F-14 Questions Answered - Ask Away

Hi.
There is talk of retro fitting emals onto the queen elizabeth carriers. I will not hold my breath.
I wouldn't either. EMALS would require the purchase of different airplanes, junking your F-35B in favor of a CATOBAR F-35C, or Rafale, or F/A-18 E/F. MOD has taken delivery of the F-35B, so, I consider that unlikely.

Even in the face of the Tempest Future Air Combat system, which may affect the F-35 purchase numbers, it doesn't make sense to get rid of the F-35, it's just too costly, I think.
 
My question is, when the Top Gun 2 comes out... will Val play Viper?
Tom Cruise climbed into the back of an F-14 after puking his guts out on his first ride. He's got my respect for toughing it out.

Val Kilmer, on the other hand, never got in the F-14. He was too scared to fly in the F-14 35 years ago, so why would I care what the big, overpaid, overweight chicken does these days?
 
If anyone had ever offered me the chance of a flight in an F14, they would have been trampled underfoot by me heading for the aircraft.

I would indeed puke, but would not dream of turning the opportunity down.

If i had the cash i would go to eastern europe for a trip in the Mig 29.
 
I wouldn't either. EMALS would require the purchase of different airplanes, junking your F-35B in favor of a CATOBAR F-35C, or Rafale, or F/A-18 E/F. MOD has taken delivery of the F-35B, so, I consider that unlikely.

Even in the face of the Tempest Future Air Combat system, which may affect the F-35 purchase numbers, it doesn't make sense to get rid of the F-35, it's just too costly, I think.

Hi Astro.
I may well have misunderstood what the MOD may be trying to achieve with a possible retrofit. I apologise for this.

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/mod-looking-at-cats-and-traps-to-launch-aircraft-at-sea/
 
Tom Cruise climbed into the back of an F-14 after puking his guts out on his first ride. He's got my respect for toughing it out.

Val Kilmer, on the other hand, never got in the F-14. He was too scared to fly in the F-14 35 years ago, so why would I care what the big, overpaid, overweight chicken does these days?

No longer getting paid for big roles, and have you seen what he looks like these days? Cancer will do that though.
 
No longer getting paid for big roles, and have you seen what he looks like these days? Cancer will do that though.

He says that he got cast on Top Gun: Maverick before they knew what he sounded like. He got a tracheotomy and basically talks through a hole in his throat, although he doesn't use a synthesized voice box like some do. He says he suggested how they could explain it, although he didn’t say what he suggested.

 
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Tom Cruise climbed into the back of an F-14 after puking his guts out on his first ride. He's got my respect for toughing it out.

Val Kilmer, on the other hand, never got in the F-14. He was too scared to fly in the F-14 35 years ago, so why would I care what the big, overpaid, overweight chicken does these days?

Yeah, but he sure played a great Doc Holliday! "I'm your Huckleberry!"

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My question is, when the Top Gun 2 comes out... will Val play Viper?

Doubt he would play any role as an active pilot. He can barely talk through his trach hole, and covers it with a bandana or scarf. He's definitely in the new movie, but none of the trailers have shown his role.

Maverick is supposedly the instructor pilot now, although none of the scenes show him in an aggressor plane.
 
Do you guys know of Jeremy Clarkson? One of the original top gear presenters. He puked. :D


I puke in a Cessna 152 ,flying slow and level so I can stick as much of my head out side the little window.
 


How does that cockpit look compared to the real thing?

That’s impressive. Very, very realistic. F-14B cockpit, right down to the faded/scratched paint in the high wear areas, like the grab handle on the canopy rail above the HUD. Wow.
 
I puke in a Cessna 152 ,flying slow and level so I can stick as much of my head out side the little window.

The story with regard to Top Gun was that Tom Cruise had a "personal" pilot who took him on a couple of rides and did all the flying where his character would be flying. He was Lt Cmdr Lloyd "Bozo" Abel. The legend is that he got his callsign when he closed the canopy on his flight suit and needed help to get extracted. I had the 25 anniversary version with a documentary included. They showed stuff including actual classes at NAS Fallon, which is not as photogenic as Miramar. But part of it included extensive interviews with the pilots, including Bozo. He said that his opportunity to "buzz the tower" was something that he did for every pilot who wanted to pull off a stunt like that but knew it would be career suicide. Some reports were that there were lots of calls to (then) NAS Miramar that there must be some idiot who must have gone insane.

Tom Cruise has talked about it when his pilot got him to vomit into his mask. The punchline a couple of times is "They don't call me Bozo for nothing."

 
The guys flying the fighters are buffed out to help them handle the g forces.
It was a combination of weight lifting and cardio. You needed the muscle strength, particularly leg, ab and lower back for the anti-G straining, but you needed cardio to sustain the muscular effort. Upper body strength, including neck strength, was a big help in turning and looking with your head under high G.

An early form of cross-fit...
 
My Wife also thinks that a prerequisite to being a fighter pilot is being handsome. She once pointed out that you never see an ugly fighter pilot.
 
If anyone had ever offered me the chance of a flight in an F14, they would have been trampled underfoot by me heading for the aircraft.
Same here, I'd not eat and just drink water for a day of If I had to. I might have given up my left nut for an f-14 cat shot and a ride with some g's.
 
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