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#4425644 - 06/11/18 07:07 PM Gone, But Not Forgotten – A Comeback for the F-14 Tomcat?  
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#4425648 - 06/11/18 07:16 PM Re: Gone, But Not Forgotten – A Comeback for the F-14 Tomcat? [Re: Bandit4]  
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Was that supposed to be taken seriously?


- Ice
#4425656 - 06/11/18 07:41 PM Re: Gone, But Not Forgotten – A Comeback for the F-14 Tomcat? [Re: Bandit4]  
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That whole article says basically nothing. LOL
The last excerpt negates it all, stating the obvious.

“Although appreciation still exists for the classic F-14 and its commendable service history, the Navy will likely continue upgrades to the Super Hornet to make it more combat effective and rely on the newer aircraft to meet its future needs.”

It would be interesting if they could be updated, but what a waste of money with waiting for the F35’s after all these years.


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#4425665 - 06/11/18 08:29 PM Re: Gone, But Not Forgotten – A Comeback for the F-14 Tomcat? [Re: Bandit4]  
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Exactly. If the Tomcat was retired due to maintenance costs and being behind the times, why on Earth would it make a comeback when there's a newer airframe that costs less to maintain and has newer equipment? I just hated myself a bit more for making that statement but such is the truth!


- Ice
#4425684 - 06/11/18 10:01 PM Re: Gone, But Not Forgotten – A Comeback for the F-14 Tomcat? [Re: Bandit4]  
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wasnt the tomcat a fuel burner as well becouse of its engine ?

#4425688 - 06/11/18 10:19 PM Re: Gone, But Not Forgotten – A Comeback for the F-14 Tomcat? [Re: Bandit4]  
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#4425711 - 06/12/18 01:20 AM Re: Gone, But Not Forgotten – A Comeback for the F-14 Tomcat? [Re: Bandit4]  
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"the future is in the past"

True on many levels. It would be awesome to see it come back even if for only a little while. Maybe get that F-14D upgrade the article mentioned. I know it must be a complicated decision and task but it gives me a good feeling at the thought of having an old warbird come back to service.

tomcat


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Romans 10:1-13

#4425714 - 06/12/18 02:13 AM Re: Gone, But Not Forgotten – A Comeback for the F-14 Tomcat? [Re: Bandit4]  
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But really what we should ask ourselves is are there any Tomcat Air frames left in storage to even consider resurrecting? Truth be told the article is suspicious ahead of a possible Top Gun II reference? If the Navy was open to a Grumman refit of old F-14 Airframes they would first have an operational airframe yes?


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#4425715 - 06/12/18 02:26 AM Re: Gone, But Not Forgotten – A Comeback for the F-14 Tomcat? [Re: Bandit4]  
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Hey, what's that Japanese anime where they fly Gen 2 and 3 aircraft against Gen 4 aircraft that are controlled by aliens?

Apparently that's all they could get to work, so it was F-14's and stuff against F-35's.


The opinions of this poster are largely based on facts and portray a possible version of the actual events.

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#4425771 - 06/12/18 03:28 PM Re: Gone, But Not Forgotten – A Comeback for the F-14 Tomcat? [Re: Bandit4]  
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Sadly the F-14 airframes that were left that weren't used for museums were mothballed at AMARC in AZ....and since then they have been shredded. I haven't been to AMARC in a long time but looking at recent pix on Google Earth and such, it does look like what I heard is true--they are gone. Not including the IRIAF Tomcats, but that's kind of a moot point.

Now that's not to say someone doesn't have a blueprint to be able to produce more of them, but it would be pretty costly starting from scratch. I hear over and over about how the maintenance cost of the Tomcat and parts were astronomical, but from what I also heard, alot of this is due to the loss of tooling used to make those parts that were disposed of when Cheney killed the program. So naturally, it was harder to make spares without extra costs.

That aside, the F-14 was not really as behind the times as one thought. The F-14 turned out to be more ahead of its time than when it was first conceived. Tomcats has precision strike capability that was greatly enhanced by the LANTIRN system to the point that during OIF generals were tasking F-14s for more precision strikes than they were their own F-15Es. When ROVER first came out, it was quickly adapted to the F-14 and it was added at such a low cost and turnaround time it was astounding. When it went into operation a mere few weeks later, the precision strike capability got even better.

Then of course you have its air to air weapons, particularly Phoenix. The Phoenix never really got to see its fair share of combat use in the US Navy, but that coupled with not just the AWG-9 but the Delta's APG-71 radar is still hard to beat. The article made no mention of theTomcat's radar, particularly the AGP-71...and the radar really was the Tomcat's biggest "gun." No other airborne radar in a combat aircraft has been as powerful or effective as that.

So I of course would love to see the Tomcat make a comeback, and it's nice to know that people in the Navy think so too...but they are sadly sadly just thoughts. The economics of it all and the current political atmosphere will most likely not allow for it.

But it's the thought that counts!

v6,
boNes


"Also, I would prefer a back seater over the extra gas any day. I would have 80 pounds of flesh to eat and a pair of glasses to start a fire." --F/A-18 Hornet pilot
#4425804 - 06/12/18 07:46 PM Re: Gone, But Not Forgotten – A Comeback for the F-14 Tomcat? [Re: Bandit4]  
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My understanding is that the main reason for the mothballing was that the maintenance was horiffic on them. Something like 4-10 hours in the shop for every hour flown. That is not sustainable.


