Exactly 50 years ago today, the mighty cat with two tails first took flight! Image Unavailable, Please Login
Back in my early US Navy days, I had the chance to fly backseat (RIO slot) in an F-14 with a pilot that was certifiably crazy. Still one of the highlights of my life. >6G’s...twice!
Hard to believe it's been a half century! Looks like there are still 5 or so mothballed at Davis Monthan based on satellite images. I wish I could have seen it fly in person...
Here on Long Island, NY, we have a handful of Tomcats on display. One is at a Grumman Park in Calverton. There's a full size jet plus a nose/cockpit section at the Cradle of Aviation museum in Garden City and the last US Tomcat to fly is on display at Grumman, Bethpage (soon to be moved to the Cradle of Aviation). Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
This F-14 is on the deck of the Intrepid which is docked on the Hudson River in Manhattan. It's in good company parked next to an A-12! Image Unavailable, Please Login
That one in the second photo is the third prototype, and I believe that's the A-6F prototype next to it.
The F-14 became a real hot rod after they got rid of the TF-30s. Too late in its operational life to make much difference, though.
No, The TF-30 turned out to be a really good engine and I have over 2000 hours using them. Only had to shut down a couple, and those were precautions, not failures. You can compressor stall most engines if you go out of their envelope at really high AOA and completely foul up the airflow. The late TF-30s in the F-111F were good for 25,000 lbst, but the F-14 went in a different direction and reengined with F110s in the B and D models for some commonality with the F-15E. The F-14D even used the F-15E radar. The F-14B and F-14D were really high performing aircraft and could out-accelerate anything through the Mach.
WAAAAY back (2000-ish), I participated in the Race at the Base (NAS Oceana). After winning our sprint, I was invited (along with a Greenwood IMSA corvette in "Fly Navy" livery) to drag race a Tomcat. Had a lot of fun and tried to get a ride along in the back seat. Sadly, no luck on that, but, from that point on, the car carried the VFA-31 insignia as an honorary member of the squadron. CW
I think that is the point. The F-111 was not flown in the same manner as the F-14, i.e. no close-in gun dogfight maneuvering. So while the TF-30 was a good fit with the F-111 it was not as good of fit for the F-14 as its mission evolved from firing AIM-54's at BVR to Top Gun. To be fair though I thought Goose was a victim of wake turbulence rather than normal maneuvering.
I think the wake turbulence caused one of the TF30s to flame out, and with the wide spacing of the engines, that could result in a quick spin. I believe something like that did happen in reality. And what happened to Goose after ejecting could happen as well. With an F-14 in a flat spin, the ejected canopy might stay in the vicinity of the aircraft, so an ejecting crewman, especially from the back seat, could realistically hit it.
