9. Flying the F-14D "Super Tomcat"
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- Опубликовано: 12 июн 2024
- Learn the inside scoop on the most advanced #f14 variant ever made, the D model, with Robert "Jungle Jones, former F-14D #pilot and #topgun instructor.
0:00 INTRO
2:19 Guest History
4:42 How did you end up in the F-14?
8:16 What squadrons were you in?
11:50 What was your experience with Super Hornet?
12:57 Improvements of the F-14D
18:12 IRST
25:40 F-14A & F-14D
28:31 How did people adjust to the F-14D?
32:36 Stick & Rudder
38:40 "Pogo" Clark
40:28 F-15 vs Super Tomcat
45:40 Experience as a Topgun Instructor
46:54 CRAG 1v1 Stories
52:20 F-14D in combat
1:04:08 F-14D HUD
1:14:52 Call Signs 
Наука
Love the show boys.
As a VF-31 Airframer / Troubleshooter (2000 - 2005), I remember both "Crunch" and "Jungle". It's amazing to hear you guys talk about LOVING the Tomcat. I know for the maintainers, it was NEVER easy but the feeling is exactly the same. Cheers boys. Felix Rules.
Really enjoyed all this on the F-14D, have new respect for the aircraft.
Favorite episode. We need more Jungle Tomcast.
🤔
I love these episodes. That 98/99 cruise was a great cruise. I had a great time working on those jets. I guess that is why I volunteer the "Wings over the Rockies" air museum. They let me hug a Tomcat sometimes. Keep up the outstanding work.
Great documentary! Served with both Bio and Jungle during my 20 year career as an Aviation Electronics Technician working on these systems they are describing! Started on F-14A’s in the World Famous VF-2 Bounty Hunters from 86-90. Went to the VF124 Gunfighters from 90-93 when the F-14D’s were introduced to the fleet. Was part of the team that performed all the acceptance inspections. Went back to VF-2 because they were transitioning to the F-14D from 93-96 then served in VF-31 from 99-02! I can honestly say the F-14D was by far the baddest fighter during its time! Challenging to maintain because spare parts were scarce and hard to come by. But when all the bells and whistles were working, she was a beast! Biggest mistake the Navy made was to only build 55 jets. Thanks Dick!!!
Excellent interview. I could spend the entire day listening to Mr. Jungle Jones.
Great video! Former ET1(SW) Enlisted Tin Can sailor here from the 80's, and I always loved watching the F-14's when we did plane guard detail. Just imagine if we could have gotten the Super Tomcat 21! PS I also was an air show fanatic as a kid in the 60's and 70's and still am today!
Excellent Tomcast! I've known about some of the differences in the D model but this was a true learning experience. If only the promise of an all D fleet had come to pass.Thanks for Tomcat love!
Watching this again I'm amazed by a couple of things. First, is the sensor fusion and capacity of the -D in comparison to other 4th Gens. It was on another level. The IRST alone offered a ton of options. Removing the ability to use the notch to hide or evade was huge. Second, his discussion of how you need speed to control airspace is a lesson the Raptor took to heart but not the F-35. Like the 18E/F, the -35 is lethal IF you come at it. But a Flanker or -57 can just run away if they want to. Not to mention having the fuel to chase or run from bandits. Great stuff, glad to watch it again here!
Great to see the Tomcast episodes coming back online. And I still contend it was a crime such a small number of Ds (and heck, Bs) were built/upgraded. To imagine what could have been, and lives saved by not having those TF30 motors.
Not just lives saved but airframes.
Not a single Tomcat was lost following fleetwide implementation of Digital Flight Control System completed in 2000 some 200 active plus 16 reserve aircraft.. The last F-14A variant's last cat shot was May 20/04. 35 airframe losses were due to carrier approach/edge of envelope departures which DCFS could have possibly made a difference.
Imagine if the Navy got the new build 140 D's it wanted rather than the 55 Ds it got?
