F-14 Tomcat

[lenny100]

you think that because there is no hope of ever putting them on a flat top they remove the launching gear from the nose wheel and maybe look at the tailhook also?

[pyro-manic]

Tailhook is still useful - you can arrest on a runway (many land-based aircraft have a hook in fact). Don't know what would be gained by removing the catapult bar from the nose. Tiny, tiny weight reduction, but that's it.

That new colour scheme on the IRIAF 'Cat is very nice indeed.

[RLBH]

Tailhook is still useful - you can arrest on a runway (many land-based aircraft have a hook in fact). Don't know what would be gained by removing the catapult bar from the nose. Tiny, tiny weight reduction, but that's it.

If you remove it, you don't have to maintain it. Could be a worthwhile gain, I don't know.

[Librarian]

Sorry, couldn't resist...one of my favourite portrayals of the mighty F-14. Make an interesting whiff .

[Spey_Phantom]

Sorry, couldn't resist...one of my favourite portrayals of the mighty F-14. Make an interesting whiff .

T-rex's in F-14's, i would like to ad a velociraptor and a triceratops 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr2ZeEQmkU4

[AS.12]

Dig out those decals... 

Flight, September 1979

Tomcats for Turkey?

TURKEY is reported to have started negotiations with Iran for
the purchase of the 78 surplus Grumman F-14A Tomcats.

A team of Turkish officials is thought to be in Tehran already.

The Turkish Air Force would like to replace F-100 Super Sabres
equipping 111, 132, 162 and 171 Sqns.

http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%203478.html

[Mudcat]

    Granted, I haven't read all of the post on this blog, some of them are similar ideas that I have, and some of them are a bit more out there. My obsession in life early on was to fly the Tomcat, but that died in high school as my eyesight degraded. That being the case, I have built several Tomcat models, and I plan on building many more. A lot of my what if's revolve around the follow through of Navy brass to have all the squadrons on the west coast flying delta's and the east coast flying bravo's. I have one F-14D, in 1/48, that represents what the mission markings might have looked like from the Russia vs China campaign in Tom Clancy's book "the bear and the dragon". It is a VF-24 XO jet, with both bomb drops and air-to-air kill markings, 8 to be exact, since one of the engagement's Clancy had in the book was a squadron v large force, which easily could have netted multiple kills.
    I do like playing around with the Bombcat side of things. Right now on my drawing board are a VF-194 bird carrying JSOW's on the shoulder Phoenix setups, and a VF-213 bird carrying the BRU-61's and SDB's on the Phoenix pallet underneath. I think this could have been a totally plausible set up, it' too bad the ole' girl got the axe before it could happen. You could easily have carried up to 8 sdb's on just two pallets. If you wanting to bomb truck it you could do 16.
    Right now I'm also toying with the idea of setting up a adaptor that would enable the 'cat to carry two AMRAAM's on each Phoenix Pallet. Given that the Slammer D's almost have the range of the AIM-54, at least >75 miles, yet are much smaller, why just go with 4 in the Sparrow recesses? 8 underneath, then 4 Winders on the shoulders sounds kick butt to me.
     Thoughts?

[sandiego89]

Dig out those decals... 

Flight, September 1979

Tomcats for Turkey?

TURKEY is reported to have started negotiations with Iran for
the purchase of the 78 surplus Grumman F-14A Tomcats.

A team of Turkish officials is thought to be in Tehran already.

The Turkish Air Force would like to replace F-100 Super Sabres
equipping 111, 132, 162 and 171 Sqns.

http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%203478.html

Interesting, I would have thought in mid 1979 the Iranian F-14s were hardly surplus as they were just getting up to speed, initial cadre of crews had completed training in the USA and the was extensive Grumman contractor support in Iran. A great WHIF.   

[AS.12]

Interesting, I would have thought in mid 1979 the Iranian F-14s were hardly surplus as they were just getting up to speed, initial cadre of crews had completed training in the USA and the was extensive Grumman contractor support in Iran. A great WHIF.    

When the new regime took power in Iran they discovered that the Shah's crazy arms acquisitions programs of the 1970s  had been funded by massive overseas loans, particularly in the USA, and not solely from oil revenue.  So the F-14 fleet, shiny and new and still World-class, was a prime candidate for liquidation to cover debts.

When the Canadians looked at the Iranian F-14s that year ( as CF-101 replacements ) they were being priced at $10 - 12 million each plus equipment.

[MiB]

my idea of single-seater iranian F-14 

[pyro-manic]

Hmm. Add a bit more of a "hunched" spine to that and it'd be very Flanker-ish...

[Aragorn]

Hi all

Just take a look under the finished builds thread, German Navy Tomcat is waiting 

[ysi_maniac]

Another (see above) single seat Tomcat.

[tahsin]

Strange, it must be some other thread but I would expect to see a commentary of mine that back in 1979 Washington did all possible to stop the Tomcats ending up in Malatya, promising hand-me down F-15Bs replaced by the ATF but upgraded to F-15E standarts or something in "friendship" costs in 20 years. So, where are the Eagles, since 2009? Not that they would be put to good use, but anyhow...

(Please, no commentary on "Not a Pound for Air to Ground")

[AS.12]

Well, today I learned...