F-14 pilot talks about his exchange tour on Tornado F3
As there have been some comments about the Auto Wing Sweep and Manoeuvre Device System (AWSMDS) on Tornado vs the system on the F-14, I thought that I would try to add a little more detail, albeit from memory from a few years ago (30+ for the Toranado, 24 for the F-14D). The F-14 auto wing sweep was infinitely variable and set according to airspeed/Mach number. It could be manually overridden to a further aft position but not overridden further forwards. .
FWIW, as I recall it, the F-14 wing sweep was designed with four modes: Full auto, manual normal which as you said would not allow undersweep, manual emergency which allowed complete manual control without the undersweep protection, and ground attack. When the latter was selected the wings would automatically sweep to 55° and lock there. The purpose was to take one variable out of the equation when computing release point for dumb bombs, which was what the majority of weapons were in those days. I don't if all those modes remained during the Tomcat's entire career.
Interesting footnote: The world's first microprocessor chips, called the MP944, were designed and built for the F-14's Central Air Data Computer, which among other things controlled the moving surfaces of the aircraft including the wings.
The original design of MRCA / Tornado was for twin vertical stabilisers but this proved too challenging and/or expensive - so that huge monolithic tail was built instead.
Interestingly some of the Typhoon EAP/EFA were just the same - twin tails on some including a fullsize mockup.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Am I misremembering, or were there a couple of occasions the RHWR antenna departed the top of the fin due to shimmy during high AOA excursions in the F3?
(Going back, IIRC the original rounded fin on the Lightning F1 and F2 was replaced by the larger clipped on the F3/5/6 due to high speed shimmy which resulted in at least one tail breaking off the aircraft, and the 650kt speed limit?)
(Going back, IIRC the original rounded fin on the Lightning F1 and F2 was replaced by the larger clipped on the F3/5/6 due to high speed shimmy which resulted in at least one tail breaking off the aircraft, and the 650kt speed limit?)
Last edited by ORAC; 26th Nov 2020 at 05:06.
Yes, I'd attributed the vertical tail size to be more related to the short moment arm aft of the CG, rather than being influenced by fuselage masking at high angle of attack.
Interestingly some of the Typhoon EAP/EFA were just the same - twin tails on some including a fullsize mockup.
Interestingly some of the Typhoon EAP/EFA were just the same - twin tails on some including a fullsize mockup.
The ones that stick in my mind are ECF and TKF90 but that's far too much thread drift.
