F-14 Design Lecture

The Phantom and the Tomcat were both designed to be interceptors , to protect the " bird farm " . Using them for any thing else was outside their design criteria .
 
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
Look at those big old Phoenix and Sparrow missiles!



AIM-7s are still in use today
AIM-54s evolved into AIM-120s now
 
Originally Posted by WyrTwister
The Phantom and the Tomcat were both designed to be interceptors , to protect the " bird farm " . Using them for any thing else was outside their design criteria .


As a kid I had a huge model F14. It was almost 2 feet long. So cool and boy did I want to fly that thing. I also had a book on the development of F14. I only remember a couple of things about it. One being that the F-111 was a precursor and large wing area which gave it a low stall speed and the use of titanium to fabricate the joint which allowed the wings to sweep back. It was pretty heady stuff for a 10 yr old.
 
Originally Posted by 4WD
Man, Astro14 has really aged since becoming a moderator here ...·

All the stress !
 
Mike Ciminera gave a great lecture.

I thought I'd linked it before, but I really appreciate you sharing this.

Some great insight into the design, how the engineers were thinking, and some of their brilliance in the final product.
 
I enjoy the engineering detail and that he acknowledges that the F-111 was a big stepping stone to their design success.

That museum has some great presentations.
 
It's a shame the government never spent the money for an upgraded F-14 and retired the aircraft.

I was surprised the F-14 was dropping laser guided bombs towards the end if of its career.

The last time I saw a Tomcat was at the Ft Lauderdale Air & Sea Show and the F-14 put on an amazing show. We were on the pier and Maverick made some low passes over us. ðŸ‘
 
What could have been.
wink.gif

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...omcat-21-would-have-actually-looked-like

https___api.thedrive.com_wp-content_uploads_2019_09_ST21.jpg
 
Back
Top