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| DOGS TAKING A RIDE - ON MOTORCYCLE AND IN CARS AND TRUCKS! |
Posted Sat May 18, 2013
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| LADIES AND MOTORCYCLES! |
Posted Thu May 16, 2013
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| NEW - STRANGE AERIAL AND NASA SATELLITE PICTURES AND MAPS FROM SPACE! |
Posted Wed May 15, 2013
LOOKING DOWN AT THE EARTH FROM ON HIGH! SPECIAL EVENTS - TRAGEDIES AND HISTORY MAKING FLIGHTS
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| THE NAVY'S REPLACEMENT FOR THE F-14 TOMCAT - THE FABULOUS F-18 HORNET |
Posted Wed May 15, 2013
Until 2006, the “Wing King” of Naval Aviation was the F-14 Tomcat. The legendary plane on September 22 of that year made its last flight. Since then, the backbone of every Carrier Air Wing (CVW) is the F/A-18 both Hornet and Super Hornet.
Although it was retired from the U.S. military service, the F-14 is still in service with the IRIAF (Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force). However, this article does not focus on the outcome of an eventual close encounter between Iranian Tomcats and American Hornets; it is just a comparison between two fantastic flying machines.
So which aircraft would you take to a fight?
The question, of course, it’s very difficult to answer. It depends on the way you see it and may significantly vary from pilot to pilot.
However, some assumptions can be made in accordance with the most widely known characteristics of both weapon system, as the author as done in this article with the aim to give readers a comparison between the Hornet and its predecessor.
If the mission is strictly fleet defense, the F-14 was a perfect platform. In fact, the six wing mounted pylons of the Super Hornet (or the four of the Hornet) impose a higher drag on the F/A-18 that couldn’t match the Tomcat performance as a very high speed interceptor.
Indeed, the Tomcat is known to be a very fast airplane, with great sustained energy performance and, since it carried a great quantity of fuel which gave it a good endurance, the F-14 was also very good for high speed strike missions.
But the Cold War ended a couple of decades ago and “its” Bears bombers are no the threat that led to the Tomcat possessing those attributes in first place. Furthermore, while the F-14 was an older aircraft in which some newer technologies were integrated, the F/A-18 Super Hornet is a more modern airplane with newer equipment, easier to maintain: a great advantage in times of budget constraints.
In close air combat, the Super Hornet is much maneuverable (with a good authority at slow speed and high AOA – angle of attack) and, even if it lacks the AIM-54 Phoenix for the long distances in BVR (Beyond Visual Range) engagements, it has got the JHMCS (Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System) and the AIM-9X Sidewinder for the dogfights which the F-14 didn’t integrate.
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