American multipurpose fighter aircraft F-14A TOMCAT COBI 5811A - TOP GUN 1:48

 

 

You know that:

• The F-14s were designed in the 1960s with lessons learned from engagements with Soviet MIGs during the Vietnam War.
• A test flight of the prototype took place on 21 December 1970 at 16:00h, despite the gathering darkness, because from 17:00h Grumman would have had to pay a huge fine for not meeting the deadline.
• A total of three prototypes crashed due to malfunctions.
• 712 were produced in various versions.
• The structure connecting the space between the two engines is called a "pancake".
• The aircraft is equipped with variable wing geometry controlled by the AiResearch CP-1166B/A computer, which the Soviets tried in vain to obtain, as the wing sweep on the MIG-23 was only on "manual".
• The new generation of radar allowed up to 6 enemy aircraft to be fired upon at one time.
• During a military exercise in the Great Syrta Bay, two F-14s were attacked by Libyan Su-22 fighters.
• Missiles fired from the Su-22s missed the target, but AIM-9L missiles fired from Tomcats destroyed both enemy aircraft within 45 seconds.
• The very first machines produced were destined for service on the famous USS Enterprise.
• Grumman named the aircraft after Admiral Thomas Connolly's cat, TOMCAT.
• It's hard to believe, but in some armies fighters are still in service fifty years after the first units were put into service.
• Most of the fierce combat sorties were not flown by the United States, but by the Iranian Air Force during the war with Iraq.
• During the campaign, 16 Iranian machines were lost, but half of the losses were due to accidents caused by incompetent crews.

 

Technical parameters:

• wingspan 11,58 - 19,55 m
• length 19,1 m
• height 4,88 m
• empty weight 19 838 kg
• maximum take-off weight 33 720 kg
• power unit 2 x Pratt & Whitney TF30 Turbofans jet engine
• engine thrust 61 400 N, with 124 700 N of thrust
• maximum speed 2 485 km/h
• 3 fuel tanks with a total volume of 9 028 l
• maximum flight level 15 200 m
• climb rate 229 m/s
• range 2960 km
• armament 2 x AIM-7 Sparrow semi-active missiles + 4x AIM-54 Phoenix + 2x AIM-9 Sidewinder infrared supersonic missiles + 1x M61A1 Vulcan 20 mm cannon
• crew: pilot + weapon systems operator

• A loose sequel to the famous movie Top Gun starring Tom Cruise as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell.
• Preparations for the film began in 2010 with flight training for pilots.
• The title of the film Top Gun Maverick was coined by actor Tom Cruise.
• The film's characters are real pilots of the US Navy.
• The riskiest scene is an extremely low flyover, for which the firm had to apply for special permission from the US Navy.
• Paramount Pictures, the film studio, paid the Department of Defense $11,374 per hour to rent the planes.
• Over 800 hours of footage was shot during the filming period, from which the final 131-minute film was made.
• The film was scheduled for release on July 12, 2019 and was repeatedly delayed due to the Covid pandemic until it finally arrived in theaters on May 27, 2022.
• The film also has a significant Czech footprint, as Czech Aero L-39 Albatros jet aircraft manufactured by Aero Vodochody were used to train the actors.