But
F-14 was a complex beast, many systems from different eras blended together, the first 4th gen aircraft, must dogfight while being able to carry 10,000 pounds of missiles and their heavy launchers and protect several 10's of billions of US property from cruise missile laden heavy bombers attack at sea . Developed over 22 months in a crash course to get the aircraft to the fleet as the F-111B Seavark was too heavy. F-14 was 25% titanium, it was what the government wanted.
Expensive, yes, effective in the Fleet Air Defense role?, glad we never had squadrons of F-14's launching with full Phoenix loadouts. That meant the Vampires are coming and its going to be a bad day.
the Superbug just made much more economical sense in a post Cold War funding environment. Tanker/Electronic warfare/trainer/FAC(A)/strike/air sup/FAD out of the single airframe? Calling a Superbug a Hornet is a reach IMO. But once airframe production was halted the 6,000 hour clock ticks away. Though later stretched to 7300 hour service life. I believe the last brand new D model hit the fleet in 1996. Phoenix missile retired in 2004, Tomcat in 2006. Over 3 decades of service in the US Navy. Amazing!
The engine technology just wasn’t mature enough when the F-14 went into early production in 1969, or full-rate in the 1970s. They spent over $639 million on the F401-PW-400 for it in the early 1970s, which never materialized because it still suffered from compressor stalls, AB unstarts, blades letting go, and all the same problems of the TF30 and early F100-PW-100 and PW-200 motors. It took the engine wars in the 1980s to accelerate the maturity and developmental cycle on the F100 and F110 to get them ready for prime-time, and they still weren’t full-up in the late 1980s-early 1990s. A lot of F110s had to be flown restricted to Mil power only/no AB in those days in the F-16C Block 30 & 40 for example, due to issues that still needed to be solved.
The Tomcat airframe came a bit early and was mass-produced before the development cycles of both propulsion and Radars could align with it, but they had mostly been built by then at the end of the production line viability. A lot of the aircraft was antiquated and problematic from a maintenance perspective. I was shocked when I saw the MMH/FH stats from 1973-2006. No matter the model, they averaged 40-60hrs per flight hour.
Damn... After watching this episode, I really want an F-14D on DCS 😍
That explanation on the "Jungle" callsign was hilarious. Epic
🤣
So glad to watch this again! Once again F14 is the badass.. thank you for posting these up again
Great insights by "Jungle"
Yeah, sad the D barely got out of the barn. I was a USMC ATCer for 20 years from 86, then FAA, now USAF. F-14 was always the coolest plane in the sky. I worked with a girl, c/s "Sam," her given name was Velvet. She was in the tower during the "buzz the tower" scene in Topgun at Mirimar. Whenever we had F-14's at NKT, when they lit the burners she would say, "it makes my cervix quiver,"🤣 Awesome discussion. The last great fighter..
Thanks for awesome podcast & your service. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
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Love you guys.. please keep on keeping the memories alive!!.. you guys are awesome!!
Really enjoyed listening to this while I study. Got into Annapolis last year at 22 after being DQ'd trying the enlisted route. Glad I waited. Work ethic and perspective changed a lot for me from 18-22. Classes are going well and I hope to be able to get aviation instead of SW. Listening to you guys shoot the shit makes me anticipate graduation.
Great interview!
I`ll be in FL this coming august, have family in JAX. Will defintiely try to visit the tiki bar.! Massive F14 fan.
Awesome, thanks for sharing.
Great video! It was extremely informative. I think it's great the men who actually flew these weapons are willing to share their experiences. I also think the DOD screwed up forcing the Super Hornet on the Navy, after they had already invested so much on the far superior F-14D. Again, great video. Thanks
I never forget the plane inspire me to become an Aviator. Thank you Big Kitty ❤🐈. From Austria 🇦🇹
A cool-sweet bird, the new #F-14D SuperTom𖥂! Happy New Year & #NavyBeatArmy, always GOBLUE-NATTYUP🏆!
God damn, that is sick
That was AWESOME
Enjoyed watching this. Also just seen VF-213 Blacklions Last Tomcat Cruise Video and there was a lot younger Crunch lol
Love it!