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#4425809 - 06/12/18 07:58 PM Re: Gone, But Not Forgotten – A Comeback for the F-14 Tomcat? [Re: Bandit4]  
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Where'd you get that info, bones? Would love to have a read!


One thing that confuses me though --- why can't we have a Tomcat shell but with upgraded innards? Kind of like how people restore old muscle cars, but with newer engines, more modern shock absorbers, etc. So keep the Tomcat shape but improve the avionics. Surely with advancement in tech, stuff has gotten smaller and so a more advanced radar would still fit inside the Tomcat?


- Ice
#4425810 - 06/12/18 08:06 PM Re: Gone, But Not Forgotten – A Comeback for the F-14 Tomcat? [Re: - Ice]  
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Originally Posted by - Ice
Where'd you get that info, bones? Would love to have a read!


One thing that confuses me though --- why can't we have a Tomcat shell but with upgraded innards? Kind of like how people restore old muscle cars, but with newer engines, more modern shock absorbers, etc. So keep the Tomcat shape but improve the avionics. Surely with advancement in tech, stuff has gotten smaller and so a more advanced radar would still fit inside the Tomcat?


Stuff I've come across over studying the Tomcat since the 80s. Alot of it was also from people in the know at Grumman, USN, etc.

As for keeping the shell and changing the innards. Well, you still need a shell...and they have all been shredded. That's just for starters.

The titanium wing gearbox I'm sure is not an attractive expense having to make those all over again too...

v6,
boNes


"Also, I would prefer a back seater over the extra gas any day. I would have 80 pounds of flesh to eat and a pair of glasses to start a fire." --F/A-18 Hornet pilot
#4425813 - 06/12/18 08:14 PM Re: Gone, But Not Forgotten – A Comeback for the F-14 Tomcat? [Re: Bandit4]  
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Billions and billions and multiple decades are spent on other things( a lot of nonsense too) including "missing" billions on the Pentagon's watch so I always get a little perturbed when I hear officials talk of funding and not having money and this and that and so on and so forth and around and around it goes. It would be amazing to see a responsible and efficient effort put into a stream-lined program to bring back a proven air frame but with upgraded components and technologies now available to correct those things which were time and cost consuming on the original aircraft including bringing back the needed machining and tooling equipment to build them. As already mentioned it probably won't happen but imagine that vision coming to pass.


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Romans 10:1-13

#4425820 - 06/12/18 08:51 PM Re: Gone, But Not Forgotten – A Comeback for the F-14 Tomcat? [Re: Bandit4]  
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Well, I could be wrong but one thing that made the Tomcat great was the shape, right? So we know that aerodynamically, that layout works. So why not rebuild it but update the insides?

Also, why shred the Tomcats? Are they running out of space?


- Ice
#4425826 - 06/12/18 09:24 PM Re: Gone, But Not Forgotten – A Comeback for the F-14 Tomcat? [Re: - Ice]  
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Originally Posted by - Ice
Well, I could be wrong but one thing that made the Tomcat great was the shape, right? So we know that aerodynamically, that layout works. So why not rebuild it but update the insides?

Also, why shred the Tomcats? Are they running out of space?


That's pretty much what the Flanker family is about; they essentially took the F-14's basic layout, and refined it while deleting the variable geometry wings.

#4425831 - 06/12/18 09:51 PM Re: Gone, But Not Forgotten – A Comeback for the F-14 Tomcat? [Re: - Ice]  
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Originally Posted by - Ice


Also, why shred the Tomcats? Are they running out of space?


I read a long time ago that all things F-14 were destroyed to ensure zero possibility of anything F-14 ending up in Iranian hands. Iran would pay massive money to anyone who could get them parts.

#4425833 - 06/12/18 09:54 PM Re: Gone, But Not Forgotten – A Comeback for the F-14 Tomcat? [Re: Bandit4]  
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And that is why they also look so sexxxxy!! biggrin


- Ice
#4425834 - 06/12/18 09:55 PM Re: Gone, But Not Forgotten – A Comeback for the F-14 Tomcat? [Re: Zamzow]  
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Originally Posted by Zamzow
Originally Posted by - Ice


Also, why shred the Tomcats? Are they running out of space?


I read a long time ago that all things F-14 were destroyed to ensure zero possibility of anything F-14 ending up in Iranian hands. Iran would pay massive money to anyone who could get them parts.



Yes this is correct, and also because of the value of scarp giving a return on investment in some sad way. In one documentary about it they said, "So the next time you drink your favorite soda from a can, think: the material used in this can might have been flying at supersonic speed over the trouble hotspots of the world."

Talk about putting it in depressing perspective.

v6,
boNes


"Also, I would prefer a back seater over the extra gas any day. I would have 80 pounds of flesh to eat and a pair of glasses to start a fire." --F/A-18 Hornet pilot
#4425836 - 06/12/18 09:56 PM Re: Gone, But Not Forgotten – A Comeback for the F-14 Tomcat? [Re: bones]  
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Originally Posted by bones
The article made no mention of theTomcat's radar, particularly the AGP-71...and the radar really was the Tomcat's biggest "gun." No other airborne radar in a combat aircraft has been as powerful or effective as that


What about the F-22?

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