Swordsman422

I think the LANTIRN we actually have is the early one as well, so trying to lase a target above 25k feet should cause a catastrophic short. The 40k LANTIRN wasn't available until 2001 or so.

I'm hoping for more liveries that actually appeared on B-model Tomcats. OEF VF-102 line jets, VF-143 final cruise, VF-103's 1992 clubleaf livery, or their first cruise after taking on the bones.

I agree completely on the difficulty of tanking this jet. Digital HUDs have obviously been a crutch for me, as I can reliably plug the Hornet and Harrier in and stay plugged no problem, adjusting the throttles as I gain or lose a knot. The F-14's air speed indicator is difficult for me to comprehensively read, so I keep overshooting the tanker. I'll try Jabbers' method when I get home and maybe better results will be forthcoming. We've had this bird for less than 24 hours. You can't walk away from it that soon. Give it some time, patience, and practice. It'll be a worthwhile conquest.

For me, it's just a collection of cool stuff (that I keep in my own basement, thanks) and will probably end up donated to museums when I'm dead. I use some of it when I go to DragonCon every September, but that's about it. Too much hassle getting all of it on to sit in my chair and play a game. Growing up, I was always a fan of Navy jets, but I preferred bombers and strike fighters like the Intruder and Hornet. I didn't really start paying attention to the F-14 until it was strapping bombs on started playing the multirole game. Until then, I thought Tomcat fans were all Jolly Rogers/Top Gun fanbois. Now, it's my favorite fighter. Jeeping around at breakneck speeds on our bikes pretending to be fighter pilots is exactly something we did. This was Tulsa, Oklahoma at the turn of the 90s, so no helmets. That wasn't the law yet. We even had "dogfights" while riding and shooting nerf darts at each other. I don't RP while I sim, though. If I feel like making it feel real, I just go to the airfield and go flying.

Attack of the Killer Tomato!

Russia's bagged milk was pretty decent... then Anya Sakova got cancer...

Those two F-14s are Bs with VF-11 some time in 2004. Looks like GBU-12s or GBU-16s. I don't think the GBU-24 couldn't be carried on the Tomcat side-by-side like that.

Call me crazy, but the planned F-14B campaign in the Caucasus map seems like they are taking some inspiration from USNF. If I had to choose between the two, I liked Fleet Defender better.

Just a little extra research, I have been able to discover that yes, the F-14 LANTIRN does have aleast an air-to-air boresight mode.

The Navy system crammed the targeting and navigation capabilities into a single pod. I wonder if they had to sacrifice anything.

D'oh. I had intended to say "videos on YT show off the LANTIRN tracking other jets." This is what I get for paying half attention to what I'm typing. Blaze, that's interesting. I wasn't aware that capability existed. I think the F-14 and F-15E used different variations of the LANTIRN. The USAF variant is a two-pod system. I'm not sure if all of its capabilities were replicated in the F-14's single pod.

More modern, higher resolution IR-capable camera than the TCS pod. Some of the F-14 videos on YT show off the TCS pod tracking other jets. It can't guide weapons on them, though.

It's a targeting pod for PGMs. Why would it? It does have some use for identifying other aircraft, and if I remember right was better at it than the TCS.

Thank Goodness! Seeing incorrect liveries on wrong variants is one of my pet peeves. VF! VF! VF! VF! Lol.

The two -54s that failed to ignite were incorrectly assembled by a squadron gunner that had never dealt with the Phoenix before. Something on the missiles was plugged in or put on backwards.

I started collecting flight gear back in 2006 and have been generally adding ever since. It's a labyrinthine hobby, and the F-14 was my focus jet (which you really should have, else you'll go quite broke), with expansions into the F-4, F-8, and A-6. Generally I have 1968-2002 US navy tacjet gear covered. But I do not use it in my flight sim hobby. Below is a list of what I currently have. Helmets: HGU-68s for VF-143, VF-213, and VF-211 HGU-55 for VF-41 HGU-33s for VF-143 and for my D*C Maverick cosplay, and two I mean to restore to VF-1 and probably VA-34 APH-6s for VF-84 (CAG Owen cosplay), VF-162, VA-196, and VMFA-122. Masks: 2 grey MBU-14s. 2 green MBU-14s 1 MBU-14 grey with green hose 2 MS22001 2 REDAR hoses 1 CRU-79 high-pressure mini regulator Survival gear: 3 LPU-23s Life preservers 1 LPU-33 1 Mk. 3C 2 SV-2B Survival vest 1 SV-2A 1 CMU-36 3 late MA-2 torso harness w/ Koch parachute fittings 2 CSU-13 g-suits 1 CSU-15 1 Mk. 2A 1 set Martin Baker Mk. 7 leg restraint garters 1 set Martin Baker Mk. 5 leg restraint garters 6 green CWU-27 flight suits 2 desert CWU-27s 2 green K-2Bs 1 tigerstripe theater-made K-2B 1 duck hunter camo K-2B And finally one CWU-36 lightweight flight jacket. I'm not even the worst that I know. Lol.

Tested but not used operationally. I personally wouldn't consider this a downer of any kind.

I bought a whole new PC and HOTAS set-up and custom-built a simming chair for the F-14 back when the preorder hit expecting it to maybe be a couple of months before we had the module. All told, I've dropped around $3200 in preparation for this module. I don't feel like my enthusiasm exceeds anyone else's, but my bit certainly has it's share of teeth marks. I've been awaiting this module since Fleet Defender became obsolete. In the intervening time, I bought flight sims based almost solely on whether Tomcat mods existed, only to be disappointed in some shape or form every time. I'm ready to rock, Heatblur.

I think will provide at least one each of all the squadrons that flew the F-14B at any time. VF-11, -24, -32, -74, -101, -102, -103, -142, -143, and -211 all spent time in the A+/B. Some of these, like VF-24 and -211, only really had a single livery. VF-32 had only very minor variations. Others like VF-143 and VF-103, had at least a half-dozen different schemes in the B. I'm hoping the creators out there will focus on full coverage of B liveries before panning out to fictional/what-if stuff.

+Infinite. I'm extremely adverse to liveries being on the wrong variant, and especially if someone is slapping VF-84's 1979 livery on an F-14D because bones. Heatblur won't do it, thank goodness, but there isn't anything preventing modders from making it happen and people from downloading it. That's fine, you have the freedom to do what you want, but I reserve the right to heckle.

That's true for 6 phoenixes. 4 you can still land okay, you just won't have the gas for that many tries.

It'll get more interesting if you sim the Tomcat post-LANTIRN. In the late 90's, the LANTIRN pod was almost never downloaded, so your loadout would be more like 2 winders, 1 sparrow, 1 LANTIRN on the gloves, 2 phoenix on the forward pallets and 1 sparrow on the aft station. Or even a similar load with 1 Phoenix if you weren't expecting much action. Late in life you see some pretty odd asymmetrical loads.

I'll also recommend the Warthog. I have significantly invested in upgrading my flight sim hardware in preparation for the F-14 and the difference it has made is significant. I went from struggling to hold the tanker in the F/A-18 with my old stick to being able to reliably go through an entire transfer with little trouble. The Warthog HOTAS won't be able to perfectly replicate the Tomcat exactly, but it does have enough of the right kinds of buttons to do a passable job. As jarhead state, so far worth every penny.

Ditto. I hope we won't see it until we have Block 95 Tomcats to fly. In spite of its popularity, it was short lived.

VF-103, VF-142, and VF-143 during Desert Storm, VF-102 in 2002, and VF-32's Columbia livery are some I'm hoping to see.