Love it 💪
I said this when this was originally published on RUclips but this is worth stating again. This episode truly highlighted the complete insanity of not pursuing the Tomcat21 program. What Jungle Jones had to say about what the F-14D brought to the fight truly highlights that NAVAIR dropped the ball big time on this one.
Is that Camp Pendleton below the pic of the VF-121 F-4 at 28:00?
If the Hornet is not a fighter are the 35's better? Old Navy SWO here. Great Video. I grew up a TopGun kid wanting to be a RIO.
Great discussion! The simulation at about 20:00 min. looks like an early version of Microsoft Flight Simulator.
The A cockpit was ridiculously loud. Was the D cockpit quieter?
Currently Learning the f-14 b in dcs want to know what’s the difference between DLC and manoeuvre flaps, find it hard to bleed off energy on this plane it gets to speed fast
I am sure it has been mentioned, but honestly, I do not recall. And I am sorry if you get asked this many times, but what happened to the RIOs of the F-14 when they retired this magnificent bird? I know I could look online, but there is just something in getting a response from someone that was actually there, or part of this wonderful aircraft. Did they move them on to the Super Hornet, or just give them new Officer positions? Again, so sorry if you get asked this constantly. But much respect for my fellow Brothers and Sisters in arms.
They either transitioned to the F/A-18F, took non-flying jobs, or left the Navy.
Thank you my friends.@@FighterPilotPodcast
Silly question here, but did i understand well...didn't the AIM-54 ring RWR warning? I know that TWS doesn't ring RWR, i'm talking about the missile when it goes active radar homing...
Or it was the training missiles (which from my understanding they simulate the shot, they don't launch) don't trigger RWRs?
It doesn’t until the active seeker goes hot. Until then, the Missile Launch warning in a threat warning system will not be triggered due to the antennae diameters and bandwidth differences used between Fire Control Radars and missile seekers. The AIM-54 used mid-course data-link guidance along with its Inertial Reference system, if I recall. A lot of that was used and miniaturized when they developed the AMRAAM using solid state electronics and better processing.
Watch out for that tree!!
Thank you so much for these interviews btw, it just confirms more of what I've been feeling and what info I've been learning involving the Tomcat, basically, it should have never been retired.
Hearing all of this, it just makes me incredibly frustrated that we didn't get the upgrades, or the total complete overhaul into the ST-21. That is because this plane would have been far more capable then Hornets we now have flying on our carriers and I'm not trying to bash the Hornet, just that as stated, the Tomcat had far more capable fighting, range, and endurance, all of which is a huge plus for a fighter.
It's just sad that all of this was dropped simply due to politics, hidden agendas behind closed doors, and a few men who couldn't let go of their prides. The ST-21 flying off the carriers would look 100x cooler, while also being a far more superior jet fighter at that too.
Politics...GAH!
Boresight View, explains it (that IRST mode) better than Stadium View IMO.
The F-14A was good, so the F-14D was soooo much better. I would contribute to a F-14D 'go fund me' to restore 1 to fly again. Maybe through an air museum, then watch it draw crowds and inspire a new generation of pilots!
YEAH BABY!!!🇺🇲💪🏽
i would pay full price for the module in dcs! i love the b and even the a isnt terrible lol
What happened to the sequel (Episode 11: F-14D Combat Systems) with F-14D RIO CDR Mark “Fun” Mhley, USN (ret.)?
It is coming up in this re-run.
"The Ravens of Evil flying from Satans Falgship" Argh, you're killing me :) ROFL
That’s a T-shirt right there.
👍
Great interview especially on how Tomcat compares to the Super Hornet. One common misconception is that F-14 B/D did not use afterburner because it could accelerate so fast that it would easily overspeed the landing gear. That is actually not correct. F-15C and F-16C also had similar thrust to weight ratio and could accelerate down the runway just as well with weaker landing gears without risk of overspeeding the gear and they took off in full afterburner. The main reason was, the widely spaced nacelles that were 9 feet apart due to the tunnel and the pancake in the middle. If F-14 B/D took off in full afterburner and one engine flamed out, due to so much thrust from the other engine, asymmetric thrust could result in such a strong yaw rate that it was deemed impossible to recover. Now you know.
