Air and Space Museum

11-13-06, 03:17 PM

The Tomcat was big b/c the AIM-54A was not a solid fuel missle like the AIM-7 and AIM-9. The AIM-54A was liquid fueled. Because of the corrosive and volitale fuel mixture the F-14 carriered the fuel (oxidizer and combustor) w/in the fuselage and pumped it into the missle B4 launch. The later AIM-54C was a solid rocket.

This is the reason for the size of the F-14 on the limited space of an aircraft carrier.

11-13-06, 03:17 PM	#9
waste gate Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	The Tomcat was big b/c the AIM-54A was not a solid fuel missle like the AIM-7 and AIM-9. The AIM-54A was liquid fueled. Because of the corrosive and volitale fuel mixture the F-14 carriered the fuel (oxidizer and combustor) w/in the fuselage and pumped it into the missle B4 launch. The later AIM-54C was a solid rocket. This is the reason for the size of the F-14 on the limited space of an aircraft carrier.