Heatblur F-14 and Forrestal Update

Did @near_blind lock himself in a room until release? He is disturbingly quiet.

inthere

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It seems like Magz has a bit more time playing around with it than Jabbers did, but by the same token I think Magz made it very clear that one has to keep flying the aircraft and its limitations in mind at all times. I can see a lot of players over-Ging it a lot, given how spoiled most of us are by FBW. The reliance on analog instruments and having to dart all over the cockpit is also going to turn a lot of folks on their heads in contrast to other aircraft.

It’s going to be interesting when the F-14A hits and seeing the contrast in how it handles in comparison to the B.

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Tomcat looks fun.

The videos look really dark. I wish the gamma with the deferred shading was up’d a bit sometimes. It’s like we’re wearing shades all the time. :sunglasses:

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I remember him mentioning that he was going to implement a self imposed quiet period when all of the youtube personalities began releasing their Tomcat videos. Watching a few of the videos I know that there are some inaccuracies that would have driven him to drink. And if I can spot them, then there are a dozen additional ones that have passed me by that he would have seen for sure.

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Naval Aviators wear shades, all the time…

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Anyone who flew the F-4 prior to the E is fully aware of adverse yaw. The Hun had it pretty badly too, which almost killed my dad. But he said that once they figured it out, that both airplanes could be pretty effective in air to air combat. Some accounts that I’ve read said that in the Phantom, at low airspeed you would keep the stick centered and go pretty hard on the rudder in the direction of turn. Slats on the E solved the problem.

I don’t think that it will be a big deal in the Tomcat, and after a while will become second nature, just like when flying a helicopter or any prop plane, for that matter.

Son of Jester…

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Wondering whats the point of releasing B prior to A ?? This is also keeping me out.

Just a guess but it could be that they felt modeling the F110 would be easier than the capricious TF30. Could be that they felt that their existing engine model for the Viggen can be adapted well to the F110 and not to the TF30. Or maybe it is about some other part of the A+. Rather than financing that part in advance themselves, releasing the B first enables them to get some revenue going to fund the further development of the A+.

Maybe they had better access to SMEs for the B, maybe the reason lies in the art department (access to airframes). Unless Nicholas likes to chime in himself, your guess is as good as anybodies.

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Perhaps also releasing the “good” version before the “bad” one might help with hype momentum and sales.

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I always assumed that as well @schurem.

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There… pre-ordered. MagzTV took me over the line. That looks like so much fun.

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both valid points there @sobek and @schurem

I just would like to fly the A before B, so I gues I need to wait for my turn.

Need to watch the latest videos if they worked for you @easy :slight_smile:

I heard they were going with “Hangar200” as the AI pilot’s call sign…seeing as how he flies Heatblur’s other fighter, the Viggen, so well…:astonished:

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To quote Mr. Iceman… «SNEEZE!»
:wink:

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Wasn’t that more of a “cough#@$@” ?

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If I had to guess, it’s the modeling of the TF30s represents a huge investment of resources, time, and bug crushing. To fully simulate just how finicky the TF30s were is probably something they want to do after they’ve finalized a lot of the other things, as we’ve seen in a lot of the videos so far. The accident record of the F-14As with the TF30s speaks for itself in this regard. I highly suspect that the F-14B will be far more commonly used than the F-14A for this reason alone.

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I would actually like to do some tests on multiplayer if any of us ever get the time. Similar to the stuff they did with the lightning and starfighter.
Low speed head to head acceleration tests at varying altitude and supersonic drag races. Would be fairly interesting I think to see the actual difference between alpha and bravo

Say the word out loud.
Does it sound like a cough to you? :wink:

Although it’ll be interesting to see how it pans out in DCS, it’s pretty much no contest in terms of real world data. The F-14B had a whopping 22,000lbs more thrust than the F-14A, for ~1700lbs of extra weight. The GE engines were a much newer design, made damn near 15 years later than the TF30s. One of the key features of the F110 installation was computerized fuel control, which represents a huge advantage over the older TF30. Think about it: the F110 allows taking off from a carrier with dry thrust alone. That kind of performance leap is, quite frankly, incredible.

http://www.anft.net/f-14/f14-specification.htm

http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_fighters/f14_4.html

Comparatively speaking, however… There were only 70 F-14Bs in total. The F-14A accounted for more than 470 aircraft, and although a number were converted to B and D, the bulk remained in service as As. If Heatblur confirms that the F-14A will also receive LANTIRN capability, then I know for the bulk of missions I make, the A will be the F-14 of my choice.

Per Magz and Jabbers’ videos above, I think this needs to be posted again:

Basically: no intentional spins; negative G maneuvers restricted to 10 seconds max on burners, 20 seconds dry; weapons launch restricted with flaps down and slats out; no fuel dumping with burners; no rolling maneuvers greater than 360 degrees. How often will these be violated and what will the effects be? That is what I find exciting about all this, even though I’m far from a Turkey fan.

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After spending a little bit of time in the JustFlight F-14 Extended, I really wish that we were getting the SparrowHawk HUD, which began to be deployed 3/2003.