Hobby Master 1/72 Grumman F14A Tomcat 160391/AJ210 VF84 Jolly Rogers USS Nimitz July 1978

General Background

The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a twin-engine, variable sweep wings capable of supersonic flight. The aircraft is crewed by a Pilot and a Radar Intercept Officer who share the tasks of navigation, target acquisition, ECM and weapons usage. The Tomcat was operated by the United States Navy and the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force only. The name "Tomcat" is said to come from the call-sign used by Vice Admiral Thomas Connolly which conformed to the USN tradition of giving Grumman aircraft feline names.

The Aircraft

VF-84 “Jolly Rogers” flew the F-14A Tomcat from 1976 until October 1, 1995 when it was disestablished. VF-84 had been assigned to the USS Nimitz from December 1977 until July 1987. F-14A Tomcat 160391/AJ210 C/N 247 wears a paint scheme that was typical for the 1970s. VF-84 aircraft appeared in the movie “The Final Countdown” filmed in 1979. In 1988 AJ-210 became AJ-202 and in 1995 went to VF-101. In 1999 the aircraft was withdrawn from service and loaned to the Texas Air Museum. The F-14 was the last of the “Cat” fighters.

Specifications

• Role: Carrier-based multi-role strike fighter
• First Flight: F-14A 1970, F-14B (F-14A+) 1986, F-14D 1990
• Last Production Year: F-14D July 20, 1992
• Number All Variants Produced: 710
• Crew: 2 (pilot and radar intercept officer)
• Dimensions
• Length: 62 ft 8 inches
• Wingspan (Swept) 38 ft 2.5 inches
• Wingspan (Unswept) 64 ft 1.5 inches
• Height: 16 ft
• Performance
• Powerplants: F-14A 2 x P&W TF-30-P414A F-14B 2 x GE F-110-GE-400 F-14D 2 x GE F-110-GE-400
• Maximum Thrust: F-14A 34,154 lbs F-14B 56,400 lbs F-14D 56,400 lbs
• Maximum Speed: F-14A 1,544 mph (Mach 2.38) F-14B 1,544 mph (Mach 2.38) F-14D 1,544 mph (Mach 2.38)
• Ceiling: F-14A 50,000+ ft F-14B 53,000+ ft F-14D 53,000+ ft
• Range: F-14A 1,730 nm F-14B 2,050 nm F-14D 2,050 nm
• Weights
• Empty: F-14A 40,104 pounds F-14B 41,780 pounds F-14D 43,735 pounds
• Maximum: F-14A 72,000 pounds F-14B 74,349 pounds F-14D 74,349 pounds
• Armament
• 1 x MK-61A1 Vulcan 20mm cannon
• Maximum Weight: 13,000 lbs. Of Combined Ordnance
• Air-Air Missiles
• 6 AIM-7 Sparrows
• 4 AIM-9 Sidewinder
• 6 AIM-54 Phoenix
• Air-To-Ground
• MK-82 (500 lbs.)
• 4 MK-83 (1,000 lbs.)
• 4 MK-84 (2,000 lbs.)
• MK-20 cluster bombs
• 4 GBU-10 LGB
• GBU-12 MK-82 LGB
• 4 GBU-16 MK-83 LGB
• 4 GBU-24 MK-84 LGB