I had heard that full mil power was equal to zone 3 AB so it really didn't need AB for takeoff anyway.
@@supertrump.4776 The first half of your statement is correct. However, the reason for it not using afterburner is what I had stated above. Asymmetric thrust if there is a flameout on one engine resulting in too much yaw too quickly since the GE-F110 engine did not have 5 stages for afterburner. Just min burner and max burner. That is it.
Flew with some former B/D Big Fighter drivers in Rhino land, and this explanation is correct.
@@C420sailor Thank you
Interesting. Good reminder about the single engine controllability issue. But as a RIO in the Fleet when the B and D were coming into service, I thought that exceeding the gear airspeed was also a concern. It sounds like you're fairly knowledgeable, so you probably realize that gear extended airspeed isn't based simply on how stout the gear is, but also other things such door configuration.
Listening to Jungle repeatedly rag on the Hornet for being so pitifully slow, I’m beginning to understand the axe Jello seems to be grinding with him 😂.
Are we ever going to see the f14 or modern version taking off from a us aircraft carrier again??
Nope.
What did he mean that the controls would reverse?
DELCO!!!!
Goose!
...Duck?
(I'm not sure what game we're playing here...)
Hot Mic on freq
😎😎😎😎Happy New Year😎😎😎😎FFP Community😎😎😎😎
The comment about FBW is a bit peculiar. Every modern fighter design be it the Su-35, Su-57, J-10, J-20, J-31, Eurofighter, Rafale, Gripen, Tejas, F-35, and F-22 all make use of digital FBW flight controls. Even the new F-15EX is FBW as opposed to the old mechanical system that the F-15C and E use.
He’s just explaining it’s not the same. Racing cars and motorcycles today is the same way. Back in the day the rider or driver made all the inputs now with traction control and abs you can mash the throttle or brakes and a computer takes it to the limit of traction. The art in these most awesome of professions is all but gone. Computers do it all for us!
re-run?? seems like I've seen this
Yep.
no worries- fun to watch again : )
👍@@SDsc0rch
Listening to you guys, I don't understand how they killed the program. I remember at the time they killed it, thinking, too bad. Just one terrible decision after another.
After listening to the speach on the F-14 by Michael Ciminera you- one of the engineers working on the design - you just can't follen in love on the aircraft!
ruclips.net/video/SsUCixAeZ0A/видео.htmlsi=TRSXnm-_lMrtCgk
...now it's time o start to listen to your podcast🙂 Thanks!
Is it just me, or does, Bio interrupt their guests A TON!
You ever tried to conduct an interview?
Hahah don’t get offended bio! Lol. We know your doing it for a good reason tho to keep ‘em on track and talk about important stuff but this dudes got ya lol, you do bust in on people a lot but it’s funny watching how you try and be smooth about it 😂
Btw this guy smoked some people in a Beechcraft baron one time, 3-0 😂
@@slowb4lls1 wait, what?!?! Lol I missed that...can you explain please.
@@slowb4lls1 side note...I am in NO WAY bashing on, Bio! Bio is a stud! And I'm proud of what's he's done with his life. I would love to be able to say that I've done just a small percentage of what's he's accomplished...I was just pointing out something that I thought was legit to point out, only because I don't want to miss/not hear what someone else is explaining. I love you, Bio! *in a non prison way* lol 😂
This would be much more enjoyable if you guys weren't thumping around so much. Mute your mic's when you're not talking please.
HORNET WAS A JOKE
How so?
@@FighterPilotPodcast The plane does a lot but it does it all mediocre
@@davidkoon767 maybe that can be its strength.
Soooo I won, 3-0, actually I’ve never been beat at topgun, or ever actually. The T4 had no biz up there against a tomcat anyways but 3-0. This one time I took a couple of sets in a king air vs hornet 🐝 cause all the f14’s wudnt start. Guess wut happened tho……you guessed it, 3-0. Who knew 😂
Dude slays the hornet but then try’s to pump it up at the same time. He’s like the dudes show up to the party 20 min late like hey guys sorry we’re late, we drove the mustang 😂