turkeydriver

Everyone went to Oceana in 199? 7 maybe? All Tomcats were consolidated at Oceana when the Navy handed Miramar over to the marines.

Iran operates the older F-14As from the late 1970s. The F-14A in the sim will be a block 90 IIRC- updated beyond what Iran has.

There are no privately held tomcats. All museum pieces are "de-milled" and on lone from the DoD. Their engines shouldn't be able to function as part of making them a museum piece. Its not a case of replacing a hose and adding oil.

Nope. They had them installed. They did not refuel from soft basket carrier jets bad had to use the Iron maiden off their -707s and 747 tankers. They removed them just like the USN did for a time to remove the possibility of fodding an engine during A-A refueling. There is nothing special about it. Iran could manufacture thousands of those probe doors without any issue, it just isn't important as the jet is a publicity stunt and status symbol rather than a real threat to an adversary.

SACRILIGE!

The D had a better AFCS- not the DFCS everyone got after 2000- it entered the fleet with a better control system than the B or D.

That depends specifically on the type and frequency range of the jammer. IFF range degredation would be the result of a "noise" jammer. This is the most rudimentary form of jamming and easiest to counter against.

These are all D's only.......so not gonna happen unless they make the D.

Nice Early 90's Ripper D model!!!!

Just like pilots crash perfectly good airplanes- mechanics also make mistakes. Lost tools are much less an issue now but dropped bolts and washers, or parts that are not secured correctly get loose and end up in hiding places on the jet- this is more common than tools today.

F-8 dual pack was a LAU-33- also carried on F-4 Sidewinder rails by Marine Phantoms.

SO we will have a more accurate engine in this jet than any other aircraft in DCS world? Great update!

Been fleet leaders in AFAC since 1998ish- proven in Kosovo and Desert Fox. Requested by name in Afghanistan and Iraq again up until retirement in 2006. FAC(A) trained back seaters combined with the best screen for displaying LANTIRN imagery, plus LINK-16(in the D) all Paveway and JDAMs and ROVER in the last cruise. There wasn't a better A-G platform for putting a cement warhead on a gnat's forehead. Only reason the Zuni was tested on the F_14 was for the FAC mission- I doubt HE warheads were every seriously considered then. If she was still flying, then definitely for APKWS and GATOR rounds.

She has more lift than any other fighter plane up to the F-22 IF she flies with a 4 AIM-9, and 4 AIM-7. She has more gas and range than everyone up to an F-15E. She has a longer range radar and longer range weapons that allow the kill shots to start upwards of 50 miles from the target......and finally she looks better than everything you've ever seen in the air.

Yep.....buying as soon as its on sale......then the Harrier, then the F/A-18C.......

The rectangular store is a TALD- (tactical airborne launched decoy) Very useful during TARPs missions!

Nope- you've read media drama over a few instances.....Good job judging that like the expert armchair you are though. I look forward to you grinding your teeth after a silent shot in the face from 50 miles out.

F-14As didn't have the proper databus for JDAM and it was judged too pricey to add MIL-1760 databus required.

Thank you Heatblur, and congratulations on taking over the DCS market for the next decade.

Most F-14 pilots will tell you the g had little to do with anything- the Tomcat fights best ~330-360 kts. F-16s don't pull 9g at that speed. F-18s don't destroy the ACM arena with 7.5 g pulls- its all about nose authority and energy. AFAIK most of the high g maneuvers ive read about were defensive breaks- and that only for a few moments. Now in the late 80s-early 90s? when the Tomcats were limited to 3-5g due to metal shavings in the wing pivots(from what I've heard)- that was a bad time in the Tomcat community.

As a lifelong Tomcat fan I have to admit the F-15 and F-16 are also generally considered "better" in ACM due to their FLCS. The F-15 has a very advanced traditional system that isn't fly-by-wire, but allows say a 40lb pull on the stick to have the same affect from near stall to Vmax. In the F-14, at corner speed, you might only need 40lbs to maintain corner, but at 500 knots you'll be putting 80 on the stick to get the same response. The F-14 required a LOT more training and thinking to be fought well. The Eagle and Falcon took a lot of the thinking out and made it easier to do what you wanted.

Lobbing used to be critical in long range engagements. AIM-54 and AIM-120C have it built in. You don't want to shoot for the stars when your target is in the weeds but you can lob the missile and extend its range by launching it near limits of the radar scan. I don't know what the vertical scan movement limits are on the MiG-29 radar, but if your target is dead on- then do a gentle pull and release the missile 10-15 degrees above your target. Keep in mind this is best used for pure intercepts against non-maneuvering targets. Long-range shots against fighters who know you are there are little more than an annoyance. A simple break is sometimes all you need to destroy the radar lock before Pitbull, and by the time you are tracked again, the missile doesn't have the range after adjusting to the new intercept angle. Modern missiles and radars have logic and software to mitigate this as much as possible, just don't know about the Russian side of things.

The control setup for this sim is unique and problematic initially. I'm a longtime Cougar and Warthog user and after 19 years of Falcon 4- I'm used to a profile. Best advice for this sim is to NOT use a profile. 1) go to axis commands for the aircraft you are initially going to learn (recommend MiG-29). 2) for every USB controller you have the game will assign the same axis commands to all, so begin by removing the excess axis commands- ie removing X, Y, and rudder axis from your throttle and MFD controllers. 3) place your axis on the controllers you want- then set their custom axis curves. then SAVE and overwrite the default. 4) set your button commands for your HOTAS.- I recommend reading the manual and learning about the different brakes and taxi/turn controls for your aircraft. 5) Learn to use your trim! Especially for the Russian birds!

To clear this up- the only glove vanes that were removed from US Navy F-14s were the F-14As that were converted to B and D. F-14As locked them for a time but they were never removed. The actuators were removed IIRC and the vanes may have been welded shut. VF-211 and VF-154 jets all had installed glove vanes when they retired them circa 2004.

No Aggressor F-15 units...but there are a few still painted up and utilized in that role. Also VF-74 aggressor scheme is a must as it applies to the F-14B. I think VF-24 may have been a Red Air asset during a Red Flag in the 90s. ***edit yep- Wikipedia confirms VF-24 was Red Air during February 1992 Red Flag.