Spurts

I think you misunderstood everything I was trying to say.

That 10% who are not giving a positive response would make 90% of the noise though. Can't wait to get this mega-bomb truck.

Awww, thanks @IronMike! Looking forward to another year of Tomcatting around waiting for other Naval HB projects.

This explains why that video got a few views this week

Depending on fuel states the F/A-18 will have a much better T/W IIRC. But still, in a recent test I did B topped out at 1.15M clean at 50% fuel on the deck. AFAIK there is still some transsonic issues especially when loaded but as for top speeds, I got an A model to 1.56M at 50,000ft with a 4/2/2 loadout, good luck getting a Hornet to get anywhere near that. Got it to 2.0M with a 0/6/2 load.

it can be effective AND boring.

sure is. "What color is it painted?" "Dark grey." "And? What pattern?" "...."

Does Legion provide any functionality or is it just for looks?

that is likely the minimum speed at which the system can read and as such speeds below that show the minimum value.

That's how I use the flaps, if I'm already slow and need to be slower/tighter to get the shot. I pull them up as soon as I can.

I'm on pins and needles for the 2023 and beyond video.

I have much more than a rudimentary understanding of aerodynamics and I spend a lot of time testing the Tomcat flight model. Don't let Tacview tell you AoA, it is almost always wrong. The drag is accurate, the lift is accurate, they need to be to simulate landing behaviour. If you keep steepening your climb, and throw some reversals in, you will be over his head and he will stall, no ifs ands or buts about it. You may not have long to pounce before he recovers or he may not chase your nose and will lower his to keep speed up.

I would say so, not only is speed limited to under 400, but 400 feels like riding down a mountainside in a wheelbarrow during an avalanche. Just start using energy tactics against them (that does NOT mean strict 2-Circle rate fighting). Anyone dropping the big boys down above 200 is missing the point of the Tomcat, it gives you so many tools you can use in BFM but a certain YouTuber has convinced people that big flaps = wins.

They activate when your nozzles are down, but the only "puff" with stick and rudder commands. They are not an auto stabilizing feature, they are the control method.

wow, ancient!

The "We can't get documentation on a retired system because of ITAR"?

Several places that used to have F-15A-E manuals for viewing have been scrubbed.

I hear ya. The F-4 could do that too though. Three pylons carrying six bombs each and two with three bombs each and still having the 8 AAM stations open. It'll just be out of gas by the time it leaves the traffic pattern.

Well that gives me some fun mission ideas

There's a reason the vid says "TWO WEEKS (tm)"

I could set up ME to have an enemy plane fly along side me and escort me out of its airspace?

And I've never used that unless doing a mass JDAM ripple for TGT selection, I always use the ACP.

Many people want the best version of every plane available, and yes it is more capable. The DFCS alone lowers the required skill floor for pilots so the F-14 will become more accessible to some people, same with the Sparrowhawk HUD. There is a reason pilots who only flew the D were called "D Babies" and "HUD Cripples" because it made so many aspects of combat so much easier. The guys who never flew the D speak very much like you do, "you don't need all that." If you are happy with the A/B, great, that's awesome for you, I am too. Some people aren't and want a more modern plane, including many friends of mine. Who are you to poo-poo their wants?

not even close. The APG-71 outranges the AWG-9 and is less sensitive to notching, the AN/AAS-42 has no analog in the F-14B, The PTID gives a clearer LANTIRN image than the TID, and the D has a Digital Databus for JDAM that the B doesn't have. So no, it isn't a case of "If you work harder you can make the B do everything the D can." Then there are the unknown unknowns of what the PTID can do that the TID can't. It's a mute argument to make "I want the other HB titles first" because you are going to get them. If they got every piece of documentation they needed TODAY and pulled the entire F-14A/B team off to work it they F-4 and A-6 would still be done first.

meaning please?