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Thanks once again for the thoughtful and informative answer. One other question I have is regarding the external fuel tanks. I’ve always been interested in those, because all the other teen series jets carried the standard “drop” tanks. The Tomcats tanks are unique and more of a conformal type...

Again thanks so much for the detailed replies. Just to clarify the wing sweep switch “cheat” was referencing an interview with a pilot who said that when he fought the airplane, he always kept the switch in manual. Can I assume you preferred auto? Also, can you comment on rudder usage? As I...

I’ve watch and read many different interviews with Tomcat pilots and of course everyone is different. I won’t name drop, but I recently listened to an excellent interview with a well known pilot and I thought he summed it up perfectly when he said the Tomcat is a very easy airplane to fly, but a...

Thanks so much for the detailed reply. There’s so much to digest here, but one thing I’m a bit confused on is at the merge going vertical. I’ve read that going vertical was always one of the Tomcats best moves, but I was under the impression it was only going to work against a jet that couldn’t...

Thanks

Hello, I have recently discovered this forum and as a huge fan of the Tomcat, I have to say it’s one of the best sources for first hand knowledge of the F-14 I’ve found on the internet. I’d like to thank Astro for spending so much time the past decade answering all the questions thrown his way...

Actually I have it backwards, RIO was captured, pilot was rescued. My mistake!

One F-14A+ from VF-103 was lost during Desert Storm. Although there’s been some debate over the years about whether it was the victim of a SAM or AAM from an Iraqi MIG. The crew ejected and pilot became a POW, RIO was rescued. Here is the story...