Optimal Combat Altitudes

[Horns]

Can anyone tell me the optimal combat altitude for the F-14? Beyond that, can anyone suggest how I could identify that information for myself in the future?

 

I've spent a lot of time looking in books and online for the F-14's ideal combat altitude, so far I've been unsuccessful and it seems like it would be a hit-and-miss way to do it for other airframes in the future - but if this is how it's done then I'll happily live with it, just means a lot of :book: whenever I change airframes.

 

EM and Excess Power diagrams haven't been much help because one on its own will only have data from one altitude, and the series in the NATOPS performance data at different altitudes only tells me (from what I can see) that turn performance decreases as air gets less dense as altitude rises - it doesn't tell me how the F-14's decreasing numbers relate to any other aircraft's decreasing numbers, and even if it did, it would only give me comparative data, rather than telling me one altitude where my aircraft will generally perform at its best.

 

I haven't considered finding the ideal combat altitude experimentally (even though that might save time) because I'd like to use this process as an opportunity to learn about the real aircraft, even if it means I wind up at an altitude that isn't quite optimal.

 

If any of you are willing to help I'd be grateful.

[legearre]

Absolutely no way to tactically answer that question. You’re a hunter, you go where the prey is. In an aircraft interview, a 14 pilot said standard patrol alt was 23kft. Why? Didn’t say but I suppose it’s a combination of fuel economy and radar coverage. Other than that, stay slightly below the bandit wherever he is when prosecuting.

[Horns]

Absolutely no way to tactically answer that question. You’re a hunter, you go where the prey is. In an aircraft interview, a 14 pilot said standard patrol alt was 23kft. Why? Didn’t say but I suppose it’s a combination of fuel economy and radar coverage. Other than that, stay slightly below the bandit wherever he is when prosecuting.

 

Awesome, thanks. The Tomcat feels great at any altitude so that sounds good instead of trying to drag a bandit back to x ft all the time. Thanks again.

[IronMike]

Tomcats do well high for long shots, but unlike the eagle, this is not its sole domain. Going low can be an excellent idea in the Tomcat, as she handles low altitudes excellently in flight. Watch the Sidra incident, the Tomcats were around angels 20 and dropped to angels 3 to get a look up aspect for their radars on the MiGs, which were at 5000ft. It really depends on the situation.

[captain_dalan]

There is also the issue with mach-to-airspeed ratio (related to wing sweep programming) that might discourage you from going really high unless lofting 54 or intercepting bombers.

 

Aside from that, no such thing as optimal combat altitude. Optimal for fuel economy? Yes. For range? Yes. For top speed? Yes. For loiter time? Sure. Just not for fighting.

[Horns]

Tomcats do well high for long shots, but unlike the eagle, this is not its sole domain. Going low can be an excellent idea in the Tomcat, as she handles low altitudes excellently in flight. Watch the Sidra incident, the Tomcats were around angels 20 and dropped to angels 3 to get a look up aspect for their radars on the MiGs, which were at 5000ft. It really depends on the situation.

Thanks IronMike, and thanks for the great work you do. I have a bad habit of gaining altitude without realizing it and winding up in look-down, so it's good to know I can decrease altitude far enough to be sure I'll stay in look-up. The Viggen was the first airframe I learned, so I often prefer being low to high anyway. I'll be judicious about it of course.

 

There is also the issue with mach-to-airspeed ratio (related to wing sweep programming) that might discourage you from going really high unless lofting 54 or intercepting bombers.

 

Aside from that, no such thing as optimal combat altitude. Optimal for fuel economy? Yes. For range? Yes. For top speed? Yes. For loiter time? Sure. Just not for fighting.

A couple of times I was surprised when I saw my speed was shown as higher in Tacview than I remembered being at the time, but I had no idea there was a bug. Thanks to captain_dalan for commenting, glad to see unanimity, I am convinced and I'll fight wherever the fight may be from now on :)

[captain_dalan]

 

A couple of times I was surprised when I saw my speed was shown as higher in Tacview than I remembered being at the time, but I had no idea there was a bug. Thanks to captain_dalan for commenting, glad to see unanimity, I am convinced and I'll fight wherever the fight may be from now on :)

 

Oh it's not a bug. Tac most likely shows your ground speed and cockpit instrumentation shows indicated airspeed. The higher the altitude, the larger the difference between the two.

 

But what i meant is the ratio between the mach number and the airspeed. As you know, your wing sweep program is based on mach number, but your aerodynamic properties are airspeed related. As the altitude rises, the gap between the mach and the knots indicated airspeed shortens, and you may find your self with wings swept all the way the back, and only 300 knots of airspeed under your belt. This means very high induced drag values as you pull alpha, so you may find yourself stalling much easier then you would with your wings forward :thumbup: