Top Jockey

The AIM-9 Sidewinder being an heat-seeking missile (as oposed to a radar-guided one), does have a different launch criteria. In the F-14B's case, the AIM-9 L or M don't even need a valid (strong enough) heat source to be launched.

Why not ?

Thank you for the insight!

Why not compare it against the AH-64A early versions ?

Yeah some of them do that. They do it to get the adrenaline pumping, trying to gain an extra boost of courage, to fly against me and " face the music "...

I would not call it "garbage" either. And besides, the MiG-23 did show its "claws" in combat, for instance with a SAAF Mirage F1 kill... http://www.urrib2000.narod.ru/ArticPiercy2-e.html

Hermano, not everyone agrees... and also it isn't as simple as that. Start here at post #81, it does have pertinent info about F-14 vs MiG-23 regarding Air Combat Maneuvering. https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=140030&page=9

... hermano ...

...that's why I'm not flying the Hornet in a long time, as the TPod and LGB's procedures keep changing or breaking somewhat frequently. So I'm waiting for ED to definitely finalize and close the TPod and LGB's employment procedures / functions / modes, so I can study it again with the due attention.

I believe so, also being the 'G' version the one which introduced the SEAM concept...

For me, I do MUCH prefer the F-14 trap-model... as in the Hornet the damn tail-hook keeps rebounding up every 2 in 3 times or so...

As @Badger1-1 mentioned, it isn't possible. Because as far as I know, in the Tomcat only 1 specific weapon can be selected at a given time. Regarding A-A wepons, they can be employed as follow: Pilot: M61 cannon, AIM-9, AIM-7 and AIM-54 RIO: AIM-7 and AIM-54 (On the other hand however, what you're asking is roughly what the F-16 can do in its "dogfight mode": firing both the M61 cannon and the AIM-9 simultaneously.)

Very interesting insight. Although I dream about Europe Cold War maps, I've thought about buying the Syria map several times already.

Cool ! I look forward to the release date.

We already have the MiG-29, and its GDR's camouflage... I would buy an East / West Germany map relative to the '80s Cold War or so, details like the outposts, Berlin Wall properly featured, etc.

...those are another kind of 'businesses'. :thumbup:

I believe they are there yes, but what's necessary to see them light up ?

Sure, and although I'm mentioning them, I really don't know in exactly what circumstances they should start flashing. Only remember them from another old sim, where they would start flashing everytime the F-14 started falling from its flight path because of low airspeed. Even though it was a "light sim", enjoyed these kind of details a lot as added to the Tomcat's 'character' and increased the immersion feeling also.

Aesthetically wise, I will be glad with the TF-30 exhaust cans; and if possible in the cockpit, the flashing engine STALL lights in the HUD frame would be great also...

Home Fries - a big THANK YOU ! :thumbup: Having a specific pilot profile at the logbook for the F-14, just wasn't the same without the US Navy ranks, squadrons and medals. All the best !

Thank you for your time IronMike. In bold, you mean the specific F-14 versions featured in the sim (by Heatblur), or all the iterations of F-14A, A+ and B in the real life ? And my doubt is purely about real life F-14s. Because according to one of your devs, the docs which mention the double-D search pattern come from the early 70s (references to the AIM-9G), but doesn't explicitly say the scan pattern is shown on the HUD. So what I get from it is that: the double-D pattern existed indeed before the concentric circle one, but probably only in the very first F-14s... again - in the real life. edit Regarding "Fleet Defender", I believe they were groundbreaking at their time, and very highly regarded avionics features wise, also the producers went to NAS Oceana were they did their research. Still, can't imagine why would they invent / create that AIM-9 visible pattern feature, it's just that.

Congratulations. Well, last 31st, I attained 40 years living. So it's easy to see, how iconic aircraft like the F-14 can cause an impression since one's youth.

Thank you for your time. My doubt is not intended at ascertaining sim fidelity purposes; but mere curiosity about the F-14's avionics symbology in real life - for any version, and not just the 2 specific versions we will have in the sim. Regarding the AIM-9 Sidewinder's (whichever version) seekerhead symbol in the HUD, only in the F-14A, A+ and B versions (not the D version with the SparrowHawk HUD). So, that any of you, developers, SMEs, pilots, etc. knew: Did at any of the many iterations in the Tomcat's avionics, ever existed a visible search pattern for the AIM-9's seekerhead in the HUD ? From 4:27 onward. My points: 1 - the "Fleet Defender" vídeo above clearly shows what I'm refering to; 2 - on other threads people already have told "it never happened"... but I'm not seeing the Fleet Defender developers to invent that detail / feature specifically, even more when they took such efforts to make the F-14's avionics as much as realistic as possible; 3 - the radar mode "VSL Low" depicts the diamond symbol executing a search pattern... so I'm not so fast to discard, that something similar might once have existed for the AIM-9 seekerhead symbol also. Some time ago, @gyrovague and @naquaii kindly shared some knowledge about AIM-9 symbology features / logic, but some stuf remains somewhat foggy. Concluding. My doubt is not about the several different search patterns for the AIM-9 (double-D; epicyclic circle, etc), but instead - if at anytime in the Tomcat's life any of the AIM-9 search patterns was ever visible at the HUD ? Thank you.

Well, fully understood here. But since the subject matter is a technical one, I also do have a small doubt regarding an F-14 technical aspect (avionics). So, @IronMike, @fat creason and anyone from the development team, are you available to answer my question ?

Hahaaa... well nobody is perfect, what can I say. Regardless of those 'troubled routes', for every documentary I've seen he was always portrayed as a very combative and talented fighter pilot - the US NAVY equivalent of Robin Olds ? Glad to know it, those must have been very interesting times. I'll admit it was easy to recal him for the humorous comment, as he easily catches military aviation / air combat enthusiasts attention, from History channel TV documentaries and such. Rightfully, its deeds in battle (i.e. the dogfight against the vietnamese MiG-17) made him sort of a legend. Also, remember to read somewhere that some aspects in the movie TOPGUN were based on his experiences. For people who does like this stuf, outmaneuvering a MiG-17 in an F-4 Phantom II, does look impressive.