tomcat models when I was a kid)

"This is one of the best airplanes ever built, and it's sad to see it go away," Sizemore said in a Navy report from the ship. "It's just a beautiful airplane. And it just looks like the ultimate fighter."

Although still swift and deadly, the F-14 is a victim of changing times. For example:

• Sophisticated missiles have made its specialty, aerial dogfighting, obsolete. Opposing aircraft target each other from miles away, often before the pilots can see each other except on radar.

I'm not sure "aerial dogfighting" was the Tomcat's "strength" - hold it's own at the time, yeh. But in aerial dogfighting with competent pilots, other 80/90's vinatge aircraft, Mig29, SU27, later Mirages, F16, were more than a match airframe to airframe against the Tomcat. The "specialty" of the Tomcat was in fact outer Fleet Defense (inner fleet defense being AAW ships culminating with the Aegis system). The ability for it to fly for extended periods of time, at major speed when necessary, to defend a carrier battle group against its SIGNIFICANT opposition, the Soviet Naval Bomber fleet and its supersonic, long range anti-ship missiles. Where the Tomcat shined, being the missile truck in the Pheonix system, was to be able to simulataneously engage at long range with it's Pheonix AAM, 6 Bombers before they were in range of the CBG to launch missiles. The threat to the US CBG was asymetrical in that it's too chief opponents were direct submarine attack / SSGN missile attack OR the Soviet bomber fleet Bear/Badger/Backfire/Blackjack and it's big warhead and scarily fast anti-ship missiles.

• Precision bombing is the new priority, and despite modification, the Tomcat can't carry the loads of the new F/A-18 Super Hornet.
Precision bombing with Tomcats was to maximize the Tomcat's role and to give it some multi-mission capability and made up a little for the short legs of the C/D Hornet. The best Tomcat, the D model, was never prodeuced/upgraded in any sufficient numbers for the fleet. Other F14 variants with upgraded capabilities never reached production. But my reading was that maintenance was killer on the Tomcat, as with most 60s designed planes.

• It's too expensive in the long run. The jet that flew its first combat missions in September 1974 requires 50 hours of maintenance, compared with five to 10 hours for the Super Hornet, for each hour of flight time.
And because the Hornet/Super Hornet are so good with maintenance, they earlier Hornets are wearing out quicker and before their replacements, the Joint Strike Fighter, are ready.

Although the Navy is better served by the newer jets, the beautiful F-14 will be missed, Fallon said. "It was the last of the pure fighters."

Unfortunately newer aircraft, including the Super Hornet, may not be as well equipped to handle the outer air defense realm with AMRAAMs that an upgraded Tomcat or an advanced Tomcat Replacement would have done. Now the Russian anti-carrier bomber/missile combination is significantly reduced, other militaries like China have some limited capability now and are trying to develop and buy better capability in this regard. And there is nothing in the known pipeline flying from a carrier's deck that would replace the Tomcat in that regard as all of the Navy's eggs are in the Super Hornet / JSF basket. There is also some speculation on how well the Hornet C/D/E and Joint Strike Fighters would fair in dogfight against some of the newer stuff out there now and in development like newer aircraft, improved Fulcrums / Flanker derivatives, Rafaels, Typhoons, and Chinese J10 for example, should they not engage in BVR (beyond visual range) combat. Fortunately the inner AAW defense of Aegis ships has improved greatly - better and more of them. BUT, it's more cost effective (and probably mission effective) having a deck full of Super Hornets and JSFs means that you have a flight deck full of aircraft that excel at precision strike and standoff missions and decent BVR air-to-air instead of half a deck of strike and half a deck of fighters (though less are shipping on a deck these days)

But damn that was one kick arse fighter aircraft...

[RIJIMMY]

I'm reading an awesome book titled "Boyd" the fighter pilot that changed warfare. I believe he was respsonsible for the design of the F-14. great book, good lessons on pushing change and challeinging the norm.

[JohnR]

Originally Posted by RIJIMMY

I'm reading an awesome book titled "Boyd" the fighter pilot that changed warfare. I believe he was respsonsible for the design of the F-14. great book, good lessons on pushing change and challeinging the norm.

Jimmy - might want to borrow when you are done

Sandman - think you'd like this:

[stripersnipr]

Awesome Video John. Gave me goosebumps.

[justplugit]

Oh man that is a sad thought. Absolutely my favorite fighter. Can still feel the backwash when they would fly it 350 feet off the ground at the Westover Show and send it straigth up into the sun disappearing in about 25 secs. Thanks for that awesome video John.

[nightfighter]

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