Not something you see every day - Page 2

Max2147 · 08-03-09, 06:03 PM

The story I've heard is that the MiG-25 was a response to the B-70, and the F-15 was a response to the MiG-25.

I think the F-14 was designed to fight off the threat of long-range Soviet anti-ship missiles, not any specific fighter design. In the days before Aegis, the Navy needed a plane that could take down Soviet bombers before they got within missile range of American carriers. So they needed an interceptor with long range, high speed, and a very powerful radar. But most importantly, it had to be able to fire lots of very long-range missiles simultaneously and accurately.

The first attempt to build that plane was the F-111B. It was McNamara's baby, and it had all the qualities that I mentioned above. Unfortunately, that was all it had. It carried 6 Phoenix missiles, but no other armament. It was overweight and underpowered, and it was a lousy carrier plane (narrow landing gear, too big, etc.). With no short-range missiles, no gun, and a turning radius that almost made the B-52 look nimble, it was hopeless in a dogfight, and Vietnam was proving that Navy fighters still had to dogfight. The F-4 had proven that you could take a Navy fighter and turn it into an Air Force fighter, but the F-111B proved that you couldn't take an Air Force bomber and turn it into a Navy fighter.

When the F-111B finally got axed, the Navy got to design and build their own fighter, and the F-14 came from that program.

GoldenRivet · 08-03-09, 09:17 PM

Damn russians copied my homework!!!!

SUBMAN1 · 08-03-09, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIREWALL

That aircraft imho is the most beautiful plane that never flew.

btw Firefox is one of my favorite movies.

You are greatly incorrect. Firefox did fly. They made one for the movie and flew it. It was just a lot slower than the real one!

But it did fly.

Quote:

A total of nine models of the Firefox were built. Six were used as miniatures for filming, two actually flew, and one was built to full-scale specifications. Several flying shots were later reused in Back to the Future Part II (1989).

-S

08-04-09, 01:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SUBMAN1

You are greatly incorrect. Firefox did fly. They made one for the movie and flew it. It was just a lot slower than the real one!

But it did fly.

-S

Slower? But I thought firefox was supposed to be the fastest, safest plane! Not to mention all the addons you can get to it and its open blueprints allowing pilots to modify the plane as they see fit!. :rotfl:

Tchocky · 08-04-09, 02:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XabbaRus

I do get tired of the copying argument. Yes as Max said they copied some stuff but I can't see how you can acuse the Russians of copying the US when you put a Flanker next to an F-15. Planform is different.

Yep, it looks like the Su-27 family are designed as full lifting bodies using wings and fuselage, whereas the F-15 has a massive wing to do the work, and a fairly slab-like fuselage.
Su-27 is a bit bigger, too.

08-03-09, 09:17 PM	#17
GoldenRivet Subsim Aviator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 8,726 Downloads: 146 Uploads: 0	Damn russians copied my homework!!!! __________________

08-03-09, 06:03 PM	#16
Max2147 Seasoned Skipper Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 714 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	The story I've heard is that the MiG-25 was a response to the B-70, and the F-15 was a response to the MiG-25. I think the F-14 was designed to fight off the threat of long-range Soviet anti-ship missiles, not any specific fighter design. In the days before Aegis, the Navy needed a plane that could take down Soviet bombers before they got within missile range of American carriers. So they needed an interceptor with long range, high speed, and a very powerful radar. But most importantly, it had to be able to fire lots of very long-range missiles simultaneously and accurately. The first attempt to build that plane was the F-111B. It was McNamara's baby, and it had all the qualities that I mentioned above. Unfortunately, that was all it had. It carried 6 Phoenix missiles, but no other armament. It was overweight and underpowered, and it was a lousy carrier plane (narrow landing gear, too big, etc.). With no short-range missiles, no gun, and a turning radius that almost made the B-52 look nimble, it was hopeless in a dogfight, and Vietnam was proving that Navy fighters still had to dogfight. The F-4 had proven that you could take a Navy fighter and turn it into an Air Force fighter, but the F-111B proved that you couldn't take an Air Force bomber and turn it into a Navy fighter. When the F-111B finally got axed, the Navy got to design and build their own fighter, and the F-14 came from that program.