F -14 Tomcat :: essays research papers

F-14 TOMCAT Wing span: 64 feet unswept; 38 feet swept Length: 62 feet 7 inches Height: 16 feet Weight: Empty: 40,104 pounds Maximum take-off: 74,348 pounds Speed: Maximum: 1,544 mph Cruise: 576 mph Ceiling: More than 56,000 feet Power plant: Two Pratt and Whitney TF-30-P412A turbofan engines with afterburners; F-14B and F-14D: F-110-GE-400 augmented turbofan engines with afterburner Crew: two Contractor: Grumman Aerospace F-14 Tomcat, sleek, powerful, deadly, and the real star of the movie Top Gun. The F-14 Tomcat followed a history of "Cats" in the military. The F-4F Wildcat and the F-6F Hellcat that fought in the skies years before the Tomcat ever bit the air. In the late 1960's, the U.S Navy decided to decided to focus on an aircraft dedicated to fleet defense. Grumman had already begun developing the F-14, and was definitely headed for a "Cat" designation. The person responsible for this project was Admiral Tom Conolly, Deputy Chief, Naval Operations for Air. The aircraft was dubbed "Tom's Cat" long before the official name of "Tomcat" was ever adopted. (novia.net, 1999) Overall, the Navy's Grumman F-14 Tomcat is without equal among today's Free World fighters. Six long-range AIM-54A Phoenix missiles can be guided against six separate threat aircraft at long range by the F-14's AWG-9 weapons control system. For medium-range combat, Sparrow missiles are carried; Sidewinders and a 20mm are available for dogfighting. In the latter role, the Tomcat's variable-sweep wings give the F-14 a combat maneuvering capability that could not have been achieved with a "standard" fixed planform wing. (history.navy, 1999) In full forward-sweep position,the wings provided the lift needed for slow-speed flight, especially needed during carrier landings. In swept-back positions, the wings blend into the aircraft, giving the F-14 Tomcat a dart-like silhouette for high-speed, super-sonic flight (using Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-412A Turbofans). (novia.net. 1999) By 1972, the first of the F-14 Tomcat's off the production line were sent to the US . In October of 1972, two squadrons were formed with the F-14 Tomcat to begin flight operations. (novia.net, 1999) All in all, fourteen aircraft were used for the development program. The fully proven F-14 was introduced to the fleet only 51 month after contract award! (Anft, 1998) The F-14 Tomcat was designed to carry a million dollar missile, the Phoenix . The AIM-54 Phoenix has a range of over 100 miles and sole purpose was to destroy Soviet bombers. The F-14 Tomcat program came down to a test at the Naval Missile Test Center at Point Mugu, CA in November, 1973. The Pentagon wanted an aircraft that could take on six different targets at once, and on that day in November, the Tomcat